'Peaker plant' near San Marcos to provide more power to ERCOT
CALDWELL COUNTY, Texas (Nexstar) -- Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday commemorated the groundbreaking of a new natural gas plant underway in Maxwell, just east of San Marcos. The plant is designed to switch on when the grid hits peak demand and will provide enough power for about 38,000 homes.
"To keep the Texas economy booming, we need more affordable, reliable power," Abbott said at the groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday. "That's why plants like these here in Central Texas are so incredibly important. When grid demand is at its peak, these plants will quickly provide power for the grid even as we set new demand records for power every single summer."
The "peaker plant" marks the second of its kind coming to Texas, adding a total of 380 megawatts to the grid. The Caldwell County facility will be developed by the Lower Colorado River Authority, who expects to complete construction by 2025.
LCRA CEO Phil Wilson said they intend to take advantage of new incentives the legislature is providing through the $10 billion Texas Energy Fund. Wilson said they hope to earn $10-20 million in state incentives if they meet completion targets.
"The fund is a great resource, but we also saw the growth in our state and the need for this kind of power supply," Wilson said. "The legislature's leadership, with the governor's direction, and the opportunity to come in and be part of the solution long term is really critical."
Abbott said Texas is seeing the impact of the legislature's efforts to strengthen the grid after the deadly grid failure of February 2021. He said Texas has added 3,800 megawatts to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid over the last year, and will add another 7,300 in the next year.
One megawatt can power about 200 homes in peak periods, according to ERCOT, so those additional megawatts can cover more than two million more homes.
"That is an extraordinary benefit to the Texas power grid. What is happening here is actually part of an an intense effort by the state to add more power to the grid," Abbott said.
Democratic state senator Judith Zaffirini also stressed the need for more "dispatchable" power -- that is, oil and gas sources that can be dispatched on demand, rather than the more uncertain renewable sources like solar and wind.
"We rely so much on solar and wind. But we have solar when the sun shines and wind when the wind blows. So we need more dispatchable energy and that is exactly what this peaker plant will do," Zaffirini said.