Southern California Edison (NYSE: EIX) plans to buy power from two photovoltaic plants totaling 550 megawatts to be built by First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR), the utility announced in August.

As part of the agreement, which is subject to approval by state regulators, Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar would build two thin-film solar PV plants in San Bernadino and Riverside counties. The 250 MW Desert Sunlight plant and the 300 MW Stateline project are expected to supply Rosemead-based SCE with enough juice to power 170,000 homes.

While SCE and First Solar didn’t disclose the financial details of the agreement, First Solar spokesman Alan Bernheimer says the company will deal with project financing after completing the permitting and review process for the plants, which are slated to be placed on federally owned land.

First Solar—which reported $180.6 million in earnings for the second quarter of 2009, up from $69.7 million for the same period in 2008— plans to begin construction in 2012 and 2013 for the Desert Sunlight and Stateline plants, respectively, with completion of both projects scheduled for 2015.

SCE, like other California investor-owned utilities, faces pressure to meet state renewable portfolio standards requiring it to get 20 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2010. SCE says in 2008, renewable energy represented 16 percent of its total power deliveries. The utility also has power purchase agreements in the works with German solar developer Solar Millennium and Oakland, Calif.-based BrightSource Energy.

Reprinted with permission from Sustainable Industries