Approximately one-third of the electricity used by Southern California Edison customers is produced by Qualifying Facilities (QFs) from one of the following technologies:
 
Biomass
A biomass generating facility converts non-fossil, organic material into electric energy.  Commonly used biomass fuels are agricultural wastes, organic municipal and industrial wastes, and gases derived from landfills and sewage treatment.

Cogeneration
A cogeneration plant produces both electric power and useful thermal energy, such as heat and steam, from the same fuel source (usually gas).  The thermal energy produced is then used in an industrial/manufacturing process, resulting in efficient utilization of the fuel.  Sometimes the waste heat from an industrial process is captured and used to produce electricity.

Geothermal
A geothermal project generates electricity using thermal energy that originates within the Earth.  Most of SCE's geothermal QFs are hydrothermal facilities, in which naturally occurring hot water below ground is tapped to make steam to run the generator.

Small Hydro
A small hydro generating facility transforms the force of flowing water into electricity.  Most small hydro facilities divert natural water flow through a channel to spin the turbine of a generator.  In many cases, the turbine/generator installation also serves to reduce pipeline pressure in a water delivery system.

Solar
A solar generating facility captures the sun's energy and converts it into electric power. Most large projects in this group are solar thermal facilities, in which solar heat reflected from mirrors to a heat-absorbing surface is used to make steam to drive the generator.  Solar projects that use photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight directly into electricity are usually small in size and primarily limited to residential applications.

Wind
A wind-powered generating project converts wind energy into electric power.  A wind facility typically consists of multiple turbine towers where the energy of wind is harnessed by turbine blades to run the generators.  Southern California has two major wind resource areas: the Tehachapi Mountains located between Lancaster and Bakersfield, and the San Gorgonio Pass near Palm Springs.