W A Parish
W A Parish is a coal plant in Fort Bend County, Texas, operated by NRG Texas Power LLC. By nameplate capacity it is the fifth-largest power plant in the United States and the largest in Texas. Among the 195 coal plants in the country it is the largest. Within the ERCOT (Texas) balancing area it is the largest of 935 plants.
Nameplate capacity, 2025
4,008 MW
3,632 MW net summer capacity
9 operable units
- Coal steam2,737 MW68%
- Gas steam turbine1,255 MW31%
- Gas combustion turbine16.3 MW0.4%
Unit by unit, 1958 to 2025
operating in 2025bar height follows unit size
Unit 1 Gas steam turbine, 188 MW, 1958
Unit 2 Gas steam turbine, 188 MW, 1958
Unit 3 Gas steam turbine, 299 MW, 1961
Unit GT1 Gas combustion turbine, 16.3 MW, 1967
Unit 4 Gas steam turbine, 580 MW, 1968
Unit 5 Coal steam, 734 MW, 1977
Unit 6 Coal steam, 734 MW, 1978
Unit 7 Coal steam, 615 MW, 1980
Unit 8 Coal steam, 654 MW, 1982
Among Texas’s plants
Largest plants in the state by nameplate capacity, with the plants ranked next to this one.
- 1W A Parishthis plant
- 2South Texas Project2,709 MW
- 3Comanche Peak2,430 MW
Other rankings
- Coal plants in Texas
- 1st of 12
- Plants run by NRG Texas Power LLC
- 1st of 6
- Biggest single unit, among Texas’s plants
- 10th of 1,023
Operable units
By the year its oldest working unit started, it is the oldest of Texas’s 12 coal plants.
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas steam turbine | 188 MW | 169 MW | 1958 | Operating |
| 2 | Gas steam turbine | 188 MW | 169 MW | 1958 | Operating |
| 3 | Gas steam turbine | 299 MW | 240 MW | 1961 | Operating |
| GT1 | Gas combustion turbine | 16.3 MW | 13 MW | 1967 | Operating |
| 4 | Gas steam turbine | 580 MW | 527 MW | 1968 | Operating |
| 5 | Coal steam | 734 MW | 664 MW | 1977 | Operating |
| 6 | Coal steam | 734 MW | 663 MW | 1978 | Operating |
| 7 | Coal steam | 615 MW | 577 MW | 1980 | Operating |
| 8 | Coal steam | 654 MW | 610 MW | 1982 | Operating |
Grid and site
- Balancing area
- ERCOT (Texas)
- Reliability region
- Texas Reliability Entity
- Highest grid connection voltage
- 345 kV
- Water source
- Smithers Lake
- Nearest town on record
- Thompsons
- Operator type
- Independent producer
- Coordinates
- 29.483°N, 95.631°W
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