TCEQ Issues Preliminary Decision on NRG Air Permit for Maypearl-Area 1.2 GW Data Center Power Plant
Air Quality Permit Moves Forward Despite Governor Abbott’s Directive to Pause Data Center Project Approvals
Along county roads and throughout neighborhoods between Maypearl, Itasca, and Grandview, Texas, hundreds of red and yellow “NO Data Center” signs appear on ranch fences, in front of homes, and outside local businesses, reflecting widespread community opposition to a proposed power plant and data center development on Farm-to-Market Road 66. More than 4,000 area residents have signed a petition opposing the facility.
Residents welcomed Governor Abbott’s recent directive to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to halt permitting of data center projects and his recent statements supporting local input. Days later, however, residents received letters from TCEQ evidencing TCEQ’s preliminary decision to approve an air permit for NRG Prairie Energy Center LLC’s 1.2 GW power plant. The Prairie Energy Center would be built and operated by NRG in rural Hill County to power a proposed 8 million-square-foot hyperscale data center.
“Governor Abbott has been clear that Texans deserve a voice in these decisions. The Maypearl community is exactly who he was talking about, and we’re asking that TCEQ honor his directive,” said David Rogers, whose family’s historic 152-year-old ranch would share a fence line with the proposed development. “This power plant is being proposed in the middle of a rural community that has clearly and repeatedly said we do not want it here,” Rogers added.
The proposed development would occupy approximately 2,850 acres and include:
24 data center buildings totaling more than 8 million square feet
Approximately 2.5 GW of power demand
A 1.2 GW air-cooled natural gas power plant operated by NRG
Six electrical substations
An onsite wastewater facility discharging into Chambers Creek
Despite the scale of the project, residents have struggled to get basic information about it. NRG labeled its emissions calculations “trade secrets,” keeping them from public review, and much of what has since been released remains heavily redacted.
“NRG has done nothing to reach out to our community, despite statements made during a recent investor call about wanting to be a good partner in the communities where it operates,” said Tim McKibben, whose family ranch is located across F.M. 66 from the proposed site. “Projects like this permanently change the landscape of rural Texas, and our community deserves a say before that happens,” McKibben added.
NRG appears to have strategically located the proposed power plant in Hill County, about 800 feet from the Ellis County line, where it avoids the stricter pollution controls of the Dallas-Fort Worth nonattainment area that would apply just across the line.
Residents are concerned that the TCEQ permitting process is continuing despite Governor Abbott’s recent directive.
“We’re not going anywhere. This community has been here for generations, and we intend to protect it for generations to come,” stated McKibben. “We appreciate Governor Abbott’s directive, and we’re asking the TCEQ to follow it.”
For a map and additional information, visit MaypearlDataCenter.com.
Media Contact:
Kelly O’Donnell
KokoGrizzly@icloud.com
817-992-5832, text preferred