ROSEMEAD, Calif., Dec. 27 (UPI) A California company announced a deal Wednesday with Alta Windpower Development LLC to put up additional wind turbines in the area.

Southern California Edison signed a wind energy contract that will provide 1,500 megawatts of clean power to customers. The power will be generated by new projects being developed in the Tehachapi area of California.

We are pleased our long-term commitment to the Tehachapi area is helping to produce such a ground-breaking project, said Hal Romanowitz, president of Oak Creek Energy Systems. This renewable transmission project is expected to be capable of delivering 4,500 megawatts of electricity when it's complete. That's approximately enough to power nearly 3 million homes.

Alta Windpower Development LLC is a subsidiary of Allco Financial Group Inc. of Australia. With this project SCE's wind energy portfolio is more than doubled. More than 50 square miles of wind parks will be built in the Tehachapi region making it larger than any existing wind farm in the United States. Oak Creek Energy Systems Inc. of Mojave, Calif., is also a partner in the this project.

SCE still needs to receive authorization from the California Public Utilities Commission to run upgraded high-voltage transmission lines that would deliver electricity from potential new wind farms in the Tehachapi area.