1.2GW Big Rooter solar project breaks ground near Aggieland

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes · Last updated: 10 October 2026

Construction is underway on Big Rooter Power, a $1.7 billion solar-and-storage development being built beside the Twin Oaks coal plant in Robertson County. Panamint Capital plans a 1.2-gigawatt array across nearly 10,000 acres using about 2 million panels, paired with a 1.6-gigawatt-hour battery and more than 20 miles of new transmission to feed ERCOT. The developer says the western half will go online in August 2028 and the eastern half the following year; the site also reserves 790 megawatts for a possible data center that Panamint says could open within five years. Project plans and contract figures were, as first reported by KBTX News 3, disclosed in county documents and developer statements.

“It’s important that as developers that we’re out there building these solar generation facilities now in order for us to make sure that we keep the cost low,”

Julia Olguin, Panamint Capital Chief Operating Officer

How the project is built onto an existing coal site

Panamint Capital is integrating the 1.2-gigawatt solar array directly alongside the existing 310-megawatt Twin Oaks coal plant rather than siting the panels on undeveloped land. The developer says using reclaimed mine and plant property reduces additional environmental disturbance and lets the new output tie straight into ERCOT through on-site transmission.

Panamint plans roughly 2 million photovoltaic panels and a 1.6-gigawatt-hour battery facility to store generation for evening demand. Panamint said that, together with the coal plant, combined output would reach about 1.5 gigawatts — an amount that Panamint and county officials say could power at least 300,000 homes. The company also set aside 790 megawatts of capacity that could serve a future data center.

Timeline, capacity and the data center option

Panamint told county officials the western portion of Big Rooter is scheduled to start commercial operations in August 2028, with the eastern portion finishing in 2029 according to the company's timeline filed with the county.

Separately, Panamint has not committed to a data center but reserves 790 megawatts for one and said it is conducting evaluations of ways a data center could be colocated. Panamint told the county a data center could open within five years; county leaders are preparing for that possibility even though no partner or timeline has been confirmed in writing.

Local opposition, property impacts and workforce numbers

Several nearby landowners say the scale of the project will change the county’s rural character. Shane Bonnin, who bought 50 acres about three years ago, described the first row of panels being placed roughly 150 feet from a neighbour’s front door and said buyers have withdrawn offers after learning of the development. Panamint has agreed to remove a construction entrance and to plant vegetation buffers but declined to buy affected homes.

On jobs, Panamint projects about 800 temporary construction roles for the build phase, while long-term operations will be minimal: the tax-abatement contract obtained by KBTX requires only four full-time jobs, and the company estimated daily staff at around five to ten people to manage the facility.

The county’s tax deal and the fiscal trade-offs

Robertson County approved a 10-year, 100% tax abatement under Chapter 312 that applies to new equipment at the Big Rooter site. In exchange, Panamint agreed to make annual payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) and a $200,000 road deposit; the contract guarantees just over $13 million to the county over ten years.

County estimates filed with the county place unabated property-tax revenue at between $25 million and $30 million over the same decade. Those figures leave a projected revenue shortfall of roughly $6 million to $11 million compared with standard taxation, though the agreement notes the guaranteed payment could increase toward $17 million, with roughly $2 million more from land taxes — about $19 million in total if operations scale up. County Judge Joe David Scarpinato told the board the project would have come regardless, and that the deal was negotiated to secure budget predictability and avoid appraisal fights.

What could push the project forward or slow it

The bottom line

Big Rooter Power is among the largest projects sited next to an operating coal plant in North America, and its scale brings clear benefits and tangible trade-offs. The project adds 1.2 gigawatts of solar, a 1.6-gigawatt-hour battery and transmission capacity to ERCOT, while the county accepted a 10-year, 100% equipment tax abatement that guarantees just over $13 million in PILOTs instead of an estimated $25–30 million in standard taxes. For residents the immediate issues are visual impact, dust and long-term land use; for officials the questions are whether written mitigation commitments and any future data center deal will meaningfully change the fiscal and community outcome.

What to watch

• Watch for Big Rooter West to begin commercial operations in August 2028.
• Watch for Big Rooter East to finish construction in 2029.
• Watch for Panamint Capital to announce whether a data center will proceed; the company says it could open within five years but has given no firm date.