1.2 GW natural gas-fired plant planned for Texas
Gas Turbines

1.2 GW natural gas-fired plant planned for Texas

Sandow Lakes Energy Company announced its plans to pursue the construction of a 1200 MW natural gas combined-cycle power plant in Texas.

The plant, to be located on Sandow Lakes property in Lee County Texas, will be developed and owned by a company subsidiary and will operate within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Construction is expected to begin in 2025, with the plant generating power by 2028.

Sandow Lakes Energy executed an agreement with Siemens Energy to equip the plant with two SGT6-9000HL gas turbines. The company says the SGT6-9000HL features high power output, favorable fuel efficiency, and the capability to operate on hydrogen with only minor modifications to the equipment.

The Sandow Lakes property is an approximately 32,000 acre ranch in Rockdale, Texas. The property formerly included a 1.2 GW coal-fired power plant operated by Luminant, a subsidiary of Vistra Corp. The plant had two active units at the time of its retirement in 2018: Unit 4 began operation in 1981 and Unit 5 came online in 2009.

Sandow Lakes Energy said the company was “formed for the purpose of developing, operating, and investing in energy projects in Texas” to support the property and the growing electricity demand within the state.

Facing concerns about capacity shortages and blackouts, Texas lawmakers in 2023 passed bills aimed at luring developers to generate more dispatchable or “on-demand” electricity. That legislation did not extend to renewable sources.

“As Texas continues to grow, increasing the capacity and reliability of our power grid is critical. This Sandow Lakes plant will provide 1,200 megawatts of dispatchable power, providing enough electricity for hundreds of thousands of homes,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.