A massive power generation project is taking shape just east of Austin, with Hull Street Energy pushing forward on a $371 million peaker plant in Bastrop County that could come online as early as next year. The Cedar Creek facility is designed to fire up during periods of peak electricity demand — exactly the kind of grid stress that has rattled Texas regulators and consumers since the catastrophic 2021 winter storm.
Peaker plants sit idle most of the year but become critical infrastructure when the ERCOT grid tightens, particularly during brutal Central Texas summers when air conditioning loads push demand to record levels. Adding dispatchable capacity near the Austin metro directly addresses one of the region's most persistent vulnerabilities.
Hull Street Energy, a Richmond, Virginia-based private equity firm specializing in power assets, is backing the development. At $371 million, the capital commitment signals serious confidence in long-term Texas power market economics, where tight supply margins have kept energy prices elevated and attracted significant private investment.
For the Austin tech corridor — home to major data center campuses from Apple, Tesla, Samsung, and a growing roster of AI infrastructure operators — reliable, surge-ready power isn't just a utility concern. It's a site-selection variable. Large compute workloads require guaranteed uptime, and projects like Cedar Creek strengthen the regional grid argument for continued expansion.
Bastrop County sits roughly 30 miles southeast of downtown Austin, putting the plant in an optimal transmission position to serve both urban load centers and the rapidly developing eastern submarkets of the metro. If the timeline holds and construction wraps in 2026 or early 2027, the facility would be positioned ahead of what forecasters expect to be another record-setting Texas summer demand cycle.
No operational capacity figures were immediately available, but the price tag alone places Cedar Creek among the more significant energy infrastructure investments in the greater Austin area in recent years.