$1.7B Texas Solar Project Breaks Ground at Coal Plant Site
Construction has begun on the $1.7 billion Big Rooter Power project, a 1.2-GW solar development built on an existing coal mining site between Dallas and Houston, Solar Power World reports.
Market Impact
Panamint Capital is funding the project, with SOLV Energy serving as EPC contractor. The build will use First Solar panels and Nextpower trackers. The first phase, the 491-MW Big Rooter West, is set to reach commercial operation in August 2028. The second phase, the 658-MW Big Rooter East, starts construction next year and is expected online in August 2029. Together, the two phases will generate more than 800 construction jobs.
The site sits next to the Twin Oaks power complex, home to a 310-MW coal-fired plant in Bremond, Texas. There’s no plan to retire that coal unit. Once Big Rooter is complete, Panamint says the 10,000-acre Twin Oaks complex will host 1.5 GW of combined thermal and renewable power, over 20 miles of new 345 kV transmission line, 1.6 GWh of battery storage, and 790 MW of data center capacity under development. “Big Rooter Power represents our vision for getting more out of America’s energy infrastructure and ensuring America’s energy dominance,” said Panamint CEO Apolka Totth. SOLV Energy CEO George Hershman called it “a landmark project that reflects the scale of investment being made in America’s energy future.”
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Civil and site prep crews should note the 2027 start date for Big Rooter East, the second phase, which opens a second wave of grading, foundation, and access-road work beyond the current West phase.
- Electrical and E&I contractors have a target window through August 2029 for interconnection work tied to the more than 20 miles of new 345 kV transmission being built across the Twin Oaks site.
- Battery storage installers and BESS technicians should track subcontract packages for the 1.6 GWh storage buildout planned alongside the solar phases, since that scope isn’t yet detailed as awarded.
- SOLV Energy’s role as EPC on an 1.2-GW project paired with an operating coal plant signals brownfield energy sites, rather than greenfield-only development, are becoming viable staging grounds for large-scale solar in Texas, a model worth tracking for firms bidding on similar retrofit or co-location sites.
- With over 800 construction jobs tied to the two phases, labor-supply and workforce subcontractors in the Dallas-Houston corridor should factor hiring ramp timelines around the August 2028 and August 2029 commercial operation dates.
