Texas $22B Power Campus: 6.47 GW CCGT and 5 GW Data Centre
Texas $22 B Power Campus: 6.47 GW CCGT and 5 GW Data Centre Engineering Logic
In October 2026, a planned USD 22 billion combined power-generation and data-centre campus in Encinal, La Salle County, Texas has moved into disclosure, combining a 6.47 GW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant with an adjacent 5 GW hyperscale data centre. The power plant will be operated by Related Companies and NextEra Energy Resources, with first phase expected to enter operation in 2029 and full capacity reached in 2032. This article provides an industry-perspective engineering analysis of the project, the step-up power transformer configuration that 6.47 GW generation requires, and the implications for the high-voltage transformer supply chain in North America.
1.1 Project Scale and Timeline
The campus carries a USD 22 billion total price tag, pairing a 6.47 GW CCGT power block with a neighbouring 5 GW data centre. The US Department of Commerce has publicly confirmed government-level support under a United States–South Korea bilateral cooperation framework. The first phase is scheduled for 2029 grid connection, with full capacity in 2032. Most of the electricity generated will directly supply the data centre; the remainder will be delivered to the Texas (ERCOT) grid through a new 345 kV hub substation. Construction is expected to create approximately 8,400 jobs, with hundreds of permanent positions supported at full operation.
1.2 US–Korea Government Cooperation
The US Department of Commerce’s public endorsement places the project inside the bilateral industrial cooperation framework between Washington and Seoul. In practice this opens procurement routes for large-frame gas turbines, high-voltage transformers and switchgear from Korean majors such as Hyosung Heavy Industries and LS Electric alongside US-domestic suppliers. Proximity to Sabine Pass LNG and Freeport LNG long-term supply agreements is the decisive siting factor for a 6.47 GW CCGT block.
For an industry-perspective comparison with another recent US plant build, see our analysis of Hammond Power Solutions USD 36 M Fort Worth Plant Build, which signals the same Texas supply-chain pattern from a transformer manufacturer angle.
2. Step-Up Transformer and Substation Configuration
2.1 CCGT Step-Up Path
A 6.47 GW CCGT plant is typically built from 4–6 generating units in the 1.1–1.6 GW class. Each generator has an 18–27 kV terminal voltage and requires a generator step-up transformer (GSU) to lift generation to 230 kV or 345 kV for the transmission network. At the 6.47 GW scale, the project needs either six or more 600–1,200 MVA single-phase or three-phase GSUs, or a smaller number of custom-built 2 GW-class power transformers — a class that Hitachi Energy, Siemens Energy and GE Vernova have been winning orders for in the 2024–2026 period.
2.2 Direct-to-Data-Centre MV/LV Distribution
A 5 GW hyperscale data centre typically distributes at 34.5 kV medium voltage down to rack-level equipment, with one 60–100 MVA dry-type or liquid-immersed transformer per 50–100 MW IT block. Because the power plant and the data centre are co-located, the 5 GW load can be fed directly from the GSU secondary side through a common 34.5 kV MV bus — bypassing a 230 kV step that would be mandatory if the data centre stood alone. This arrangement drives substantial demand for medium-voltage switchgear, voltage transformers and protection relays.
2.3 345 kV Grid Interconnection Point
For related coverage on transformer and substation demand-side signals behind hyperscale AI capacity, see our archive on ai data centre transformer demand.
The surplus power — likely in the 1.0–1.5 GW range — needs to be exported to the ERCOT backbone at 345 kV, requiring a new hub substation at the campus perimeter. The hub includes 345/230 kV three-winding autotransformers, SF₆-free or g³-gas GIS bays, and full PMU-based monitoring. The export point is the single largest hardware-pull opportunity for the equipment manufacturing industry inside this project.
3. Comparison with Conventional Plants
3.1 Versus a Typical 1 GW CCGT
A typical 1 GW CCGT plant would normally specify 4–6 GSU transformers in the 200–300 MVA class. The 6.47 GW CCGT plus 5 GW data centre integrated model differs in two clear ways: a higher GSU count and a higher voltage class, plus 4–6 additional autotransformers for the 345/230 kV tie.
3.2 Versus Remote Load-Centres
Most US CCGT plants in the last two decades have been sited in remote load pockets and dispatch through 230 kV or 345 kV tie lines. The Encinal campus is a textbook behind-the-meter (BTM) arrangement — most of the generation is consumed inside the campus boundary, eliminating long-distance transmission losses and queue-point approval delays. The trade-off is more aggressive AGC duty on the gas turbines, driving tighter exciter and PSS (power system stabiliser) specification.
