Gov. Greg Abbott's office says Texas is firing up two new Entergy power stations in Southeast Texas, a pair of plants expected to bring more than 1,200 megawatts of new generation to the region, enough power for more than 300,000 homes. State officials estimate the projects will drive roughly 2.7 billion dollars in economic activity and create thousands of construction and operations jobs. Abbott's team is pitching the plants as part of a broader push to shore up reliability as Gulf Coast industry and population keep surging.
The two projects were already on the books in Entergy regulatory filings and a company news release and won approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas in September 2025. The facilities are dubbed Legend and Lone Star, and both Entergy and the governor's office say the new units are meant to strengthen reliability across the Entergy Texas service area. Entergy and the Governor Abbott Press Office provided the figures.
What and Where: Legend and Lone Star
The Legend Power Station is slated for Port Arthur and is planned as a roughly 754 megawatt combined cycle facility with a price tag of about 1.6 billion dollars. The Lone Star Power Station, near Cleveland, is designed as a roughly 453 megawatt project with about 799 million dollars in investment. Together, those capacities account for the region's roughly 1,200 megawatt boost in generation. Entergy has estimated the two projects will generate nearly 2.8 billion dollars in regional economic activity and support thousands of construction jobs. Entergy
Regulators Set Cost Guardrails
The Public Utility Commission of Texas signed off on the plants but set a hard cap on the capital costs Entergy can recover from customers, limiting the total portfolio to about 2.4 billion dollars. That condition followed months of testimony and challenges from intervenors who questioned whether Entergy had fully explored lower cost options. The order and its cost cap were detailed in coverage of the commission's decision. Houston Chronicle
Why Southeast Texas Needs More Dispatchable Power
Industrial growth along the Gulf Coast, from petrochemical expansions to large data centers, has created an urgent need for dispatchable, around-the-clock generation within the Entergy Texas footprint. Regulators and analysts warned that without new generation and transmission, the region could face capacity shortfalls measured in the low thousands of megawatts by 2028. The Legend and Lone Star projects are intended to help close that gap, tying new industrial demand directly to the need for more firm capacity. Power Engineering
Timeline and Next Steps
Entergy and local officials have said both plants are expected to be online by mid 2028, with transmission upgrades already moving through permitting so the added electricity can reach customers. Local reporting has also highlighted that the projects will bring workforce and supplier opportunities during both construction and ongoing operations. Community Impact
For residents, the most visible near term change is likely to be more construction activity in the Port Arthur and Cleveland areas, while regulators and Entergy move through permitting, detailed engineering, and local outreach before major site work ramps up. Officials say the longer term goal is to hold down costs and deliver more reliable electric service for a rapidly growing Gulf Coast economy.
