San Antonio municipal utility signs PPA for new 300-MW solar project

CPS Energy, the largest municipally owned electric and natural gas utility in the United States, has reached agreement with Consolidated Edison Development for a 300-MW solar project to be located in Goliad County, Texas, as the first part of its FlexPOWER BundleSM initiative. The selection marks one-third of the utility’s goal of adding up to 900 MW of clean, sustainable energy to its power generation mix, and will further strengthen San Antonio’s national Top 5 Solar Superstar ranking.

Construction on the Peregrine Solar project is scheduled to begin next year and is expected to add 250 to 300 temporary jobs with priority hiring from the San Antonio area. As part of the partnership agreement, Con Edison Development will contribute $500,000 over a 10-year period to support one of CPS Energy’s community priorities of supporting customers and education. Con Edison Development also will hire up to eight positions from Greater San Antonio and maintain $750,000 in annual spending with local suppliers and vendors through the life of the 25-year agreement. This will result in a $19 million local investment for Bexar and Goliad counties.

“This agreement is a significant step forward for the FlexPOWER Bundle initiative and our community’s clean energy strategy,” said Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “The way we generate power determines our ability to ensure a sustainable environment. San Antonio is making great advances toward carbon neutrality and CPS Energy’s continued leadership in renewable energy is making our progress possible.”

The FlexPOWER Bundle initiative aims to further diversify CPS Energy’s power generation mix, adding up to 900 MW of solar, up to 50 MW of energy storage and up to 500 MW of firming capacity. The bundle is part of the utility’s wider plan to replace older generation with newer and cleaner technologies.

Launched in November 2020, a request for proposals for the FlexPOWER Bundle resulted in over 650 proposals from 100 companies across the U.S. and ten other nations, including Japan, England and South Korea. CPS Energy expects to finalize and award all FlexPOWER Bundle contracts within the next few months, with the next solar selections expected in the coming weeks.

Con Edison Clean Energy Businesses will be solely responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance costs of the project, while CPS Energy will acquire the solar energy produced at Peregrine through a 25-year PPA.

News item from CPS Energy

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Original Source: https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2022/05/texas-municipal-utility-signs-ppa-new-300-mw-solar-project/