Massive Solar Power Deal Being Made in San Antonio
January 13th, 2012 by Zachary Shahan
CPS Energy/Duke Energy Blue Wing Solar Project.
“In a unique, first-of-its kind generation-to-manufacturing proposal, CPS Energy is entering into negotiations for a power purchase agreement from one of the nation’s largest solar projects,” CPS Energy wrote yesterday. “The project will mean new corporate headquarters and U.S. manufacturing operations for global companies in San Antonio.”
The solar project, offered by OCI Solar Power, is expected to:
- have up to 400 megawatts (MW) of power capacity (which will be bought through a 25-year purchased power agreement)
- create over 800 professional and technical jobs
- result in over $1 billion of construction investment
“Multiple solar manufacturing facilities in the San Antonio area to produce proven components of solar power plants” under the agreement.
“This proposal would diversify our energy sources in a manner that makes good business sense and meets our objectives. Our goal is to always provide our ratepayers safe, reliable and affordable energy, and wherever possible, bring additional value to our community,” said CPS Energy’s President and CEO Doyle Beneby (a top utility company CEO when it comes to solar). “As San Antonio becomes a central hub for solar development in the U.S., there is also a beneficial opportunity for other Texas based municipal utilities to achieve their renewable energy goals by becoming sites for parts of the project.”
The solar project is supposed to be built in phases over the next 5 years.
“In just a few short years, this initiative could help CPS Energy achieve our Vision 2020 goal of attaining 20 percent or 1,500 MW of renewable resources by the end of the decade. It’s a phenomenal opportunity that propels this utility to a leadership position for both wind and solar energy,” stated CPS Energy Board Chair Derrick Howard.
With this company relocating its headquarters to San Antonio due to CPS Energy’s work, the utility has now brought 7 clean energy companies to the area. The utility announced last June that it intends to become “a New Energy Economy hub” — looks like it is sincere about that.
Here’s a list of some of CPS Energy’s additional clean energy stats:
- 14-MW Blue Wing solar farm launched in 2009, largest solar project in Texas
- 30 MW more under contract with Sun Edison
- 1059 MW of wind energy under contract
Source: CPS Energy | Blue Wind Solar Project image via CPS Energy YouTube video
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About the Author
Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.
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