Engie Affiliate Secures PPA For $25.00/MWh

• Texas based utility New Braunfels Utilities (NBU) has signed a PPA with Engie affiliate Long Draw Solar for 100 MW PV capacity for a price of $25.00 per MWh
• GTM calls this the lowest confirmed PPA price in Texas and one of the lowest PPA prices in the country
• The 100 MW capacity is part of a 255 MW PV plant coming up in Borden County, Texas
• With this, NBU has completed the solar RFP it issued in April 2018 along with some municipal entities

New Braunfels Utilities (NBU), a Texas municipality owned utility, has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for 100 MW solar power capacity out of a 255 MW PV plant in Texas for a tariff of below $25.00 per MWh. Wood Mackenzie's GTM calls this a 'new rock-bottom' PPA, 'among the lowest PPA prices confirmed in the US' and the 'lowest confirmed in Texas'.

An affiliate of France's Engie, that goes by the name of Long Draw Solar, LLC, has locked in this tariff with the Texas utility. The 255 MW project is coming up in Borden County and is expected to come online by June 2020.

The Long Draw Solar project was selected under a solar request for proposals issued by NBU along with other Texas municipal entities in April 2018. It received proposals from 37 companies offering more than 100 types of solar projects and more than 700 proposed options, out of which it finally zeroed in on Long Draw Solar.

"We were able to lock in a purchase price below $25.00 per MWh, which based on current market prices will have a beneficial impact for our customers. Not only is solar power a proven renewable resource, it will allow NBU to maintain one of the lowest retail electric rates in the country," said NBU CEO, Ian Taylor.

This solar project will add to NBU's energy renewables portfolio of wind, hydro and landfill gas capture, and will also comprise 40% of its total portfolio coming from renewables.