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USDA announces $1.4 billion solar, battery energy project in rural South Texas to cut climate pollution

The USDA has announced a $1.4 billion investment to transition San Miguel Electric Cooperative in rural South Texas to a 600-megawatt solar and battery energy system, aiming to reduce climate pollution and create jobs by 2027.

The United States Department of Agriculture recently announced that San Miguel Electric Cooperative Inc., located in Christine, Texas, in Atascosa County, just outside of San Antonio, will transition its operations to produce 600 megawatts of energy using solar panels and a battery energy storage system (BESS).

The project is expected to reduce climate pollution by 1.8 tons annually, equivalent to removing 446,000 cars from the road each year, says USDA.

The project with the San Miguel Electric Cooperative plans to use more than $1.4 billion investment to procure 600 megawatts of renewable energy through solar voltaic panels and a battery energy storage system to power 47 counties across rural South Texas. The clean project also hopes to support as many as 600 jobs.

This is part of the over $4.37 billion in clean energy investments through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program, which has rural electric cooperatives supporting the economy via job creation, lowering electricity costs for businesses and families and reducing climate pollution. The New ERA was made possible by President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which was the largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936.

San Miguel plans to convert its operations to a 400-megawatt solar generation facility and 200-megawatt battery storage facility, and the transition should be complete by 2027. Currently, San Miguel produces 391 megawatts of electricity through a contract with South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC).

“USDA is committed to enhancing the quality of life and improving air and water in our rural communities,” Secretary Tom Vilsack says in a news release. “The Inflation Reduction Act’s historic investments enable USDA to partner with rural electric cooperatives to strengthen America’s energy security and lower electricity bills for hardworking families, farmers and small business owners.”

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Chevron will power the forthcoming Project Kilby using natural gas. Photo via Getty Images

Chevron and Microsoft have signed a 20-year deal in which Chevron will provide natural-gas-fired power for a future West Texas data center, known as Project Kilby.

The proposed Microsoft data center could be one of the biggest in the U.S. and is expected to deliver 2.67 gigawatts of capacity. It will be built through a “phased, modular approach that enables incremental expansion over time,” according to Chevron.

Chevron expects the facility to be up and running by 2028, though the company won’t make a final investment decision on the project until later this year. The company is collaborating on Project Kilby with investment fund Engine No.1.

Project Kilby is projected to bring in $10 billion in state and local tax revenue and support 2,000 jobs, according to Chevron. The plant will use non-potable, brackish groundwater for power plant operations and aims to find new ways to reuse water produced by oil and gas operations.

The site will use selective catalytic reduction systems to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions and minimize noise and light impacts and will utilize other advanced air emissions control technologies. A majority of the generation will come from large turbines developed by Chevron partner GE Verona with additional capacity from Caterpillar’s solar turbines. The plant will be fed by natural gas from the Permian Basin.

“Chevron is uniquely positioned to deliver power to customers with certainty, speed and at a competitive cost, leveraging Permian natural gas and our proven execution capabilities,” Jeff Gustavson, Chevron president of new energies, said in a news release. “This project links Chevron’s traditional strengths to emerging demand, creating differentiated value for our shareholders and the communities where we operate.”

According to BloombergNEF, the U.S. is expected to increase its data center capacity to 77 gigawatts by 2030. Another report from Bloom Energy predicts Texas will see a 142 percent increase in its market share for data centers from 2025 to 2028.

“The rapid growth we’re experiencing in AI and cloud, driven by customer demand, requires energy infrastructure that can scale quickly and reliably,” Noelle Walsh, Microsoft president of cloud operations and innovation, added in the news release. “Our agreement with Chevron helps ensure we’ll have dedicated, large-scale power to support the evolution and reliability of advanced computers. Through this partnership, we’re delighted to grow with and become a deeper part of the West Texas community.”

Chevron was named No. 21 on the 2026 Fortune 500 list earlier this month.

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