March 28, 2008 - Southern California Edison has leased 65 million square feet of roof space on California commercial buildings for what will be the largest solar cell installation in the U.S.

The utility is currently seeking approval from the California Public Utilities Commission for the five-year, $875 million solar installation. When complete, the project is expected to generate enough electricity to power more than 160,000 homes.

"These are the kinds of big ideas we need to meet California's long-term energy and climate change goals," says California Governor Schwarzenegger. "If commercial buildings statewide partnered with utilities to put this solar technology on their rooftops, it would set off a huge wave of renewable energy growth."

One of the largest project partners, commercial warehouse operator ProLogis, has leased more than 600,000 square feet of roof space for solar panel arrays.

Southern California Edison plans to begin work on the project immediately, with the first rooftop installations expected to power up in August.

Sunny California is taking the lead in encouraging use of solar technology. The state's Million Solar Roofs initiative, signed into law in 2006, provides financial incentives for Californians to install solar projects by 2017.