Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced on August 10th its contract with Luz II, LLC to purchase at least 500 megawatts (MW) of solar energy starting in 2010. The original Luz firm was a pioneer of solar energy development, building nine solar electric generating systems in southern California between 1984 and 1990. Those solar plants continue to generate power by using trough-shaped mirrors to focus the sun's energy onto a tube through which a fluid is pumped. Luz II is led by the original management team for Luz, but employs a propriety new hybrid design that runs off both solar energy and natural gas.
See the PG&E press release.
