MAXWELL, Texas — A second generating unit will be added to the new peaker power plant under construction in Caldwell County, doubling the plant’s energy production, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) announced on Tuesday.
The new plant is being built on a 51-acre site in the Maxwell area. The new unit will be built on the same site, the LCRA said.
Each unit will provide about 190 megawatts of dispatchable power, which is enough electricity to power more than 100,000 homes.
The LCRA said the peaker plant will help meet the increasing need for reliable power and support the Texas power grid.
“To keep the Texas economy moving, we need more affordable, reliable power, and that’s why plants like these here in Central Texas are so incredibly important,” Gov. Greg Abbott, who attended a ceremonial groundbreaking at the plant site near Maxwell on Tuesday, said. “When grid demand is at its peak, these plants will quickly provide power for the grid even as we set new demand records for power every single summer.”
During the ceremony on Tuesday, LCRA General Manager Phil Wilson announced the new natural gas-fired plant will be named the Timmerman Power Plant, after longtime LCRA Board Chair Tim Timmerman of Austin. Timmerman is an Austin real estate developer and investor.
“Texas needs more power, and LCRA is stepping up not once, but twice,” Timmerman said. “This is a great project for LCRA and a great project for the state of Texas. I had no idea about the name until today, and I’m speechless. I’m honored beyond what words can express.”
The peaker unit already under construction is expected to be in service in 2025. Construction will begin later this spring on the second unit, which is expected to be in service in 2026.
A peaker plant is one that typically is used for brief periods during times when the demand for power approaches or surpasses the amount of available power.