Two Texas power announcements carry the same 1.2 GW headline, but they do not describe the same thing. NRG is proposing a new gas plant alongside a large data-center load. AWS has signed a long-term contract for power from Vistra’s existing Comanche Peak nuclear plant.
That distinction changes what the number means, when delivery could begin and which milestones matter.
Cover: AI-generated conceptual illustration, not a photograph of either facility.
The comparison at a glance
| Question | NRG proposal | AWS–Vistra PPA |
|---|---|---|
| What is 1.2 GW? | Planned new gas-generation capacity paired with new data-center load | Maximum contracted power from Comanche Peak |
| Customer | Unnamed cloud and AI hyperscaler | Amazon Web Services |
| Asset status | Proposed combined-cycle gas plant | Existing nuclear power station |
| Public commercial status | Principal terms disclosed; final agreement not announced | 20-year PPA executed |
| Timing | NRG targets late 2029 for the first phase | Delivery expected from Q4 2027, ramping to 1,200 MW by 2032 |
| Key grid question | Whether the associated load clears ERCOT verification and interconnection requirements | Where and how the contracted power is delivered; the public filing names no campus or dedicated line |
The numbers are comparable as power quantities. They are not comparable as evidence of operating data-center capacity.
What NRG is proposing
NRG describes a 1.2 GW combined-cycle natural-gas plant that would be paired with new Texas data-center demand. The company says the arrangement is designed to add generation rather than draw the full new load from existing grid resources. NRG project reporting
The project is not yet an operating plant or a completed power deal. NRG has said it is aligned on principal commercial terms with an unnamed global cloud and AI hyperscaler. Reported terms include a minimum 15-year commitment, a parent-company guarantee and more than 95% of project cash flow coming from capacity payments. NRG targets late 2029 for delivery of the first phase and has discussed a possible expansion to 2.4 GW. Commercial terms and schedule
NRG’s announcement says the project was conditionally included as a “Studied Load” in ERCOT’s Batch Zero process. A power plant is generation, not load. The practical reading is that the classification concerns the associated data-center demand and the paired project submitted for review. Conditional status is not approval to energize: the load still has to satisfy ERCOT’s verification, study and interconnection requirements.
Our NRG Batch Zero explainer covers the project’s cost, commercial structure and remaining ERCOT steps in detail.
What AWS contracted from Vistra
Vistra’s arrangement starts from an operating asset. In its first-quarter 2026 SEC filing, the company said it entered a 20-year PPA with AWS for 1,200 MW of carbon-free power from Comanche Peak. Delivery is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2027 and rise to the full contracted amount by 2032. The agreement includes options for as much as 20 additional years. Vistra SEC filing
This does not mean a reactor will switch on for AWS in 2027. Comanche Peak is already operating. The date refers to contracted delivery under the PPA, not initial plant energization.
The filing also does not name a receiving data-center campus, a dedicated transmission line or a delivery point. It therefore supports a procurement claim—AWS contracted for 1,200 MW from the plant—but not a claim that a particular AWS campus has a direct 1.2 GW connection.
Our AWS–Vistra PPA analysis separates the SEC-confirmed terms from nearby data-center proposals.
ERCOT exposure is different
The NRG proposal depends on building a new generator and qualifying the paired large load. ERCOT paused Batch Zero classification and study activity while it verifies large-load submissions, and it has said projects can be removed for materially false attestations or failure to answer information requests. Batch Zero verification overview
The AWS–Vistra contract does not carry that same construction risk because the generating plant exists. But the PPA alone does not resolve a data center’s site-level interconnection, transmission or commissioning requirements. Those details need separate utility and local project records.
In short, NRG’s uncertainty is concentrated in development, customer contracting and ERCOT review. The Vistra contract has firmer public commercial terms, while its physical delivery path and receiving load remain undisclosed.
Milestones that would change the picture
For NRG, watch for a final customer agreement, a final investment decision, permits, an EPC schedule and completed ERCOT treatment of the associated load. Any one announcement is less important than the sequence.
For AWS and Vistra, watch for a named delivery point, utility interconnection records and construction milestones for any campus linked to the contract. The scheduled PPA ramp is not proof that 1.2 GW of data-center load will appear at one site.
Bottom line
NRG’s 1.2 GW figure describes a proposed new plant intended to accompany new compute demand. AWS–Vistra’s 1.2 GW figure describes the ceiling of a signed power contract supplied from an existing nuclear station. One is a development pathway targeting late 2029; the other is a procurement schedule beginning in late 2027 and ramping through 2032.
Treating both as “1.2 GW data-center deals” hides the information that matters most: what is built, what is contracted, what ERCOT is reviewing and what remains unannounced.
Sources
This article was researched and fact-checked against the following sources:
- Five Energy Stocks Riding Texas's Data Center Power Boom (finance.yahoo.com)
- Vistra in discussions with data center operators to increase nuclear power output - DCD (datacenterdynamics.com)
- NRG 1.2 GW Natural Gas Plant Conditionally Included in ERCOT Batch Zero for Texas Data Center - BIC Magazine (bicmagazine.com)
- [NRG] NRG’s 1.2 GW Texas Generation Project Advances Through ERCOT’s Batch Zero Process — BigGo Finance (finance.biggo.com)
- Research the publicly announced power purchase agreements and data center-related deals Vistra has signed or is pursuing with… (useluminix.com)
