A new natural gas generation plant, with the capacity to power 800,000 Texas homes, is set to be constructed in Central Texas. The plant will be built by Sandow Lakes Energy Company and is expected to start generating electricity by 2028.
According to a release by Sandow Lakes Energy Company, LLC via PR Newswire, the company was "formed for the purpose of developing, operating and investing in energy projects in Texas to support the Sandow Lakes property and the rapidly growing electricity demand within the State."
The U.S. Energy Information Administration explains that "Unlike conventional power plants (for example, nuclear, coal-fired, and natural gas-fired plants), solar and wind resources can’t be fully dispatched at will to help meet demand, and utilities may have to curtail them to protect grid operations. Solar power is only generated during daylight hours, peaking at midday when the sun is strongest and dropping off at sunset."
In addition to this, wind generation has been experiencing a year-long slump due to decreased wind speeds in Texas. In comparison with 2022, last year's wind generation dropped by about 1%, despite an overall increase in generation by almost 4%. Data recently released from ERCOT shows that production from Texas wind farms declined 22% in January compared with the same month last year.
This announcement comes amidst concerns over the reliability of the Texas grid due to the rapid growth of wind and solar generation in Texas. Bill Peacock, policy director for the Energy Alliance says that federal, state, and local governments' intervention in the market with subsidies for renewable energy has driven this growth. "When the Texas market was competitive," Peacock says "natural gas, nuclear, and coal generation were the primary sources of electricity because of their reliability." He adds that "as wind and solar generation have increased along with subsidies, the reliability of the market has significantly declined."
A study conducted by the Energy Alliance found that since 2006, federal subsidies for renewables across the U.S. have amounted to $127 billion. In Texas, federal, state, and local subsidies have totaled $31 billion during the same period.
