The U.S. Department of Commerce and the Republic of Korea have chosen Related Companies and NextEra Energy Resources, working alongside Lewis Energy Group, to build Project Star, a $22 billion-plus energy campus in Encinal, Texas with 6.47 gigawatts (GW) of new natural gas generation. At full scale the campus will back a separate, privately funded 5 GW data center campus that Related Digital is building next door.

NextEra Energy Resources and Related Companies will develop, build and operate the gas-fired power plant in Encinal, while Lewis Energy supplies the land, produced water and natural gas for it. The campus will also send excess generation back to the grid, which the companies say will help reliability and affordability. The plan lines up with Texas Governor Greg Abbott's directive that new data centers bring their own generation onto the ERCOT system.

The energy campus will be jointly owned by the Republic of Korea and the United States, under the structure of the two countries' trade agreement. The announcement implements the trade deal between Korea and the United States announced on July 30, 2025, and a Strategic Investment MOU signed that November 14. NextEra and Related will build and run the campus as a joint venture, and the team expects to draw on Korean suppliers' technology and supply chains during construction.

Jobs and timeline

  • An estimated 8,400 workers at peak construction, among thousands of construction jobs over multiple years
  • About 170 permanent jobs once the power campus is operational
  • Hundreds of additional permanent jobs at the adjacent data center campus
  • Initial generating units are expected online as early as 2029, subject to permitting and approvals

"Project Star demonstrates how energy infrastructure and economic growth can advance together," said John Ketchum, chairman and chief executive of NextEra Energy. Jeff T. Blau, chairman of Related Digital and chief executive of Related Companies, said the project would "power American innovation" while protecting Texas ratepayers and water. Rod Lewis, founder and chief executive of Lewis Energy Group, said the project would bring "much needed jobs to South Texas."

NextEra Energy has invested more than $20 billion and operates over 9 GW of generation capacity in Texas. Related Digital says it has $55 billion in data center projects under development across six locations, including Texas, representing 6 GW of capacity. Lewis Energy Group, founded in 1983, has grown from a single natural gas well into a vertically integrated energy producer based in San Antonio.

We previously reported that NextEra Energy secured funding for up to 10 GW of gas power in Texas and Pennsylvania.