NRG Energy to build 455-megawatt natural gas power plant in Houston

The new plant will connect with ERCOT’s Houston Load Zone, which provides power to Houston, Pasadena and The Woodlands, and is one of Texas’ largest electricity centers, according to the release.

“This 455[-megawatt] investment by NRG in Harris County will add more power to Texas' energy infrastructure and the fifth-largest metropolitan area in America,” Abbott said in a statement. “This new power plant will ensure every Texas home has affordable, reliable power for decades to come.”

Looking ahead

The project was granted a loan of up to $370 million, or 60% of the project’s cost, with a 3% interest rate under PUCT’s Texas Energy Fund program, according to the release. Eleven other projects are pending under the Texas Energy Fund program, which would add 5,406 megawatts total to ERCOT’s region, if approved by PUCT.

Funding the project

The loan term for NRG Energy's project began Nov. 20 and will run through Nov. 20, 2045, per the release.

PUCT’s Texas Energy Fund program offers low-interest loans to projects that add “new, dispatchable power” to ERCOT’s service areas, the release states.

“Texans wisely recognized the need to prepare our grid for the future when they voted to create the [Texas Energy Fund] in 2023, and the fund is delivering on that promise,” PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson said in a statement.