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’s 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’s executive manager of power supply, said the battery storage power helps to address what he called the “duck curve exposure.”
It occurs between 6 and 9 p.m., he said, “where the sun goes over the horizon, and solar production goes to zero, and wind production is ramping up.”
During that reduction in renewable output, Gaytan said they’re still seeing a heavy load at those times and high pricing volatility. He said it exposes DME’s 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’ electric grid.
“Normally, we see prices in the $20 to $50 range,” Gaytan said. “So 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.”
The battery storage power will be delivered in June 2026 for a 10-year term.
“We’re excited for this forward-looking project,” DME General Manager Tony Puente said in a Wednesday news release. “Battery storage is an important component of our strategy to maintain affordability, reliability, and sustainability for the Denton community.”
Council member Brian Beck called it “a good first step on this kind of journey.”
The council’s approval “marks a significant step forward” in DME’s commitment to sustainability, innovation and energy reliability, according to the news release.
“By storing excess energy and dispatching it when needed, battery systems help mitigate price volatility and enhance grid resilience,” DME spokesperson Stuart Birdseye wrote in the news release.
The city’s 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.
“The good thing is that it’s 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,” Gaytan said. “More than likely, this facility would be grandfathered, and so there wouldn’t be any changes to the pricing that we’ve received so far, which is good for us.
“There would be no construction delays, as it is currently already in production and just waiting to find a new home.”
Gaytan said the deal brings DME’s total renewable capacity to just under 600 MW.
“It’s not just another solar addition,” Gaytan said. “So 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.”