The City of San Antonio released a report on October 2 that outlines its plans for developing sustainable energy.  The utility CPS Energy partnered with the Texas city on the project.

The report stated that San Antonio would work with CPS Energy to develop new distributed energy sources.  Greater investments will be made in renewable energy sources and other advanced technologies such as buildings that are self-sufficient, storage of renewable hydrogen energy, smart grids, and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

A three-day workshop in April of this year that was facilitated by the Foundation on Economic Trends in the United States (ETUS) was organised to discuss advanced energy technologies and options for the future.  The report details the findings as a result of the workshop.  CPS Energy said it will now integrate the ideas from the report into its Vision 2020 strategy on other future plans.

“We are excited to see the report recognise CPS Energy’s many sustainability initiatives and that it advocates for us to do even more,” said Dr. Cris Eugster, chief sustainability officer at CPS.

“We need to envision a future in which millions of individuals can collect and produce locally generated renewable energy in their homes, offices, factories and vehicles, store that energy in the form of hydrogen and share their energy with each other across a continent-wide intelligent inter-grid,” said Jeremy Rifkin, president of ETUS.

San Antonio is already investing in green jobs with its Mission Verde plan, said the report.  CPS has made a number of renewable energy investments as well, including solar and wind power.

“Green jobs and adequate financing mechanisms are among the challenges being addressed by the city’s Mission Verde plan,” said Rifkin.  “And CPS Energy has already embraced the need for a more energy efficient economy that is increasingly powered by renewable energy and other clean technologies.”

Until the new strategies are carried out CPS Energy will have to rely on its current sources of power which consist of conventional power plants and some renewable energy capacity, said Steve Bartley, interim general manager.  Bartley added that the future strategy was important because of government regulations that increase limitations on carbon emissions.

Distributed generation allows for renewable energy to be produced on site where the power is needed rather than at a centralised power plant.  Wind turbines or solar panels installed on homes or buildings could become a type of distributed power generation.

Smart grid technology allows energy companies to precisely track energy consumption.  By developing a smart grid a utility can create greater system reliability, efficient utility operations, and reduction of system costs.
“We are committed to an energy transformation that will impact our society in a meaningful way, and we expect to engage in profound public discussion that focuses on educating our community about the benefits sustainable energy development,” said Aurora Geis, chair of the CPS Energy board of Trustees.

A challenge will be how to store large amounts of renewable energy.  “This will be critical to our continued reliance on intermittent forms of energy such as wind and solar, said Bartley.

CPS Energy
401 Villita St
San Antonio, TX 78205
http://www.cpsenergy.com

The Foundation on Economic Trends
4520 East West Highway, Suite 600
Bethesda, MD 20814
http://www.foet.org

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