Solar power is one of the most well-known forms of clean energy. CPS Energy continues to study the benefits of sun power as a renewable energy option for our customers.

CPS Energy is committed to bringing up to 100 megawatts (MW) of solar power to San Antonio as part of our Save for Tomorrow Energy Plan (STEP). STEP sets an ambitious goal of achieving renewable energy capacity, including wind, solar and landfill gas, equal to 20 percent (1,500 MW) of our total generation capacity by 2020. Already, CPS Energy has agreements in place for 41 MW of solar power, including the 27-MW Western Ranch Solar project in West Texas and a 14-MW Blue Wing Solar photovoltaic installation in southeast San Antonio. Both plants should begin producing electricity in 2011.

CPS Energy also partnered with Silver Ventures, the company renovating the historic Pearl Brewery, on the largest solar installation in Texas. The $1.35 million solar energy joint project, includes a 200-kilowatt photovoltaic array of solar panels atop a 67,000 square-foot former warehouse facility being adapted for office, retail and residential use.  The array will generate about one-quarter of the building’s total energy needs and is allowing CPS Energy to test the viability of a solar energy application in a large, real-world commercial application. An interactive display offers real-time updates on the amount of power produced by the array and compares the amount of power and pollution being saved by the panels.

Additionally, CPS Energy has partnered with Republic Services, Inc. to combine a first-of-its-kind technology with an existing biogas-to-energy system to turn a local landfill into a sustainable energy park. The green venture covers portions of closed areas of the Tessman Road Landfill with flexible, laminate-type photovoltaic solar collection strips. These strips capture the sun's rays for conversion into electricity.