By Dana C Sotoodeh
CPS Energy announced the extension and expansion of a previous 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that will more than double its share from the Avangrid's Peñascal wind farm in Kenedy County, Texas, South of Baffin Bay. The revised PPA will increase the utility's wind offtake from Peñascal from 77 megawatts (MW) to 161 MW, enough energy to power about 41,000 Texas homes on a hot summer day. Nearly 40% of the total power generated at the Peñascal wind farm is now provided to CPS Energy. CPS Energy is number 2 in wind generation in the state of Texas.
"Growing our diversified energy portfolio continues to bring us closer to realizing our Vision 2027 goals," said Rudy D. Garza, President and CEO of CPS Energy. "This wind extension and expansion reinforces our longstanding commitment to renewable energy and is well-aligned with our approved generation plan."
"This is another great example of Avangrid working closely with our partners to continue delivering clean, reliable energy to customers," said Pedro Azagra, Avangrid CEO. "In this case, we are growing our already strong relationship with CPS Energy to support their growing customer base with locally sourced power while managing merchant risk at one of our existing wind facilities. Partnerships like this are critical to supporting a clean energy transition in Texas and beyond."
The additional 84 MW of wind power further adds generation to the portfolio and supports CPS Energy's Vision 2027 plan that contemplates the retirement of 2,249 MW of older generation capacity before 2030. To date, CPS Energy has added 1,710 MW of natural gas and contracted 730 MW of solar energy and 50 MW of energy storage as part of its generation plan, with an additional 500 MW energy storage RFP in the works. These efforts also align with CPS Energy's commitment to the City of San Antonio's Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP), which includes a Board of Trustees resolution to support the CAAP's goal to become carbon neutral by 2050, and the interim goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 41% from 2016 levels and 71% by 2040.
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About CPS Energy
Established in 1860, CPS Energy is the nation's largest community-owned provider of electric and natural gas services. We provide safe, reliable, and competitively priced services to 907,526 electric and 373,998 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 over the last 80 years. Our Vision 2027 strategic plan is designed to guide CPS Energy through rapid transformational change in our city. As a trusted and reliable 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, our community engagement efforts and programs aimed at bringing value and assistance to our customers.
