CPS ENERGY CELEBRATES ADDITION OF 180 MW OF SOLAR IN SECOND AGREEMENT OF FLEXPOWER BUNDLE℠

News provided by

Sep 21, 2022, 20:49 ET

480 MW of FlexPOWER Bundle now under contract

SAN ANTONIO, Sept. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CPS Energy, the largest municipally owned electric and natural gas utility in the United States, has reached an agreement with Kenlov Ashtrom Renewable Energy LLC (KARE), a subsidiary of Kenlov Renewable Energy and Ashtrom Renewable Energy, for the purchase of 180 megawatts (MW) of solar energy. The project, developed and originated by KARE's U.S. development partner, OnPeak Power, will provide CPS Energy with 180 MW of the full 305 MW from the Tierra Bonita solar farm once completed. Tierra Bonita will be located in West Texas in Pecos County.

From left: Ingmar Sterzing, OnPeak Power, Rudy Garza, CPS Energy, Janie Gonzalez, CPS Energy Board of Trustees, Ron Nirenberg, San Antonio Mayor, Doron Szportas, KARE

As the second agreement tied to its FlexPOWER Bundle initiative, the KARE contract is part of the utility's goal to add up to 900 MW of clean, sustainable solar energy to its power generation mix. The agreement for the first 300 MW was signed in May 2022 with Consolidated Edison Development, Inc.

"I am extremely proud of the work the CPS Energy team has done to secure another 180 MW of solar for our growing community," said Rudy D. Garza, CPS Energy President & CEO. "This is an extremely critical step as we look ahead to how we're going to power our Greater San Antonio community for the future and prepare to replace aging plants."

"This represents a considerable achievement toward decarbonizing our power generation portfolio and advances our commitment to increase the quantity of clean, reliable solar energy in San Antonio," said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. "Diversifying our power generation strengthens our grid and ensures reliable power for our residents."

The KARE agreement is a 20-year contract with construction anticipated to begin next year.

"We are excited to partner with CPS Energy and start construction on the Tierra Bonita project in early 2023," said Yitsik Marmelshtein, CEO of Ashtrom Renewable Energy. "The agreement with CPS Energy is a landmark milestone for our development activities in the U.S. renewable energy sector, and it demonstrates our commitment to expand our renewable investments. We would like to thank CPS Energy for their commitment to the Tierra Bonita project and their trust in our group as a long-term business partner."

"It's an honor to have CPS Energy as a partner on the Tierra Bonita project," said Yossi Gvura, CEO of Kenlov Renewable Energy. "This long-term partnership will be the cornerstone to a project that will deliver green power to thousands of people and reduce carbon emissions in the San Antonio metropolitan area. I thank Mayor Ron Nirenberg and President & CEO Rudy Garza and look forward to helping them achieve their vision for San Antonio and CPS Energy."

"The FlexPower Bundle has been a great process for helping CPS Energy obtain competitive solutions to meet their growing and evolving energy needs," said Ingmar Sterzing, Managing Partner with OnPeak Power." As Texans with a long history of working with public power utilities, we are grateful for the opportunity to contribute and serve the community of San Antonio through the Tierra Bonita project."

The FlexPOWER Bundle initiative aims to further diversify CPS Energy's power generation mix, adding up to 900 MW of solar, up to 50 MW of energy storage and up to 500 MW of firming capacity. The bundle is part of the utility's wider plan to replace older generation with newer and cleaner technologies.

Launched in November 2020, a request for proposals for the FlexPOWER Bundle resulted in over 650 proposals from 100 companies across the U.S. and ten other nations, including Japan, England and South Korea. CPS Energy expects to finalize and award additional FlexPOWER Bundle contracts within the next few months.

In addition to the capacity replaced by FlexPOWER Bundle, the utility is also working towards replacing other aging units. The discussion surrounding future power generation is taking place through the utility's Rate Advisory Committee (RAC) meetings. More information on the process can be found on the RAC website.

About CPS Energy

Established in 1860, CPS Energy is the nation's largest public power, natural gas, and electric company, providing safe, reliable, and competitively-priced service to more than 907,526 electric and 373,998 natural gas customers in San Antonio and portions of seven adjoining counties. Our customers' combined energy bills rank among the lowest of the nation's 20 largest cities – while generating $8 billion in revenue for the City of San Antonio for 80 years. As a trusted and strong community partner, we continuously focus on job creation, economic development, and educational investment. We are powered by our skilled workforce, whose commitment to the community is demonstrated through our employees' volunteerism in giving back to our city and programs aimed at bringing value to our customers. CPS Energy is among the top public power wind energy buyers in the nation and number one in Texas for solar generation.

About KARE

KARE is a Texas based Independent Power Producer focused on the development, construction and long-term management of utility scale solar facilities in the US market. Our mission is to become a major renewable energy producer and to serve our stakeholders by providing solar energy at a competitive price, while preserving our shareholder's vision and values to reduce carbon emissions, to connect to our community by creating jobs and to enable a world of new opportunities as we build a better future together.

About Ashtrom Renewable Energy

Founded in 1963, the Ashtrom Group is the leading construction and real estate group in Israel, with operations in more than 20 countries around the globe, the Ashtrom group is a publicly traded company since 2014 and is among the TA-35 index (35 biggest public companies in Israel) with a market cap of approx. USD 2.5 Billion. The Ashtrom Group has a deeply ingrained tradition of entrepreneurship and innovation, reliability and professionalism, based on the highest uncompromising standards and high long-term financial robustness. Ashtrom Group is involved with development and construction of large-scale real-estate projects (commercial, industrial, residential etc.), infrastructure projects (roads, bridges, ports, etc.), concessions (PPP, BOT, PFI), and other large-scale projects. The chairman of Ashtrom Group is Rami Nussbaum and the group's CEO is Mr. Gil Gueron.

Managed by Mr. Yitsik Marmelshtein, Ashtrom Renewable Energy is the renewable energy arm of the Ashtrom Group, which views the energy field as one of the Group's principal growth engines in the coming years. Ashtrom Renewable Energy is active in a number of geographical markets with the emphasis on the USA, Europe and Israel.

About Kenlov Renewable Energy

Kenlov Renewable Energy is an Independent Power Producer (IPP) focused on mature technologies such as onshore wind, solar and storage projects in Europe and the US. Kenlov Renewable Energy is the right partner of choice for developing early-stage renewable energy projects, creating better outcomes for developers, investors and the planet. Kenlov Renewable Energy takes a dynamic and hands-on approach to unearth early-stage projects and maximize their potential. We have a team of established in-country managers and a lean management structure that connects developers directly with decision-makers. Managed by Mr. Yossi Gvura, Kenlov leadership and teams throughout Europe and the United States, currently have 1.5GW of assets under development and a further pipeline of more than 2.5GW.

About OnPeak Power

OnPeak Power, LLC (OnPeak) is an industry leading privately held renewable energy company based in Austin, Texas. OnPeak specializes in renewable energy project development and asset optimization. OnPeak is a full cycle development company performing site identification, origination, and development through construction and into operations. OnPeak Power developed a 255MW project currently in operation and is actively developing over 1.6 GW of early to mid-stage solar projects for the North American Market.

SOURCE CPS Energy