CPS ENERGY COMPLETES FLEXPOWER BUNDLE INITIATIVE WITH SOLAR, FIRMING AND STORAGE ADDITIONS
Last iteration of FlexPOWER Bundle secures approximately 650 MW
February 9, 2023 (SAN ANTONIO) – CPS Energy, the largest municipally owned electric and natural gas utility in the United States, has reached agreements with three companies, closing out the utility’s FlexPOWER Bundle initiative stemming from the RFP that was launched in 2020. In total, the FlexPOWER Bundle will deliver 580 megawatts (MW) of solar, 50 MW of storage, and 500 MW of natural gas firming capacity. The utility will issue a new and separate RFP in the first quarter of 2023 to procure up to an additional 320 MW of solar, to include community solar proposals, to add to its generation portfolio.
Further details regarding these recent agreements are:
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. Firming capacity with natural gas is dispatchable, controllable, and reliable energy that can be utilized when the sun is not shining, or the wind is not blowing. The Calpine agreement will make power available to CPS Energy in the Spring of 2023.
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 L.P. (Eolian) will provide CPS Energy the exclusive right to dispatch a 50 MW, 2-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.
“CPS Energy is a leader in renewables. 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,” said CPS Energy Board Chair, Janie Martinez Gonzalez. “I look forward, in my new role as Board Chair, to continue to lead and adapt to create a more resilient and intelligent grid.”
“When we launched the FlexPOWER Bundle we cast an international net to see what new technologies we could procure for our community,” said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “These last three agreements signify years of hard work and will provide reliable generation to our community. We look forward to our new partnerships and what they will mean for the City of San Antonio.”
“Securing these last three agreements marks the end of a more than two-year long process that the CPS Energy team has been working diligently on,” said Rudy D. Garza, President & CEO of CPS Energy. “The FlexPOWER Bundle was created to further diversify our generation mix, which we have accomplished, and we look forward to continuing to add solar capacity to our portfolio with a new 320 MW RFP to be launched in the coming months.”
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.
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About CPS Energy
Established in 1860, CPS Energy is the nation’s largest public power, natural gas, and electric company, providing safe, reliable, and competitively priced service to 907,526 electric and 373,988 natural gas customers in San Antonio and portions of seven adjoining counties. Our customers’ combined energy bills rank among the lowest of the nation’s 20 largest cities while generating $9 billion in revenue for the City of San Antonio for more than eight decades. As a trusted and strong community partner, we continuously focus on job creation, economic development, and educational investment. We are powered by our skilled workforce, whose commitment to the community is demonstrated through our employees’ volunteerism in giving back to our city and programs aimed at bringing value to our customers. CPS Energy is among the top public power wind energy buyers in the nation and number one in Texas for solar generation.
