Arkansas Electric Cooperative Inc. plans to build a 900-megawatt gas-fueled power plant in Texas, citing a need for more baseload power.
The Little Rock cooperative proposed the next-generation plant for Morris County, Texas. With regulatory approval, construction could begin in summer 2026. The plant, on about 100 acres, could start generating commercial power by 2029.
The generation site fits into AECC’s plan to address wholesale generation needs, the nonprofit said in its announcement. AECC provides wholesale power to the state’s 17 local electric cooperatives.
The generator would be a two-turbine, simple cycle facility within the footprint of Southwest Power Pool. SPP is the regional transmission organization based in Little Rock. The Texas plant will “assist with reliability within the RTO,” AECC’s announcement said. “This new state-of-the-art asset will be among the highest-performing, lowest-emitting and most efficient natural gas plants in AECC’s fleet.”
The near retirement of two coal-fired power plants supplying AECC has worried cooperative President and CEO Vernon “Buddy” Hasten for years. The cooperative has a 35% stake in the White Bluff Power Plant in Redfield and the Independence Steam Station in Newark. Both majority-owned and operated by Entergy Arkansas, the White Bluff plant is scheduled to be retired in 2029. The Independence plant will shut down in 2030. The 900 new megawatts from Texas would basically offset the loss from the Redfield and Newark generators.
Hasten said the natural gas resource will provide readily dispatchable, around-the-clock energy for the distribution cooperatives and, ultimately, their 600,000 members in Arkansas and parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Louisiana.
“The facility in Morris County, Texas, is crucial to maintaining reliable energy resources,” Hasten said. “AECC continues to review proven, readily dispatchable power generation technologies to provide our members with reliable, affordable electricity.”
Hasten said that AECC evaluated potential site locations in Arkansas before selecting the Texas location. He cited the Morris County site’s proximity to natural gas pipelines and transmission as the primary factors in choosing it.
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