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A planned $22 billion energy infrastructure campus in South Texas would pair a massive gas-fired power plant with an adjacent data center, bringing new electricity generation primarily to serve the project’s own demand.
Project Star, planned for Encinal in southwest La Salle County, includes a plant capable of generating 6.47 gigawatts of electricity. Most of that power would supply the 5-gigawatt data center campus being built by Related Digital, with excess electricity sold to the Texas grid.
The U.S. Department of Commerce and Republic of Korea selected Related Companies and NextEra Energy Resources, in partnership with San Antonio-based Lewis Energy Group, to develop the campus. NextEra Energy Resources and Related Companies will operate the plant.
The first phase of the power plant is expected to begin operating in 2029, with full capacity anticipated by 2032.
The generating plant’s output would be enough to power 1.62 million Texas homes on a hot summer day, although few residences will receive electricity from the project.
NextEra said the development would create about 8,400 construction jobs and 170 permanent power plant jobs. The data center campus is expected to generate additional jobs.
"This project will bring much needed jobs to South Texas, add new power generation to be available to the state of Texas, and ensure the natural gas produced in the South Texas region provides direct economic benefits to our local communities", said Rod Lewis, founder and CEO of Lewis Energy Group.
Related Digital said the data center will use a closed-loop cooling system, keeping daily water consumption comparable to that of a typical office building.
NextEra Energy said Project Star also aligns with Gov. Greg Abbott’s order that data centers bring their own generation to projects within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas system.
"Project Star demonstrates how energy infrastructure and economic growth can advance together", said John Ketchum, chairman and CEO of NextEra Energy. "By bringing new generation online to serve new demand, we’re helping strengthen reliability, support investment and jobs and protect electricity customers."
The power plant stems from a $350 billion 2025 agreement between the U.S. and South Korea. Korean companies will secure power generation equipment and participate in engineering, construction, operation and management.
The partnership comes as the U.S. faces a surge in electricity demand after nearly two decades of flat growth, according to the Department of Energy. Texas is confronting unprecedented demand as energy-intensive operations, including data centers, move into the state.
At the same time, the generation supply chain faces limited domestic production capacity, higher costs for imported materials and years-long waits for critical equipment.
The U.S. aims to draw on Korean companies’ supply chain capabilities while giving them "the opportunity to supply Korean equipment, including turbines, to other similar projects in the United States", according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
South Korea’s involvement in Texas energy projects also includes CPS Energy’s partnership with OCI Energy, a subsidiary of Seoul-based OCI Holdings. The companies have built and operate two battery energy storage systems and a 70-acre solar farm near Loop 1604.
OCI Energy is also working with Israeli company Arava Power on a 670-megawatt solar project in La Salle County.
Beyond those Texas investments, the U.S. and Korea are collaborating on eight nuclear power plants in the U.S. Their locations have not been disclosed.
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