For an industry perspective on conductor design choices relevant to GSU winding and bushing construction, see the related coverage on choosing the right enameled wire for motor and transformer modification.
4. Cooling and Auxiliary Equipment
4.1 Closed-Loop Water Cooling for the Data Centre
The 5 GW data centre will deploy a closed-loop water cooling system — the mainstream liquid-cooling architecture for hyperscale sites. The cooling plant requires plate heat exchangers, cooling towers, circulation pumps. For every 100 MW of IT load, approximately 80–100 MW of cooling auxiliary load is needed, which translates into hundreds of small and medium MV/LV transformers to feed pump skids and chiller auxiliaries.
4.2 Produced Water Re-Use
The project is also examining the use of produced water — a by-product of oil and natural gas extraction — as make-up water for the cooling towers. The Eagle Ford / Permian basins produce large volumes of produced water that must be disposed of or reinjected; using it for cooling reduces the project’s fresh-water entitlement and exemplifies industrial symbiosis at scale.
5. Grid-Scale Implications and Industry Pull-Through
5.1 Transformer Demand-Side Opportunity
The combined 6.47 GW generation plus 5 GW data-centre load is a rare single-site procurement opportunity. Order of magnitude, the full project would draw 6–10 GSUs (600–1,200 MVA each), 4–6 export transformers (345 kV three-winding), and 30–60 medium-voltage transformers. A single procurement of this size sits in the same USD-billion order as 2026 European grid-upgrade awards and Gulf-state HVDC interconnect programmes.
5.2 Signal for US Power Transformer Lead Times
The schedule — first phase 2029, procurement starting 2026 — leaves roughly three years of buffer for power-transformer manufacturing. Given the 2–3 year delivery times reported across the US large-power-transformer market in 2025–2026, the Encinal window is tight but achievable, and is the kind of long-forecasting backlog slot OEMs have been waiting for.
5.3 The Co-Located Power Campus as a New Pattern
The Encinal campus is the latest example of a behind-the-meter (BTM) data-centre + on-site generation architecture, alongside the xAI Colossus site in Tennessee and AWS campuses in Virginia. The pattern — a hyperscaler co-siting gas turbines (and increasingly SMRs) with its IT load to bypass utility interconnection queues — is becoming the reference design for North American AI capacity build-out. For transformer and switchgear OEMs, this is a new and durable demand vector for the rest of the decade.
6. Closing
The Encinal USD 22 billion campus demonstrates the physical floor under North American AI data-centre expansion: large gas turbines, high-voltage step-up transformers and MV distribution must all be supplied at scale. The Related Companies / NextEra Energy Resources consortium, backed by an explicit US–Korea cooperation framework, is positioned to release three layers of electrical equipment demand simultaneously — generation step-up, data-centre distribution, and 345 kV grid interconnection. Viewed as a representative engineering template of the pre-2030 AI power campus, the project carries real signal value for the equipment-manufacturing supply chain and for grid planners across North America.
Table 1: Project Key Parameters
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Total investment | USD 22 billion |
| CCGT power plant capacity | 6.47 GW |
| Data centre capacity | 5 GW |
| Export to ERCOT grid | 345 kV / 230 kV step-up |
| Site location | Encinal, La Salle County, Texas |
| Power plant developers | Related Companies, NextEra Energy Resources |
| Government endorsement | US Department of Commerce (US–Korea framework) |
| First phase operation | 2029 |
| Full capacity | 2032 |
| Construction jobs | ~8,400 |
| Permanent jobs | Hundreds |
| Data centre cooling | Closed-loop water + produced-water option |
Table 2: Estimated Electrical Main Equipment
| Equipment | Estimated Qty | Voltage Class | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generator step-up transformer (GSU) | 6–10 | 18–27 kV / 345 kV | 600–1,200 MVA single-phase or three-phase |
| Hub substation autotransformer | 4–6 | 345 / 230 kV | ERCOT export point |
| MV dry / oil distribution transformer | 30–60 | 34.5 kV / 0.48 kV | Data centre rack distribution |
| 345 kV GIS bays | 1–2 bays | 345 kV | SF₆ / g³-gas alternative |
| MV switchgear | 100+ bays | 34.5 kV | Vacuum or SF₆-free |
| PMU / synchrophasor | 30–50 units | System-level | AGC / PSS integration |