Dive Brief:

• Austin Energy will buy 150 MW of photovoltaic solar from SunEdison for slightly less than 5 cents/kWh under a pending 25-year power purchase agreement.
• The price is less than the all-in price for natural gas-fired generation, which Austin Energy, a municipal utility, pegs at 7 cents/kWh.
• In a sign of how good SunEdison's offer was, Austin Energy's original solicitation was for only 50 MW.

Dive Insight:

Like recent wind deals, solar is now beating out conventional power plants on price. "I expect that this will force a lot of players to reexamine their approach and get far more aggressive,” Monty Humble, Brightman Energy managing director, said. “Because of the size of the [Texas] market and the size of the state, Texas is potentially the largest solar market in the country."