en.Wedoany.com Reported - NRG Energy activated its first new power plant in over a decade late last month, partially funded by the Texas Energy Fund. The plant, a peaker facility located off Sam Houston Parkway in Houston's Willowbrook area, operates one to two hours daily as a grid buffer, according to Matt Pistner, president of NRG's wholesale business. The plant is currently in the repayment period for the Texas Energy Fund.
The TH Wharton Power Station is one of three NRG plants funded by the Texas Energy Fund. The fund, a state program established in 2023, is managed by the Texas Public Utility Commission. The other two plants, also located in the Houston area, are expected to be operational by 2028. Pistner stated that the electricity generated by the TH Wharton plant is sufficient to power 100,000 homes.
According to a report by the Environmental Integrity Project, the TH Wharton plant is one of 108 new natural gas plants proposed between early 2024 and April 2025. About half of the listed projects are concentrated in the Houston area, making Houston a hub for new plant development. Pistner noted that while energy demand in most parts of the United States is flat or declining, Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) have experienced sustained growth over the past 10 to 15 years. In the last year and a half, ERCOT's demand growth rate has risen from 1% to 2% or 3%, a trend visible in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas.
Unlike baseload plants in Texas, which typically use nuclear power or large, efficient combined-cycle natural gas plants, peaker plants provide immediate relief during periods of high demand. Pistner said the grid needs both baseload and peaking capacity as a buffer.
Pistner stated that NRG conducts a "robust stakeholder engagement process" for new projects, involving local residents, city councils, mayors, as well as fire, police, and water departments, and, when necessary, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and school districts at the state level. He emphasized that "safety comes before production, and we will not put employees, contractors, or the community at risk for a dollar or a megawatt."
The Texas Energy Fund was established during the legislative session following the 2021 Winter Storm Uri, which devastated counties across Texas, to support ERCOT grid reliability. The fund provides loans to power generators at a 3% interest rate. NRG has received over $1 billion through the fund. Governor Greg Abbott supported the bill in 2023 and pushed for voter approval of a related constitutional amendment in November of that year. According to Senate Bill 2627, which established the fund, funding is limited to dispatchable resources—facilities "whose output is primarily controlled by human-controlled forces"—and renewable energy projects are not eligible.
Environmental organizers say peaker plants are inefficient and argue that renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, or battery storage offer better alternatives. Haley Schulz, an organizer with the nonprofit Public Citizen, said many residents are unaware of the concerns surrounding peaker plants, so criticism is largely confined to environmental circles. However, the Houston area has faced some resistance to other planned peaker plant projects. In February 2025, the city of Sugar Land abandoned plans to build a peaker plant in the area, a project that had applied for Texas Energy Fund funding but was rejected. Community members and environmental activists lobbied against it, and local residents took the lead in forming the "Stop Sugar Land Gas Plant" organization.
Two other NRG plants are under construction: the Cedar Bayou plant near Baytown and the Greens Bayou plant in Hunterwood. Overall, NRG's three Texas Energy Fund-funded projects are expected to bring over 1.5 gigawatts of power to Texas by 2028, enough to supply electricity to more than 1.5 million homes annually.
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