Vistra Expanding Permian Basin Gas-Fired Power by 860 MW
Texas-based retail power generation provider Vistra is going to build two new natural gas-fired units alongside its existing Permian Basin Power Plant.
The two units will total 860 MW in additional capacity to supply electricity into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid system. ERCOT has struggled with resource adequacy during times of peak demand and outages, a problem that Texas state leaders and voters have tried to fix by passing the Texas Energy Fund and pushing for more projects powered by natural gas and renewables.
Vistra, which last year committed more than $1 billion to future capital projects, has confirmed its positive final investment decision on the Permian Basin units. Once operational, the two units will increase the plant’s capacity from 325 MW to 1,185 MW (1.18 GW).
“Based on our ongoing conversations with customers, we are affirming our multi-year plan to add more than 2,000 MW of new capacity in ERCOT between 2024 and 2028,” said Jim Burke, president and CEO of Vistra, in a statement. “Given Vistra's fleet, interconnections, and experience in improving, redeveloping, and building power plants, we are uniquely positioned to deliver solutions that provide reliable, affordable power to our residential customers as well as industries across Texas and the United States to ensure our economic competitiveness and national security."
Texas is a national leader in natural gas production but also is among the top states for both wind and solar installations. The ERCOT system is moving toward greater adoption of battery storage, as well.
Between 2020 and 2023, Vistra added approximately 1,000 MW of new generation capacity in Texas by increasing the generation output of its gas fleet and bringing new projects at Brightside, Emerald Grove, and DeCordova into commercial operation.
The company also is nearing completion on the 200-MW Oak Hill Solar project located atop a retired lignite mine. Vistra hopes to put Oak Hill Solar into commercial operation by the end of this year.
Attracting new investment in data centers and artificial intelligence technology is a priority for the Lone Star State, as well as many states nationwide.
Fermi America, a startup which counts former Texas Gov. and U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry among its co-founders, announced plans to build a 600-MW gas-fired and off-grid power plant to energize a planned “Amarillo HyperGrid” AI and cloud-based data center development in the Texas Panhandle.