USA, Texas, Robertson County: Panamint Capital has broken ground on Big Rooter Power, a $1.7 B solar project at the Twin Oaks power station site in Robertson County, Texas.
The project will have a total capacity of 1.2 GWdc and will be built at an existing coal mining site. The nearby 310 MW lignite-fired Twin Oaks power plant remains in operation, meaning the project will combine existing and new generation infrastructure rather than fully replacing coal capacity.
Big Rooter will be developed in two phases. Big Rooter West, with 491 MWdc, is expected online in August 2028. Big Rooter East, with 658 MWdc, is scheduled to start construction in December 2026 and enter service in August 2029.
Once complete, the 10,000-acre Twin Oaks complex is expected to host around 1.5 GW of coal and solar generation. Panamint is also developing more than 20 miles of new 345 kV transmission, 1.6 GWh of battery storage and 790 MW of data centre capacity at the site.
SOLV Energy will provide engineering, procurement and construction services, including the solar arrays, substation and transmission infrastructure. First Solar will supply around 2 million US-made solar panels.
The project highlights the growing need for grid connection infrastructure, substations and high-voltage transmission as Texas electricity demand continues to rise, driven partly by data centre growth.
Source: Electrek
