PG&E and DTE Energy Sign Contract for 45-MW of Biomass Power

Date: December 16, 2009

Source: News Room

PG&E Corp.'s (PCG) utility said it has signed a contract with DTE Energy Co. (DTE) to purchase the output from a proposed 45-megawatt biomass power plant that would replace an existing coal-fired power plant in Stockton, CA, owned by FPL Group Inc. With California Public Utilities Commission approval, DTE will purchase and renovate the plant to run on biomass material, such as wood waste, to begin operations in 2013. DTE, which owns utilities in Michigan and a coal marketing unit, among other businesses, owns a biomass unit that captures methane from landfills and abandoned coal mines and converts the gas into electricity. PG&E and other California utilities are required to use renewable sources for a fifth of the power they sell by the end of 2010, with the mandate ramping up to one-third of their retail power by 2020.

PG&E Corporation (PCG) is an energy-based holding company headquartered in San Francisco. PG&E is the parent company of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, which provides power to most of Northern California, with some 5.1 million electric customers and 4.3 million natural gas customers.

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