A Texas experiment to fund new natural gas-burning power plants with $5 billion in public loans is faltering as several of the proposed facilities drop out, threatening the state’s efforts to meet growing electricity demand.
Together, the projects that have left the program could have generated 4.6 gigawatts of electricity — enough for about a million Texas homes. Developers say that even with low-interest loans from the state, their projects no longer pencil out due to cost uncertainties and problems procuring equipment. Some have also faulted the program’s strict deadlines and terms.
The fund was touted by lawmakers as a way to jumpstart gas-plant development at a time when cheap solar and wind power have cut into the state’s wholesale electricity prices, reducing the potential profits for new plants…