LEE COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A proposed power plant in Lee County has some residents worried that their peaceful country lifestyle might be ruined.
“It is just a great quiet piece of rural Texas that we want to protect,” said Travis Brown, who is on the “Move the Gas Plant” steering committee.
Brown said the construction and operations at the proposed plant could change the area he lives in.
“There will be noise, lights, traffic and of course there are concerns about our property values,” Brown said. “Most of us invested all our savings we ever earned here.”
The company behind the power plant is Sandow Lakes Energy Company LLC.
Sandow Lakes Energy Company, LLC is pursuing the construction of a 1200-megawatt, ultra-efficient, natural gas-fueled power plant. The plant, located on Sandow Lakes property in Lee County Texas, will be developed and owned by a Sandow Lakes Energy Company, LLC, subsidiary and will operate within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). The plant will be capable of serving over 800,000 homes. Construction is expected to begin in 2025, with the plant generating power by 2028.
Sandow Lake Energy Company, LLC
“We are literally out in the middle of nowhere and they decide they want to put this out here and it is going to take away our country life,” said Trish Siler. “I worry about the affects of any emissions that come off of this.”
KXAN asked the company about environmental issues and where it is in the permitting process with TCEQ.
“An application was filed with TCEQ and it is going through that process. The plant will be connected to the ERCOT grid and meet all of the state and federal environmental regulations. It is an air-cooled unit so the water requirement is very low.” – Sandow Lakes Energy Company, LLC
Signs have been posted around the property, but neighbors tell KXAN it’s hard to tell what they are for.
“The sign just says proposed air quality permit, it does not say what it is an air quality permit for, which leaves the door wide open,” Siler said. “People out here still don’t know that there is a power plant proposed.”
Siler and Brown tell KXAN they will continue raising awareness and fighting the plant. They have formed a “Move the Gas Plant” steering committee and launched a legal challenge to the company’s state air permit.
“I realize they need a power plant, we just want it moved,” Siler said. “We are not trying to say don’t build a power plant, Just don’t destroy this (points to property).”
The company tells KXAN that the plant will be located in part of the Sandow Three Oaks Mine corridor.
As for noise Sandow Lakes Energy Company, LLC said, “It’s quiet—the sound level at the nearest property line will be similar to a quiet library—about 40 decibels.”
“We know change is going to happen and there are places to put these plants and there are places not to put them and this is not the place to put them,” the company said.
Construction is expected to begin next year.
