CPS Energy solar partnership promises power, new S.A. jobs

by KENS 5 staff

kens5.com

Posted on July 23, 2012 at 4:10 PM

Updated today at 6:15 PM

A solar energy venture between CPS Energy and OCI Solar Power will bring increased energy capacity and hundreds of new jobs to San Antonio, CPS announced Monday afternoon.

The partnership will be able to generate 400 megawatts of solar energy and also will prompt the construction of several manufacturing facilities to produce solar panel components, creating 805 jobs in San Antonio.

?This will power about 70,000 homes at its peak when all the solar powers are put in and up and working,? said CPS president and CEO Doyle Beneby.
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The company called it a "first-of-its kind, manufacturing-to-generation contract." The San Antonio project is the largest in the nation among municipal utilities and would make Texas a top-five U.S. solar-producing state.

The 400 megawatts of energy would be enough to power nearly 70,000 local homes, which is about 10 percent of San Antonio's energy consumers.

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?We will begin to see things unfold in the next few months. The duration of the project is about 4 years, so we expect after 4 years we will have the 800 jobs, or perhaps even more,? said Beneby.

?This is a great foothold in the new energy economy for San Antonio that?s just going to have a tremendous economic benefit all around,? said Mayor Julian Castro.

The company listed the potential benefits of the deal:

- New corporate headquarters in San Antonio;
- An estimated $100 million high-tech U.S. manufacturing operation in south San Antonio;
- More than 800 professional and technical jobs with an annual payroll of nearly $40 million, 75 percent of which will be in the renewable energy sector;
- $700 million in annual economic impact;
- $1 billion in construction investment; and,
- A 25-year power purchase agreement.
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The deal marks the first Texas venture for OCI Solar Power. The solar agreement is estimated to have a projected annual economic impact of $700 million for Greater San Antonio, the company said. The 800 new jobs doesn?t account for the many construction jobs needed to build the manufacturing facilities.

Source: http://www.kens5.com/news/business/CPS-Energy-solar-partnership-promises-new-SA-jobs-163443666.html

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