CPS Energy recently broke ground on their first solar energy and battery storage project in Texas.
The greater San Antonio’s natural gas and electric provider says the project is a culmination of three years of work, which included a partnership with Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). For theirpart, SwRI is providing nearly 50 acres of land on which the solar facility and battery storage system will be constructed. SwRI aims to gain insight into the efficiencies of both solar production and battery energy storage. Sharing that information with CPS Energy will provide the utility with vital information that someday may lead to similar projects on a larger scale as they continue to execute their “Flexible Path,” San Antonio’s new energy resources plan.
The $16.3 million project, which will be constructed by RES Americas,was approved earlier this year by CPS Energy’s Board of Trustees. The site will consist of a 5 megawatt (MW) solar power facility and a 10 MW battery storage system located at 9800 W. Commerce in San Antonio.
In 2016, CPS Energy applied for and was awarded a New TechnologyImplementation Grant (NTIG) for $3 million from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to fund part of the project cost. The primary objective of the NTIG program is to offset the cost of the implementation of existing technologies that reduce the emission of pollutants from facilities and other stationary sources which may include electricity storage projects in Texas.
The goals of the NTIG are to:
- Improve the quality of air in Texas in order to meet federal standards established under the Federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Section 7407).
- Facilitate the implementation of new technologies to reduce emissions from facilities and other stationary sources in the state.
- Adequately fund the implementation of new technologies that will make the state a leader in new technologies that can solve the state’s environmental challenges while creating new business and industry in the state.
CPS Energy says the project will allow for solar shifting. This means energy is captured when solar production is at its peak, generally between noon and 2 p.m., can be stored in onsite batteries and dispatched when energy demand is at its peak in San Antonio, between 3 and 7 p.m.
CPS Energy received and evaluated 22 proposals for an engineering, procurement and construction contractor for this project.
Additionally, there are plans to utilize an existing building on the site to develop an educational facility for students and the general public to tour and learn about innovative technologies being used by the utility.
The site is expected to be online in the summer of 2019.
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