<\/p>\n
An engineer at Big Sun Solar works on a solar project on CAD in its offices at Pearl.<\/p>\n
Brenda Baz\u00e1n\/For the Express-News\/Brenda Baz\u00c3\u00a1n\/For the Express-Ne<\/p>\n
The roof of Pearl\u2019s Full Goods building, which houses the Big Sun Solar office, is lined with solar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Big Sun Solar<\/p>\n
An engineer at Big Sun Solar works on a solar project on CAD in its offices at the Pearl.<\/p>\n
Brenda Baz\u00e1n\/For the Express-News\/Brenda Baz\u00c3\u00a1n\/For the Express-Ne<\/p>\n
The roof of Pearl\u2019s Full Goods building, which houses the Big Sun Solar office, is lined with solar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Big Sun Solar<\/p>\n
Jason Pittman, left, and Robert Miggins, co-founders at Big Sun Solar, look at the wall of boots marking the completion of projects in their offices at the Pearl.<\/p>\n
Brenda Baz\u00e1n\/For the Express-News\/Brenda Baz\u00c3\u00a1n\/For the Express-Ne<\/p>\n
Robert Miggins, co-founder of Big Sun Solar, sits in the company\u2019s offices at Pearl.<\/p>\n
Brenda Baz\u00e1n\/For the Express-News\/Brenda Baz\u00c3\u00a1n\/For the Express-Ne<\/p>\n
Ground-mounted solar will make up three of the four solar sites for the first phase of the community solar program that Big Sun Solar and CPS Energy are working on.<\/p>\n
Big Sun Solar<\/p>\n
Big Sun Solar installed panels on the Jean Yates Community Center as part of the city\u2019s broader effort to reach net-zero energy across municipal buildings by 2040.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Big Sun Solar<\/p>\n
Jason Pittman, left,\u00a0and Robert Miggins, co-founders at Big Sun Solar, in their offices at Pearl in San Antonio, Texas on September 4, 2026.<\/p>\n
Brenda Baz\u00e1n\/For the Express-News\/Brenda Baz\u00c3\u00a1n\/For the Express-Ne<\/p>\n
Jimmy Casas has waited for his spot in\u00a0CPS Energy<\/a>\u2019s community solar program since before the pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Casas and his wife started looking to offset their electricity bill for their Northwest Side home in 2019. The house is an older residence that can easily rack up a $300 energy bill in the summertime. Solar panels could lessen that monthly burden.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Though he is still months away from seeing the first solar credits on his electricity bill,\u00a0Casas walked into the Big Sun Solar<\/a> office at the Pearl last month and put down a deposit for a slot in CPS Energy\u2019s recently reopened community solar program<\/a>.<\/p>\n The city-owned utility has teamed up with Big Sun Solar on the initiative, which allows customers to benefit from solar power without having to install panels on their own roofs.\u00a0<\/p>\n READ MORE: CPS Energy is ramping up community solar, seeking proposals to spark program<\/a><\/p>\n San Antonio Express News Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The approach lets customers purchase or rent panels located elsewhere, such as on a business\u2019 rooftop or in a field, while receiving credits on their electricity bills. The CPS program uses a purchase model. It\u2019s a way to offer an\u00a0opportunity to invest in the renewable energy to\u00a0those who traditionally are barred from using it\u00a0\u2014 like renters and homeowners who can\u2019t install panels on their roofs.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Big Sun Solar will build 20 megawatts of power in the first phase of the program to expand CPS\u2019 community-generated solar portfolio. That will roughly double the utility\u2019s current 11-megawatt community solar capacity. The first batches of added generation are scheduled to go online early next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Casas\u00a0and his wife had considered rooftop solar years ago, but then a major storm spurred a roof replacement. The solar company they consulted with said they had dodged a bullet. If the panels had been on their roof during the storm, they would have had to pull them off, repair the roof and reinstall the panels.\u00a0<\/p>\n That prompted them to look into community solar.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c(The panels) are stored off-site and all the maintenance and everything is done for the customer as part of the contract,\u201d\u00a0Casas said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n RELATED: San Antonio\u2019s latest rooftop solar project keeps city on track for cutting energy bills<\/a><\/p>\n CPS last offered community solar in 2019, when Big Sun Solar installed 5 megawatts of solar capacity that was purchased by 475 customers. The program sold out quickly, signaling demand for the model. Casas signed up for it, but the slots were gone.<\/p>\n CPS has been slow to expand<\/a> the program, despite it being a pillar of the utility\u2019s five-year Sustainable Tomorrow Energy Plan<\/a> approved in 2022.<\/p>\n Residents like Casas waited more than five years for the program to reopen. He even wondered whether the pilot program had proven to not be financially viable or whether it had been shut down. But a few days before Christmas, he got an email. CPS was preparing to reopen the program and had saved his spot on the list. The utility wanted to know whether he was still interested.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWhile it seems like it took a little bit, it really is us doing our due diligence in ensuring that it\u2019s the right fit for our community,\u201d said Ana\u00a0Lozano, director of technology and product innovation at CPS. \u201cWe can never move fast enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Bigger panels, lower prices\u00a0<\/p>\n Big Sun Community Solar<\/a> aims to serve 3,000 customers with this rollout, Big Sun Solar CEO and co-founder Robert Miggins said. A few hundred slots already have been filled by customers like Casas.\u00a0<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Renewable energy is a \u2018second opportunity\u2019 for some rural Texans<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Miggins compares the off-site solar program to a community garden, which offers the benefits of \u201cgrowing vegetables in this empty piece of land in our neighborhood\u201d to residents.<\/p>\n Customers taking part in this round\u00a0of community solar are getting a bigger bang for their buck.\u00a0<\/p>\n The solar panels are literally larger\u00a0\u2014 620-watt panels, compared with 365-watt panels in the first rollout. They also cost less: $2 a watt compared with $2.40 a watt in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n CPS also is paying customers more for their energy this time around, Lozano said. The previous rate was 9 cents a kilowatt hour, but that has been increased to 10 cents a kilowatt hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe measure how much power is sold and then times 10 cents\u00a0\u2014 that\u2019s what gets dropped on your bill,\u201d Miggins said.\u00a0<\/p>\n SA INC.: Get the week\u2019s top local business stories in your inbox<\/a><\/p>\n Big Sun Solar has been contracted to build up to 50 megawatts of solar for this program\u00a0\u2014 enough energy to power 12,500 homes on a hot summer day. The first phase involves rolling out 20 megawatts of capacity across four different sites. How much capacity is eventually built will depend on demand,\u00a0Lozano said.<\/p>\n Construction on the first site, the roof of the San Antonio Food Bank<\/a>, is slated to start this week. The remaining three sites will be ground-mounted solar arrays in fields across\u00a0Bexar County.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The 20-year lease will give the food bank funds to offer at least 100,000 more meals a year,\u00a0Miggins said.<\/p>\n How community solar works\u00a0<\/p>\n Residents like Casas who get a slot in the community solar program sign a 20-year contract, locking in a fixed rate of return on their energy bills.\u00a0<\/p>\n Because the asset is not physically tied to a home, the credit can follow a customer wherever they move within the CPS service area. If they move outside of the utility\u2019s service area, they can pass their credit to someone else or sell it to one of the customers on the waiting list.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n