The plan includes Vistra building a simple-cycle power plant and repowering a retired coal plant to run on natural gas. Credit: Bannafarsai_Stock/Shutterstock.com.

American power generation company Vistra has unveiled plans to bolster Texas’ power grid with 2GW of dispatchable, natural-gas-fired capacity.

The initiative is aimed at providing the state’s grid with reliable and sustainable energy around the clock. The company is set to file a Notice of Intent for the Texas Energy Fund for new peaker plants on 31 May 2024.

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The expansion includes the construction of 860MW of advanced simple-cycle peakers in West Texas.

Vistra is also preparing to repower the Coleto Creek power plant in the city of Goliad, which is nearing retirement in 2027, due to federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

The company aims to transition the plant from coal to natural gas, contributing an additional 600MW capacity.

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This shift to natural gas is expected to reduce carbon emissions while leveraging Texas’ gas resources.

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By using the existing infrastructure, Vistra anticipates a quicker operational timeline for the project compared to building a power plant at new sites.

The company also plans to enhance several of its existing gas plants, which will increase summer capacity by 500MW and winter capacity by 100MW.

Vistra president and CEO Jim Burke stated: “Vistra is committed to providing reliable and affordable electricity to our customers while decarbonising our generation fleet at a responsible pace.

“Texas is in the enviable position of experiencing sustained economic growth, which includes rapidly increasing power demand as a result of population growth and electrification activities in a number of areas, including transportation, data centres, manufacturing and industrial activities.

“Texas policymakers are implementing several enhancements to our competitive, energy-only electricity market to incentivise construction of much-needed dispatchable generation, and gas plants are able to meet that need.

“Based on these market enhancements, Vistra is pleased to announce our investment to bring approximately 2,000 MW of dispatchable power generation to the ERCOT [Electricity Reliability Council of Texas] grid, and we look forward to being part of the solution as our industry strives to meet the growing power needs of Texas.”

As Texas advances its wind and solar capabilities, the quick-start Vistra gas units will support the grid when renewable energy is scarce and battery storage capacities are maxed out.

In a strategic move to grow its zero-carbon generation and retail electricity portfolio, Vistra completed the acquisition of Energy Harbor in March 2024, a year after the initial announcement.

This acquisition added 4GW of nuclear generation and around one million retail customers.