CPS Energy, San Antonio’s municipally owned electric and natural gas utility, has entered into an agreement with the Dallas-based renewable energy architecture firm Genesis Consolidated Industries for a 150-megawatt solar project.
The project, called Exodus 1, adds to the utility’s growing generation portfolio — approved by its trustees early last year — that will see CPS Energy completely phase out coal use by 2028. The new solar farm will be located in Caldwell County in Central Texas.
The utility currently has 551 megawatts of operating solar capacity and was named one of Texas’ top solar generators in the 2022 Environment Texas Shining Cities report. Solar energy makes up roughly 7% of CPS Energy’s current power generation portfolio.
The Exodus 1 project will be a part of an additional 730 megawatts of contracted solar capability currently in various phases of construction for CPS Energy’s generation portfolio. One megawatt is enough electricity to power 200 Texas homes on a hot summer day.
“Exodus 1, being GCI’s flagship project in the region, will make both a significant economic and grid impact within the greater San Antonio region,” said GCI CEO and co-founder Robert Hayward. “We are optimistic that the relationship we are forging with CPS Energy will lay a solid foundation for long-term partnership for many years to come within the region.”
The solar project is expected to come online in summer 2025. CPS Energy has entered into a 25-year contract with GCI. As part of the agreement, GCI will contribute at least $300,000 to engineering and technical educational programs within the San Antonio area once the project is initiated, according to a CPS Energy media statement.
“We look forward to our partnership with GCI and are excited about the economic development opportunities this partnership will provide the Greater San Antonio area,” CPS Energy President and CEO Rudy Garza said.
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