The largest solar farm in the U.S. state of Texas is now operating in San Antonio.
Representing the first phase of a 400MW solar project for the state, the 41MW Alamo I solar farm will generate enough clean energy for 6,600 homes.
More than 167,000 solar panels were installed at the 450-acre solar farm; built by OCI Solar Power for CPS Energy.
“Alamo I is an interesting milestone because it’s now the largest solar farm in Texas, but it’s still a small part of what is to come,” OCI Solar Power President and CEO Tony Dorazio said. “Alamo I is only step one to Texas’ rise as a big player in solar.”
In 2012, CPS Energy negotiated a power purchase agreement (PPA) with OCI Solar Power to install 400-megawatts (MW) of solar power projects in and around San Antonio.
More than $100 million in total will be invested to build utility-scale solar energy plants that will generate enough electricity to supply 90,000 San Antonio households and create 800 local construction and operations jobs.
“By 2020, 65 percent of our community’s electricity will come from resources that are low- or no-carbon emitting – reducing emissions in an amount that’s equal to removing more than a million cars from local roads,” said CPS Energy CEO Doyle Beneby. “Reducing pollutants in the air we breathe is a no-brainer, and we’ve been pleased to partner with OCI Solar Power in our efforts to make that happen.”
CPS Energy is a community-owned, not-for-profit energy utility. Acquired by the City of San Antonio in 1942, the utility serves more than 728,000 electricity customers. Prior to Alamo I, CPS had 44.8 MW of solar power capacity in commercial operation and 1059.1 megawatts (MW) of wind generation capacity.
Alamo II, which is currently under construction, will add an additional 4.4MW to San Antonio upon completion in early 2014.
