Texas Bets on Speed, with Gin Kinney

About this episode

Gin Kinney discusses the rapid changes in energy planning and demand in Texas with hosts Matt Boms and Josh Rhodes.

Texas generators and grid operators used to spend a decade or two planning for new power plants. But as Gin Kinney, chief administrative officer at NRG Energy, told Energy Capital Podcast hosts Matt Boms and Josh Rhodes at CERAweek in Houston this year, the company’s planning horizon has collapsed to 12-18 months. The company’s activity reflects the dynamic growth of the ERCOT grid. Kinney said NRG has sourced 5.4 gigawatts of natural gas turbines, secured a labor arrangement with the construction company Kiewit, and begun construction on three gas plants funded in part through the Texas Energy Fund. ERCOT’s demand forecasts, which should inform the plans of developers such as NRG, have been hard to pin down at best. Yet while no one can say for sure how much of the new load is actually coming to Texas, it’s clear that demand is going to rise substantially and very quickly. That’s why, as Gin explained, NRG is focused on the assets, not the timeline of the load they’ll serve. This rapid growth means grid connection — speed to power — has never been more important. In this episode, Josh describes a 350-megawatt data center going up near El Paso, outside of ERCOT, that’s being…

People in this episode

Hosts: Matt Boms, Josh Rhodes

Guest: Gin Kinney

Topics covered

• energy planning
• ERCOT grid
• natural gas
• power generation
• demand forecasts
• construction timelines

Keywords

• Texas
• NRG Energy
• ERCOT
• natural gas turbines
• power plants
• demand forecasts
• speed to power
• data center
• construction

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NRG Energy, Kiewit

Places: Texas, ERCOT, El Paso

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