San Antonio-based CPS Energy is a municipal utility that supports wind energy through its voluntary Windtricity program, launched in 2000. Currently, about 10% of the electricity that CPS Energy provides to customers comes from renewable energy resources, including 859 MW of generation from wind power. CPS Energy's board of trustees has adopted a goal of 1,500 MW of renewable energy capacity, roughly 20% of the utility's total capacity, by 2020.
Denton Municipal Electric entered the wind market two years ago with a multi-year power purchase agreement to provide 40% of the total electricity for the City of Denton, Texas. In the last fiscal year, Denton purchased more than 539 GWh of electricity from a local wind farm.
The Public Power Wind Award, formerly called the Wind Power Pioneer Award, is sponsored by the DOE Wind and Water Power Program's Wind Powering America initiative, in partnership with the APPA.
A panel of experts from the wind and public power industries, utilities, government and DOE's national laboratories evaluates award nominees.