TCEQ moves toward air permit for Maypearl-area NRG power plant

Texas regulators have issued a preliminary decision to approve an air permit for NRG Prairie Energy Center LLC’s planned 1.2 GW gas-fired power plant in rural Hill County, despite Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to pause data center project approvals. The project would support a proposed 8 million-square-foot hyperscale data center and has drawn broad opposition from nearby residents.

Why it matters: - The TCEQ decision keeps alive a major energy-and-infrastructure project that would reshape rural land between Maypearl, Itasca and Grandview. - Residents say the proposed development would add heavy industrial activity to a community that has organized against it for months. - Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive to pause data center project approvals put the project under a brighter political spotlight.

What happened: - Residents in the Maypearl area received letters from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality showing a preliminary decision to approve an air permit for NRG Prairie Energy Center LLC. - The permit would allow NRG to build a 1.2 GW power plant in rural Hill County. - The plant would power a proposed 8 million-square-foot hyperscale data center. - More than 4,000 area residents have signed a petition opposing the facility. - The community has posted hundreds of red and yellow “NO Data Center” signs on ranch fences, homes and businesses.

The details: - The proposed development would cover about 2,850 acres. - The site plan includes 24 data center buildings totaling more than 8 million square feet. - The project also includes about 2.5 GW of power demand. - NRG plans an air-cooled natural gas power plant with 1.2 GW of capacity. - The development would include six electrical substations. - The site would also have an onsite wastewater facility that would discharge into Chambers Creek. - Residents say NRG kept emissions calculations from public review by labeling them “trade secrets,” and other released material remains heavily redacted. - The proposed power plant would sit about 800 feet from the Ellis County line. - Residents say that location avoids the stricter pollution controls that apply in the Dallas-Fort Worth nonattainment area just across the line. - More information is available on the project website.

Between the lines: - The permit move suggests Texas regulators are not treating the governor’s pause directive as an immediate stop sign for all data center-related projects. - The location near the county line matters because air rules can change sharply across jurisdictional boundaries. - The dispute is now as much about community consent and transparency as it is about engineering and emissions. - The project also highlights how utility-scale data centers can drive large new power plants in rural areas.

What's next: - Residents are asking TCEQ to follow Abbott’s directive and halt the permitting process. - Community opposition is likely to continue as the project advances through state review. - Any final permit action could face continued scrutiny from nearby landowners and local groups.

The bottom line: - The NRG project is moving forward on paper, even as local opposition and a statewide political pause call the project’s future into question.