Edison International's (EIX) southern California utility has signed agreements to buy 100 megawatts of solar power from a joint venture owned by privately held Silverado Power and Martifer SGPS SA (MAR.LB).

The power will come from eight or nine separate solar-generating facilities around Los Angeles County, between 2 megawatts and 20 megawatts in size, said John Cheney, chief executive officer of San Francisco-based Silverado Power.

"We're building a set of projects for Southern California Edison in key areas where we thought they'd need it," Cheney said in an interview. Building several small to medium-size solar generators close to where the power is used avoids having to build new transmission lines, he added.

Together, the projects are estimated to cost roughly $250 million to $300 million, depending on solar-panel prices, Cheney said. Construction could start as early as 2012, if transmission-interconnection and construction approvals are obtained by then, he said.

The contracts are part of a SoCal Edison program to contract for renewable power from small projects.

The developers haven't yet chosen a solar-panel supplier for the projects, which are scheduled to be operational by 2014.

California regulations require SoCal Edison and other utilities to use solar, wind or other renewable sources for one-third of the power they sell by 2020. The rules are part of the state's 2006 plan to combat climate change.

-By Cassandra Sweet, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-269-4446; cassandra.sweet@dowjones.com
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