Calaveras Power Station

Calaveras Power Station

Company type	Power generation complex
Industry	Electric power generation
Headquarters	San Antonio , United States
Area served	San Antonio, Texas
Products	Electricity
Owner	CPS Energy

The Calaveras Power Station comprises multiple generating facilities situated southeast of San Antonio within Bexar County, Texas, adjacent to Calaveras Lake. This power complex incorporates the J.T. Deely Power Plant, the O.W. Sommers Power Plant, and the J.K. Spruce Power Plant, all managed by CPS Energy.

J.T. Deely Power Plant

Operating from 1977 until its shutdown in 2018, the J.T. Deely Power Plant was a coal-powered station featuring two units with a total output of 871 megawatts (MW) located at the Calaveras site under CPS Energy’s management.

O.W. Sommers Power Plant

The O.W. Sommers Power Plant contains two natural gas-fired units delivering a combined generation capacity of 892 MW. Unit 1 commenced commercial service in 1972, followed by Unit 2 in 1974. The facility’s name honors Otto W. Sommers, a former General Manager of CPS.

J.K. Spruce Power Plant

Comprising two coal-fired units, the J.K. Spruce Power Plant has an aggregate capacity of 1,300 MW. Unit 1, completed in 1992 and named after ex-CPS General Manager Jack Spruce, was equipped with a low-NOx burner in 1999 to mitigate nitrogen oxide emissions. To satisfy increasing electricity requirements, CPS Energy initiated construction on Unit 2 in 2005, which was finalized in 2010 with an investment of $1 billion. This newer unit incorporated advanced emission control technologies including selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) systems designed to lower NOx and sulfur dioxide (SO2) outputs.

According to a study by Synapse Energy Economics, from 2015 through 2016, the Spruce plant operated at an approximate $135 million deficit due to depressed natural gas prices rendering coal generation financially unviable. Moody’s reported in 2018 that a malfunction in Unit 2’s generator diminished its capacity to below fifty percent, resulting in elevated operational expenses. In January 2023, CPS Energy’s board sanctioned the retirement of Unit 1 and the conversion of Unit 2 to natural gas fuel by 2028, marking the cessation of coal-based power production for San Antonio’s electrical grid.

See also

• List of power stations in Texas