Overview

• PUCT finalized a 20-year Texas Energy Fund loan at 3% interest covering 60% of the Cedar Bayou project’s $936 million cost.
• The new natural gas unit at NRG’s Cedar Bayou site near Baytown is slated for the ERCOT Houston Load Zone with generation expected by summer 2028.
• With the Cedar Bayou award, NRG becomes the program’s largest beneficiary at nearly $800 million across three Houston-area projects, including two units at TH Wharton.
• Three TEF loans now total about 1,299 MW of new dispatchable capacity, counting Kerrville Public Utility Board’s 122‑MW plant and NRG’s 456‑MW TH Wharton expansion.
• Regulators report 14 additional applications under due diligence representing roughly 7,671 MW, as the program faces scrutiny over a fraud allegation and project withdrawals and as NRG says TEF loans reduce risk for proposals such as its pending Greens Bayou unit.