The plant, under construction by NRG Energy, is currently slated to begin operating next summer, according to the governor’s office.
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A 456-megawatt natural gas power plant in Houston has received the go-ahead for loan financing from the $10 billion Texas Energy Fund — the second project to receive such approval — according to an Aug. 4 announcement from Gov. Greg Abbott.
The plant, under construction by NRG Energy, is currently slated to begin operating next summer, according to the governor’s office.
Under the financing agreement, total project costs should be less than $360 million. The Public Utility Commission is authorizing a 20-year Texas Energy Fund loan of up to $216 million, or 60 percent of those costs, at an interest rate of 3 percent. The loan term runs from July 31, 2025, through July 30, 2045.
The natural gas facility will be developed at NRG’s existing TH Wharton Generating Station in Houston. That facility already is under construction and likewise is currently slated to begin operations next summer.
According to information from the governor’s office, the project will interconnect to the ERCOT Houston Load Zone that includes Houston, Pasadena, and The Woodlands.
The loan agreement between the PUC and NRG is the second finalized under the TEF’s In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program that provides low-interest loans for projects that add new, dispatchable power to the ERCOT region. The loan program is one of four financing programs under the TEF, which the Texas Legislature created in 2023.
Together, the two In-ERCOT Loan projects represent 578 MW of generation. An additional 15 applications of such projects remain pending and are now moving through a due diligence review process. If approved, these projects would add another 8,392 MW of dispatchable generation to the ERCOT grid, according to estimates.