To hasten the delivery of cleaner energy to customers, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E (News - Alert)) announced that it will dedicate three new solar photovoltaic (PV) generating stations, with a total 50 megawatts (MW), in the first phase of five-year program.

PG&E’s 500 MW program has called for independent developers to construct 250 MW of additional solar PV facilities. Each project will be 20 MW or less in size requiring less time to plan and construct instead of having large solar plants which can cause huge delays.

The solar PV program will generate enough green power to meet the needs of 150,000 houses in the PG&E’s service area of Northern and Central California.   

In a release, Chris Johns, president of Pacific Gas and Electric Company said that, “To see our company’s first utility-scale and owned solar PV projects near completion from its construction is a delight. It demonstrates our commitment of delivering renewable energy to customers. For communities served by us, these programs provide local benefits, which include green jobs, as California moves into a future with clean energy.”

Edmund G. Brown Jr., Governor of California, said that, “California moves a step closer to a future with clean air and independent energy with every new solar project.”

Under the utility side of the program of 50MW built in Fresno County, 15-MW Westside Solar Station, 20-MW Stroud Solar Station,  and the 15-MW Five Points Solar Station join together. Until 2014, a new solar capacity of 50 MW is expected to be constructed by PG&E.

Congressman Jim Costa said that, “The dependency on foreign sources of energy is reduced by the dedicated three new solar PV generation stations. Our energy portfolio can be diversified and by supporting smart projects like these, millions of acres of agricultural land can be maintained.”

The construction of the three solar projects took six months utilizing the skills of local union labor and varied suppliers. Clean power is being delivered to the grid.

The Westside and Stroud solar stations were built by Cupertino Electric, Inc, the primary contractor, and the Five Points solar stations was built by SOLON Corporation, both selected by PG&E through a competitive solicitation.  

One of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the US, Pacific Gas and Electric Company delivers clean energy to 15 million people in the Northern and Central California. It is a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation based in San Francisco having 20,000 employees.  

In other news, TIO Networks Corp., North America's leading multi-channel expedited bill payment processor, recently announced the launch of its PG&E Mobile Bill Payment application for Android (News - Alert). This new app allows PG&E customers in Northern and Central California to conveniently pay their utility bills on an expedited basis through their Android smartphones. Android users can now download the application for free from the Android Market.