The City Council is taking Denton even closer to utilizing more clean energy after unanimously approving two power purchase agreements for battery storage and wind energy to address the city鈥檚 rising energy demand.
The battery storage power is for 100-megawatt capacity with a two-hour duration and offered by the Tidwell II project in Central Texas. The project is owned and operated by Jupiter Power, one of the leaders in battery storage in North America, according to the city.
Jose Gaytan, Denton Municipal Electric鈥檚 executive manager of power supply, said the battery storage power helps to address what he called the 鈥� 别虫辫辞蝉耻谤别.鈥�
It occurs between 6 and 9 p.m., he said, 鈥渨here the sun goes over the horizon, and solar production goes to zero, and wind production is ramping up.鈥�
During that reduction in renewable output, Gaytan said they鈥檙e still seeing a heavy load at those times and high pricing volatility. He said it exposes DME鈥檚 customers to $5,000 per megawatt-hour pricing and causes a challenge both for Denton Municipal Electric and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates Texas鈥� electric grid.
鈥淣ormally, we see prices in the $20 to $50 range,鈥� Gaytan said. 鈥淪o that is an extreme price fluctuation that we see during those hours. We believe that the battery solution can help combat those high prices and protect our customers.鈥�
The battery storage power will be delivered in June 2026 for a 10-year term.
鈥淲e鈥檙e excited for this forward-looking project,鈥� DME General Manager Tony Puente said in a Wednesday news release. 鈥淏attery storage is an important component of our strategy to maintain affordability, reliability, and sustainability for the Denton community.鈥�
Council member Brian Beck called it 鈥渁 good first step on this kind of journey.鈥�
The council鈥檚 approval 鈥渕arks a significant step forward鈥� in DME鈥檚 commitment to sustainability, innovation and energy reliability, according to the news release.
鈥淏y storing excess energy and dispatching it when needed, battery systems help mitigate price volatility and enhance grid resilience,鈥� DME spokesperson Stuart Birdseye wrote in the news release.
The city鈥檚 second agreement, Blue Summit 1 Wind project in Vernon, will be offering the wind energy.
The project is owned and operated by NextEra Energy, one of the largest wind fleets in North America, according to a city staff report presented to the council Tuesday.
NextEra has more than 119 wind projects in Canada and the U.S.
At the Tuesday council meeting, Gaytan told council members that the terms of the deal with NextEra are for 15 years and approximately 140 megawatts of capacity.
Gaytan said this project is the second between DME and NextEra. The first is the Bluebell Solar I and II, a solar energy project in West Texas.
鈥淭he good thing is that it鈥檚 available now, which would grandfather it in to receive federal production tax credits should there be any changes in the government, as far as which new facilities can receive PTC in the future,鈥� Gaytan said. 鈥淢ore than likely, this facility would be grandfathered, and so there wouldn鈥檛 be any changes to the pricing that we鈥檝e received so far, which is good for us.
鈥淭here would be no construction delays, as it is currently already in production and just waiting to find a new home.鈥�
Gaytan said the deal brings DME鈥檚 total renewable capacity to just under 600 MW.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just another solar addition,鈥� Gaytan said. 鈥淪o we will have production not only during the day but at night to help diversify our wind production, our renewable production and help reduce exposure to the increasing prices of nighttime power.鈥