Photo by Al Braden
On Sept. 21, CPS Energy announced plans to purchase an additional 180 megawatts of solar energy in Pecos County, Texas, which will provide power to the utility’s customers in the San Antonio area. The purchase is part of San Antonio's FlexPOWER Bundle initiative, which aims to add up to 900 MW of solar and 50 MW of energy storage. As the second solar deal under the FlexPOWER Bundle, this installation will bring total solar energy to 480 MW – 420 MW short of the utility’s overall goal.
“These solar panels will serve as a shining reminder of the importance of investing in San Antonio’s future,” said Emma Pabst, a Beyond Coal Campaign representative for the Sierra Club. “We hope next to see the utility move away from coal and gas-fired power generation, especially by closing the Spruce coal plant. Building a grid of the future is no easy task, but with solar, wind, and battery storage, as well as efforts to reduce demand through energy efficiency programs and better buildings, we have all of the tools that we need. Let’s keep this momentum going and retire Spruce without converting it to run on methane gas in order to secure a safer, healthier future for all of us.”
Also included in the FlexPOWER Bundle announcement is a call for “up to 500 MW of firming capacity,” which advocates suggest may result in additional gas-fired power generation proposals. Methane, also known as natural gas, is a powerful climate pollutant that is 83 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 20 year period. Gas represented the majority of CPS Energy’s electricity generation mix as of 2021, and the utility has recently floated plans to convert the Spruce coal plant to gas.
“As CPS Energy decides what power sources to build for San Antonio next, we encourage them to stick to clean energy and stay away from gas,” said DeeDee Belmares, Climate Justice organizer with Public Citizen's Texas office. “Gas prices are unstable, and San Antonians are already struggling to pay higher electric bills. If CPS Energy is serious about reducing costs and following through on the city’s Climate Action Plan, they’ll steer clear of gas.”