NRG Energy will develop a 455-MW gas plant near Houston, backed by a low-interest loan from the state of Texas, the company said Thursday.
It is the sixth loan finalized through the Texas Energy Fund program for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas market. Voters authorized the fund in 2023. The new generation will be built at NRG’s existing Greens Bayou Generating Station in Harris County, and is expected online in 2028.
New generation backed by the Texas Energy Fund, across six projects, now exceeds more than 3.5 GW, said officials at the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which manages the program.
The Lone Star State is experiencing “unprecedented growth,” NRG Executive Vice President, President of NRG Business and Wholesale Operations Robert Gaudette, said in a statement. Greens Bayou is NRG’s third project to receive support from the loan fund, marking about 1.5 GW of total capacity and up to $1.15 billion in low-interest loans.
Under the loan agreement for Greens Bayou, total project costs are estimated to be less than $617 million and the PUCT will provide a 20-year loan up to $370 million, or 60% of total cost, at a 3% interest rate.
In August, the PUCT tapped NRG for a TEF loan up to $216 million to develop two gas units totaling 456 MW of capacity at its existing TH Wharton Generating Station in Houston. And in September the company was selected for a loan of $562 million to develop a 721-MW gas plant near Baytown.
There are another 11 Texas Energy Fund applications moving through a due diligence review process, said state officials, representing another 5.4 GW of possible new capacity in the ERCOT footprint.
