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PSE Seeks to Develop Pacific Northwest's Largest Solar-Power Facility

Posted on: Monday, 4 December 2006, 15:01 CST

Puget Sound Energy (PSE), utility subsidiary of Puget Energy (NYSE:PSD), today issued a request for proposals (RFP) to develop the Pacific Northwest's largest solar-powered generating facility at the company's nearly completed Wild Horse Wind Project (Wild Horse) in Eastern Washington. At 500 kilowatts, the pilot solar project would roughly double the state's entire solar-powered electricity generation and be four times bigger than any solar facility now in existence in the Northwest.

"Just as Puget Sound Energy has been a leader with wind power in Washington, we want to advance the development of solar technology and other clean, renewable energy resources here in the Pacific Northwest," said Stephen P. Reynolds, chairman, president and CEO of PSE. "The pilot project at Wild Horse will promote solar development and help PSE gain a better understanding of how solar power can be integrated into our broader power-supply portfolio."

PSE is on schedule this month to complete the construction of Wild Horse, its second and largest wind farm, which will make the company the single largest producer of renewable energy in the Northwest.

The RFP issued today is for the design and construction of a 500-kilowatt solar facility in Kittitas County. The project would sit on about eight acres of PSE-owned land on the 9,000-acre Wild Horse site, located roughly 120 miles east of Seattle between Ellensburg and the Columbia River. Specifics on the RFP can be found on www.pse.com, the company's Web site.

All qualified proposals for the design, engineering, procurement, supply, installation, commissioning, and testing of the fully integrated and operational 500 kW solar renewable energy system at Wild Horse must be submitted by Feb. 1, 2007. Those interested in submitting proposals should contact Stephen Emmert at stephen.emmert@pse.com, or 425-456-2584.

If all goes as planned, the Wild Horse solar project could be generating electricity by late 2007. The project's power output would feed into the transmission system that carries electricity from PSE's Wild Horse wind farm to homes and businesses throughout the utility's service area.

The 127-turbine Wild Horse Wind Project, together with the 83-turbine Hopkins Ridge Wind Project that PSE completed last year northeast of Walla Walla, produces enough electricity to serve about 125,000 households. When the sun is shining, the Wild Horse solar facility will have the capacity to power an additional 300 homes.

PSE's electric-customer base, currently numbering more than 1 million, is anticipated to continue to grow by about 20,000 customers annually.

About Puget Energy

Puget Energy (NYSE:PSD) is the parent company of Puget Sound Energy (PSE), a regulated utility, providing electric and natural gas service to the growing Puget Sound region of western Washington. For more information, visit: www.pugetenergy.com.

About Puget Sound Energy

Washington state's oldest and largest energy utility, with a 6,000-square-mile service territory stretching across 11 counties, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) serves more than 1 million electric customers and 700,000 natural gas customers. PSE meets the energy needs of its growing customer base through incremental, cost-effective energy conservation, low-cost procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. For more information, visit www.pse.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT: Certain statements contained in this news release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, among which include Puget Sound Energy's (PSE's) plans relating to utility plant additions and expenses, and factors that could impact Puget Energy's earnings guidance for the year-end 2006. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the time the statements are made and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect actual results include, among others, governmental policies and regulatory actions, including those of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, and weather conditions. More information about these and other factors that potentially could affect the company's financial results is included in Puget Energy's and PSE's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly report on Form 10-Q and in their other public filings filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Puget Energy and PSE undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Source: Business Wire

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