Gas

Texas A&M to create peaker power network to help stabilize state grid

The A&M system prefers the peaker plants to be located close to its campuses, but state utility regulators will have the final say.
Texas A&M to create peaker power network to help stabilize state grid
(Calpine's Freestone Energy Center, a peaker plant in Texas. Photo by Calpine.)

The Texas A&M University System took its first steps toward creating a peaker power network on land it owns across the state in an effort to help stabilize the Texas power grid during peak demand.

On Tuesday May 21, The A&M System asked private developers to submit their proposals for building gas-fired peakers on A&M System-owned property with financing through the newly-created $5 billion Texas Energy Fund.

The A&M System laid out around 30 potential sites where peaker plants could likely be built, and although it would prefer sites close to its campuses, the Public Utility Commission of Texas will have the final say, the Texas Tribune reports.

Credit: Texas A&M University System

“This will help ensure our campuses and their local communities never go dark again, while adding power to help ensure all of Texas is protected,” said John Sharp, Chancellor of The Texas A&M University System.

The Texas Energy Fund was created by Senate Bill 2627 in 2023, spurred by Winter Storm Uri in 2021, and voters approved the constitutional amendment creating the Texas energy fund in November 2023.