Community-owned public power utility Denton Municipal Electric (DME) has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Jupiter Power covering offtake from one of the developer-operator’s standalone BESS projects destined for Robertson County in Texas.
The agreement was discussed, and unanimously approved, during the City of Denton’s September 30 regular council meeting.
DME General Manager, Tony Puente, said that the utility was “excited for this forward-looking project” as part of a statement stressing the importance of battery storage for the City of Denton.
Tidwell Prairie BESS complex
Under the terms of the PPA, DME will have access to dispatchable energy and capacity from a 100MW/200MWh portion of Jupiter Power’s Tidwell Prairie energy storage complex for a period of ten years.
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According to data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the Tidwell Prairie energy storage complex is made up of three 200MW portions, each with a distinct interconnection agreement.
Jupiter Power has adopted this strategy of splitting large complexes into distinct portions for several of its projects, including its Flower Valley and Callisto developments.
As reported by Energy-Storage.news in March, Jupiter Power secured a US$286 million financing package in March of this year to fund the construction of a BESS project in Michigan and the first phase of its Tidwell Prairie complex.
This 200MW phase of the Tidwell Prairie project, which is contracted under a long-term tolling agreement with an undisclosed offtaker, was scheduled to come online during this summer. However, according to the most recent data published by ERCOT, this has yet to occur.
Second 200MW portion
DME’s allocation from Tidwell Prairie is coming from the second phase of the project, which is contracted with Jupiter Power-owned subsidiary Tidwell Prairie IIA, LLC.
The project was selected by DME as part of an RFP seeking new renewable energy resources, issued by the City of Denton during November 2024.
Under the terms of the agreement, the project is due to come online in June 2026, which is well before the RFP’s preferred connection date of December 2026.
Similar to other offtake agreements negotiated this year, DME revealed during the recent City Council meeting that the cost of the contract could increase if the Trump administration were to cancel any benefits currently provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
However, with investment tax credits (ITCs) for energy storage not being phased out until 2034, this seems unlikely. The inclusion of any tariff-related pricing adjustments wasn’t mentioned during the recent meeting, or addressed in any unredacted portions of the contract.
According to data provided by ERCOT, the third phase of Jupiter’s Tidwell Prairie project is due to come online during June 2027, although the developer has yet to secure an interconnection agreement for this phase.
Combatting duck curve
During the September 30 meeting, DME’s executive manager of power supply, Jose Gaytan, explained the importance of the contract in combatting its exposure to the so-called “duck curve.”
This phenomenon, named for its visual resemblance to the animal, is increasingly occurring to electricity grids dependent on renewable assets.
The duck curve is particularly problematic for grid operations and utilities during the evening, where solar production goes to zero but the system load remains high.
“Our portfolio is predominantly renewables so we see this phenomenon occurring, which exposes our customers to US$5,000/MWh pricing,” explained Gaytan.
“There is high volatility during those hours – normally we see prices in the US$20-US$50/MWh range so that is an extreme price fluctuation,” the executive manager added.
With the Tidwell Prairie battery able to charge during the day when prices are low and discharge during the evening, it’s hoped that DME’s customers will be shielded from more volatile pricing.
A video of the recent Denton City Council meeting where the Tidwell Prairie agreement was discussed can be found here.
