FlexPOWER Bundle Request for Information (RFI)
CPS Energy will issue a new RFP in Q1 2023 for up to 320 MW of solar generation, including community solar, for its San Antonio, Texas portfolio. The utility just closed its FlexPOWER Bundle program with 580 MW of solar, 50 MW of storage, and 500 MW of gas firming secured from Calpine, Ashtrom Renewable Energy/OnPeak Power, and Eolian. Vendors should watch for the formal solicitation release in early 2023.
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Important dates
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Published
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Anticipated COD - Eolian energy storage project (Bexar County)
50 MW / 2-hour duration storage with exclusive CPS dispatch rights under a 20-year agreement; only month and year specified in the release.
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Anticipated COD - El Patrimonio solar project (Bexar County)
100 MW solar PPA with Ashtrom Renewable Energy / OnPeak Power under a 20-year contract; only month and year specified in the release.
AI overview
On February 9, 2023, CPS Energy, the largest municipally owned electric and natural gas utility in the United States, announced the completion of its FlexPOWER Bundle initiative and the upcoming launch of a new and separate Request for Proposals (RFP) in the first quarter of 2023. The new RFP will procure up to an additional 320 megawatts (MW) of solar generation, including community solar proposals, to add to CPS Energy's generation portfolio in the San Antonio, Texas area. This solicitation follows the approval of the utility's generation resource plan and continues its push to diversify its generation mix with renewable resources.
The FlexPOWER Bundle initiative, which stemmed from an RFP launched in 2020, will deliver a total of 580 MW of solar, 50 MW of storage, and 500 MW of natural gas firming capacity upon completion of all agreements. The final three agreements announced in February 2023 include approximately 500 MW of firming capacity from Calpine at the Guadalupe Energy Center in Guadalupe County, with power availability expected in the Spring of 2023; a 100 MW power purchase agreement with Ashtrom Renewable Energy in collaboration with OnPeak Power for the El Patrimonio solar project in Bexar County, under a 20-year contract with an anticipated commercial operation date of May 2025; and an exclusive dispatch agreement with Eolian L.P. for a 50 MW, 2-hour duration energy storage project in Bexar County, also under a 20-year contract with an anticipated commercial operation date of December 2024.
Earlier selections in 2022 included 300 MW of solar capacity with Consolidated Edison Development Inc. and 180 MW with Ashtrom Renewable Energy. The agreements include community benefit components, such as contributions to CPS Energy student scholarships, on-site field day mentorship for local students during construction, and funding toward an outdoor classroom for field trip instruction in Bexar County.
Interested developers and suppliers should monitor CPS Energy's communication channels for the formal release of the 320 MW solar RFP in the first quarter of 2023. Specific submission deadlines, technical specifications, evaluation criteria, and award timelines had not yet been published as of the date of this announcement. CPS Energy serves 907,526 electric and 373,988 natural gas customers in San Antonio and portions of seven adjoining counties.
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