SAN DIEGO, July 2, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Sempra Generation, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE), today announced it has signed a 20-year agreement to provide Southern California Edison with up to 250 megawatts (MW) of wind power generated at the La Rumorosa Wind Power facility under development in Baja California, Mexico.
"This power agreement represents an important milestone in the development of the La Rumorosa Wind Power project," said Michael W. Allman, president and chief executive officer of Sempra Generation.
"We are pleased to offer the new Sempra Generation renewable unit its first power-purchase agreement and we welcome them as an important new supplier of California renewable energy," said Stuart Hemphill, director of Southern California Edison's renewable and alternative power procurement team.
Under the contract, Sempra Generation could start delivering renewable energy to Southern California Edison in 2010. The contract is subject to approval from the California Public Utilities Commission.
Last week, Sempra Generation announced it had agreed to acquire the development assets associated with the proposed 250 MW La Rumorosa Wind Power project under a co-development arrangement with San Diego-based Cannon Power Corp.
The La Rumorosa project would generate power from as many as 125 wind turbines to be installed along the easterly ridge lines of the Sierra Juarez mountains in the Ejido Jacume near the town of La Rumorosa, about 70 miles east of San Diego and south across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Future expansion phases of the project are under consideration.
Should Sempra Generation proceed with the development of La Rumorosa, the capital investment for the project is estimated at $400 million.
Sempra Generation operates and maintains a fleet of power plants serving the Western U.S. market. Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2006 revenues of nearly $12 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' 14,000 employees serve more than 29 million consumers worldwide.
This press release contains statements that are not historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When the company uses words like "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "may," "would," "should" or similar expressions, or when the company discusses its strategy or plans, the company is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Future results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon various assumptions involving judgments with respect to the future and other risks, including, among others: local, regional, national and international economic, competitive, political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments; actions by the California Public Utilities Commission, the California State Legislature, the California Department of Water Resources, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other regulatory bodies in the United States and other countries; capital markets conditions, inflation rates, interest rates and exchange rates; energy and trading markets, including the timing and extent of changes in commodity prices; the availability of natural gas; weather conditions and conservation efforts; war and terrorist attacks; business, regulatory, environmental, and legal decisions and requirements; the status of deregulation of retail natural gas and electricity delivery; the timing and success of business development efforts; the resolution of litigation; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the company. These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that are available through the EDGAR system without charge at its Web site, www.sec.gov and on the company's Web site, www.sempra.com.
Sempra Generation is not the same company as the utilities, SDG&E or SoCalGas, and is not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.