San Antonio saw the light today.
CPS Energy and the city’s leaders announced plans to bring a solar plant to San Antonio that could create 800 jobs, generate 400 megawatts of solar energy and create a construction boom.
The city and CPS Energy are partnering with OCI Solar Power. It’s moving its U.S. corporate headquarters from Atlanta, Georgia to San Antonio. CPS Energy has agreed to buy 400 megawatts of solar energy from OCI Solar Power during the next 25 years.

CPS Energy CEO Doyle Beneby announces a major solar plant project with OCI Solar Power. (PRNewsFoto/CPS Energy)

But CPS Energy and city officials report that the project could result in multiple solar manufacturing businesses in the area. In fact, Nexolon, which makes components used in solar panels, plans to build a manufacturing facility and locate its North American headquarters in San Antonio.
The OCI Solar Power project does not yet have a launch date but CPS Energy officials expect it to be up and running in phases by 2017.
San Antonio and CPS Energy have a goal of attaining 20 percent of its energy from renewable resources by the 2020 and this move puts it well on the way to achieving that goal.
CPS Energy already buys power from the 14 megawatt Blue Wing solar farm owned by Duke Energy and another 30 megawatts from Sun Edison. It also has 1059 megawatts of wind energy under contract.