CPS Energy, the nation's largest municipally owned electric and natural gas utility, is announcing the beginning of operations of Padua 1, a 50-megawatt (MW) 2-hour duration Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Bexar County. Padua 1, owned and operated by Eolian, L.P. (Eolian), was part of an RFP seeking 50 MW of battery storage that the utility launched in 2020. CPS Energy entered into a storage capacity agreement for Padua 1 with Eolian in 2023. This project advances the utility's Vision 2027 strategy, which emphasizes delivering reliable, resilient, and cleaner energy solutions to meet the needs of San Antonio's growing population.
Padua 1 connects directly to the CPS Energy grid and is designed to charge during periods of excess electricity supply to provide capacity that would be readily available to deploy during the hours of highest system cost and needs. This added flexibility to both absorb and discharge electricity within seconds helps strengthen grid reliability, improves system operations during peak usage, and supports the integration of cleaner energy resources, especially during extreme weather and high energy demand days.
"Padua 1 is a major step forward for our utility and our community," said Rudy D. Garza, President and CEO of CPS Energy. "It's the first energy storage project as part of our diverse generation plan to come online, and it sets the tone for what's ahead. Battery storage strengthens our ability to continue to serve our customers reliably now and in the future."
"The overall Padua Grid battery energy storage complex, which will total 400 MW and nearly 2 GWh when completed in early 2026, will be the largest battery energy storage deployment in Texas when completed," added Aaron Zubaty, CEO of Eolian. "Padua Grid was sited years ago at a critical substation adjacent to the JK Spruce and retiring Braunig power plants and was specifically designed to reduce overloads on key transmission lines serving San Antonio. Battery energy storage projects of this scale enable the efficient utilization of existing transmission resources and are the lowest-cost and fastest solution to meeting the nation's strategic need to grow electricity production by allowing baseload power plants to operate better."
The completion of Padua 1 follows CPS Energy's 2024 announcement of agreements for an additional 350 MW of battery energy storage capacity, which includes Padua 2, a 150 MW 4-hour system, and Ferdinand, a 200 MW 4-hour system; both projects were also developed by Eolian. Padua 2, also located in Bexar County, is expected to be completed in Spring 2026. As part of a related community benefits agreement, the project entities will contribute at least $175,000 each year to CPS Energy-sponsored activities and scholarships within the Greater San Antonio area for a five-year period once the projects are fully operational. In addition, in alignment with its community impact program, Eolian contributed $50,000 in 2024 to CPS Energy's Residential Energy Assistance Program to provide further bill support for customers in the San Antonio area.
About CPS Energy
Established in 1860, CPS Energy is the nation's largest public power, natural gas, and electric company, providing safe, reliable, and competitively-priced service to more than 950,000 electric and 389,000 natural gas customers in San Antonio and portions of seven adjoining counties. Our customers' combined energy bills rank among the lowest of the nation's 20 largest cities - while generating $9.6 billion in revenue for the City of San Antonio for 80 years. As a trusted and strong community partner, we continuously focus on job creation, economic development, and educational investment. We are powered by our skilled workforce, whose commitment to the community is demonstrated through our employees' volunteerism in giving back to our city and programs aimed at bringing value to our customers. CPS Energy is among the top public power wind energy buyers in the nation and number one in Texas for solar generation.
About Eolian
Eolian operates a growing portfolio of battery energy storage projects and develops and invests in clean energy and co-located datacenter projects across the US. For over 20 years, Eolian's founding management has worked together to build the assets at the core of the company, creating unique and proprietary structures that have directly funded the development of nearly 30 GW of operating or under-construction energy storage, solar, and wind generating capacity across the country. Eolian is owned by its employees and funds that are managed by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a BlackRock company and leading global infrastructure investor. For more information, follow Eolian on LinkedIn or visit www.eolianenergy.com.
