Puget Sound Energy plans solar power plant

Puget Sound Energy, the state's biggest utility, is seeking proposals for construction of a 500-kilowatt solar-powered generating facility.

The plant would be located near the site of the Wild Horse Wind Project under construction in eastern Washington, the Bellevue-based utility said in a statement today.

"We want to learn more about how solar can complement our existing wind facilities," Roger Thompson, a spokesman for holding company Puget Energy, said in an interview. Power from the sun would help provide power during the hottest days of the year, when winds tend to slow and air-conditioner use soars, he said.

When the sun is shining, it will have the capacity to power 300 homes, the company said in a statement. That 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.

The Wild Horse wind farm will produce up to 230 megawatts in a strong breeze, or enough to supply about 184,000 typical homes, according to U.S. Energy Department data.

The deadline for submitting proposals is Feb. 1, and the solar project may be completed by late next year, Puget Sound Energy said.

Shares of Puget Energy rose 21 cents to $25.11 at 2:31 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has gained 23 percent this year.