Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. says it’s investing nearly $1 billion in over 1,000 megawatts of new natural gas generation to ensure cost-effective reliability and future equity for its 17 distribution member cooperatives.
AECC recently bought 100 acres outside Naples, Texas, where it will break ground in 2026 on a roughly $850 million gas plant, which will be its biggest generating facility and its first outside Arkansas.
The 900-MW, two-turbine, simple-cycle plant will be near three existing pipelines and electric transmission to facilitate its commercial startup in November 2028, said Jonathan Oliver, AECC’s chief operations officer. It will operate in the Southwest Power Pool’s wholesale electricity market.
AECC is also investing $93 million to expand its Thomas B. Fitzhugh Generating Station from 170 MW to 270 MW to help address a forecasted capacity shortage in SPP in 2025 and 2026. Construction began in September.
Adding two units at the gas plant in Ozark, Arkansas, with its existing pipelines and transmission, will make the project cost-effective and ready for commercial operation late next year, said Oliver.
“Making these investments ensures reliability for our members, and it ensures low costs for our members for the long term, not just a few months or a few years,” he said. “We are building equity for our members that will pay returns over time.”
The new units will join the Little Rock-based generation and transmission co-op’s fleet of nearly 4,300 MW of gas, coal, hydro, wind and solar resources.
The primary drivers for building new generation are the region’s “steady, normal consumer load growth” of about 1.5% to 2% each year and the planned retirement of about 1,200 MW of coal by 2030, Oliver said.
“Natural gas is an accessible, dispatchable resource we can rely on, and it gets full accreditation in SPP to meet capacity to serve the market,” he said. “Plus, gas prices are fairly stable now, offering members a least-cost reliable resource.”
AECC is also building solar to meet demand. The G&T’s 122-MW Woodruff County Solar Project began operation in early October, adjacent to the retired Carl Bailey Generation Station. The solar array’s capacity is identical to the gas plant output.
“By taking advantage of our owned interconnection at the Bailey plant, we’re maintaining a diverse portfolio of resources for members,” said Oliver.
Cathy Cash is a staff writer for NRECA.