Penwell Nacero plant still on schedule

PENWELL, Texas (KOSA) - It’s been nearly 10 months since Nacero announced its intent to build a $7 billion facility in Penwell, and even though ground hasn’t broken, that doesn’t mean the work hasn’t started.

“We do think this is the next wave of the energy transition here in the U.S.,” said Nacero CEO and President Jay McKenna.

Nacero has spent much of the past ten months getting the proper paperwork ready. The most significant piece of that is the air permit, which the company received late last year.

“The big milestone we hit in the fourth quarter last year is we received our air permit both as a constructor and an operator from the state of Texas,” McKenna said. “That allows us to break ground, we’re thing in the first quarter this year.”

That puts the facility on schedule to partially open in 2025, a rolling opening that will encompass much of the second half of the decade.

The facility is garnering so much attention, not just because of its 7 billion dollar price tag, but because it’s the first carbon-capture plant of its kind in the entire country.

Mckenna says the plant, once fully operational, will serve up to 4 million drivers every day.

In the meantime, when construction does start, it’s expected to create over 3,000 construction jobs.

But Nacero is in no hurry and plans to ensure this new-age plant is done correctly.

“What we don’t want to do is jump prematurely,” McKenna said. “We want to make sure that we’re measured, that our cadence is appropriate for a project this size and with this much gravity.”

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