PITTSBURG -- The city's public power company is joining forces with Lancaster in Los Angeles County to build power lines that will transport electricity from solar power to the statewide grid.
The project is the latest in a series of Pittsburg Power Co. initiatives that have included the construction of a pair of power plants now operated by Calpine, and laying an underwater cable that transports power from Pittsburg to San Francisco.
The power company has generated $30 million over the past 15 years, some of which has gone into economic development and other community investments.
Lancaster wants to build 30 miles of transmission lines through the Antelope Valley in northern Los Angeles County and southern Kern County to serve the solar plants that will be built by a private contractor.
Southern California Edison, serving 14 million people in 11 counties, will be the final customer for the power.
Pittsburg will bring its expertise in dealing with utility and environmental regulations to the project under a joint powers authority created by the two cities, said Assistant City Manager Garrett Evans.
The authority may operate the transmission lines or sell them to another operator.
"(The authority) gave us a way to combine resources, using the expertise of both cities' staffs," Evans said.
Lancaster will receive a 90 percent share of the revenues from the sale or operation of the lines and Pittsburg 10 percent. The revenue split will be reversed for any projects built in Northern California during the authority's 20-year life, Evans said.
"They'll be putting more into this project and getting more out of it, since it's in their area," he said.
Lancaster has 10 square miles within its city limits designated for solar and renewable energy development.
The plants may employ solar thermal technology that focuses light generated by solar collectors to create steam that powers electricity generators, said Randy Starbuck, the power company's business development manager.
It also may build fields of solar panels that convert the sun's rays into electricity, he said.
Under a state law passed this spring, electricity providers must obtain 33 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Contact Rick Radin at 925-779-7166.