CPS Energy, the largest gas/electric municipal utility in the U.S., has reached agreements with three companies to close out its FlexPOWER Bundle initiative, which will deliver 580 MW of solar, 50 MW of storage and 500 MW of natural gas firming capacity.
The utility says it will be issuing a new and separate RFP in the first quarter to procure up to an additional 320 MW of solar, to include community solar proposals, to add to its generation portfolio.
Details regarding the agreements are:
Solar capacity (100 MW): Ashtrom Renewable Energy, in collaboration with OnPeak Power, will provide 100 MW of the El Patrimonio solar project, which will be located in Bexar County. The power purchase agreement is a 20-year contract with an anticipated commercial operation date of May 2025.
Additionally, as part of the agreement, Ashtrom Renewable Energy will provide community benefits, including the contribution of funds towards CPS Energy student scholarships, as well as on-site field day mentorship to local students during the construction of the facility in Bexar County. Ashtrom Renewable Energy will also grant funds towards the construction of an outdoor classroom that can be used for field trip instruction.
Storage capacity (50 MW): Eolian will provide CPS Energy the exclusive right to dispatch a 50 MW, two-hour-duration energy storage project located in Bexar County. This location, combined with the operating flexibility offered by energy storage, will further improve CPS Energy system resiliency as well as customer reliability. The agreement is a 20-year contract with an anticipated commercial operation date of December 2024.
Firming capacity (approximately 500 MW): Calpine will provide a total of approximately 500 MW of firming capacity located in Guadalupe County at the Guadalupe Energy Center. The Calpine agreement will make power available to CPS Energy in Spring 2023.
“With the completion of the FlexPOWER Bundle and the approval of our generation resource plan, we are charting a new path for CPS Energy to power our community in the future,” says CPS Energy Board Chair Janie Martinez Gonzalez.
In 2022, CPS Energy successfully executed agreements for 300 MW of solar capacity with Consolidated Edison Development Inc. and 180 MW with Ashtrom Renewable Energy.
