The solar rooftop project, approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in June 2009, will have a power generating capacity of 500MW.

Half of the power generated by the project will be from independent power producers who respond to SCE’s request for offers under competitive solicitations and the remaining energy will be owned and operated by SCE. It is expected that this project will create about 1,200 jobs for Southern Californians.

Marc Ulrich, vice president of renewable and alternative power at SCE, said: “These contracts make significant strides toward distributed renewable generation for one of the most innovative solar programs in the country.

“We’re working to help California meet its Million Solar Roofs goal and supply even more renewable energy to our customers where and when it’s most needed, without the added time and expense to construct major new transmission facilities.”