The Building Texas Show: Why Texas Data Centers Must Build Their Own Power

Stella Power Company’s Chief Development Officer, Nash Whitney, sat down with Justin McKenzie and The Building Texas Show to unpack behind-the-meter power and discuss why Texas’ largest energy users are building their own.

By 2032, more than 300,000 megawatts of new electricity demand are lined up in ERCOT’s interconnection queue. For context, the entire Texas grid peaks around 85 gigawatts today. That is roughly four times the load the grid currently carries, and much of it is arriving fast in the form of data centers and reshored manufacturing.

That’s the backdrop for our latest conversation. Stella Power’s Nash Whitney joined Justin McKenzie on The Building Texas Show to walk through the question a lot of Texans are quietly asking: what happens when demand outruns the grid, and what are the biggest energy users actually doing about it? Here’s a preview of where the conversation goes.

To get the full picture in-depth, be sure to watch the full episode.

First, what “behind-the-meter” actually means.

It’s a term you’re about to hear everywhere. In short, it’s power an operation generates on its own site, separate from what it would pull through the traditional utility meter. It isn’t the utility delivering power to you; it’s power you produce for yourself. Stella develops, designs, owns, and operates these plants. The episode covers why the phrase is entering everyday vocabulary the same way “gigawatt” did, and where it fits for hospitals, factories, and data centers.

▶ Hear the full explanation (1:33)

Power vs. energy: the distinction that changes the whole conversation.

Your electric bill is measured in kilowatt-hours, but the conversation the entire grid is having right now isn’t really about energy. It’s about power. Nash and Justin separate the two, and once the difference is clear, a lot of the debate around data centers and the grid makes more sense. It’s worth hearing in full.

▶ Watch: power vs. energy (3:34)

Why data centers’ power hurdles aren’t your neighborhood’s to deal with.

When a hyperscale data center lands in a place like Medina County, the worry is always the same: is this going to strain my residential grid? The short answer is no, and the reasons are both technical and regulatory. The conversation gets into Texas Senate Bill 6 and Governor Abbott’s large-load rules, and what they’re designed to do about who pays for system upgrades and who can be curtailed when the grid is tight. It’s a nuanced shift, and it’s changing how these projects get built.

▶ Watch: SB6 & the large-load rules (6:36)

Winter Storm Uri, price signals, and generation as a hedge.

Winter Storm Uri was the wake-up call. It was the moment a lot of Texas businesses realized they had exposure to a wholesale, energy-only market they’d never thought about. On-site generation, it turns out, becomes more than a backup. Sited next to a large load, it can run for years and act as a hedge against real-time price spikes long before the grid ever “shows up.” There’s an economics angle here that’s easy to miss and worth understanding.

▶ Watch: Uri & the ERCOT wake-up call (13:41)

Diesel, natural gas, or renewables?

Not every generation source solves the same problem. The episode walks through the real trade-offs: why natural gas has a distinct advantage in Texas, where diesel still fits despite long lead times (Caterpillar and others are sold out for a reason), and where renewables belong in the mix without being treated as the whole answer. The takeaway is that there is no one-size-fits-all, and the right call depends on the load.

▶ Watch: diesel vs. gas vs. solar (16:58)

One move every Texas homeowner can make this summer.

You don’t have to run a data center to get something out of this episode. It closes with a practical tip for regular Texans heading into peak air-conditioning season, a free two-minute move that helps you see when the grid is stressed and be a better grid citizen when it counts. Watch to the end for it.

▶ Watch: the homeowner tip (20:32)