Carson County, Texas: solar, wind, and storage projects and permits
Queue data as of ERCOT's September 2026 GIS report · Contacts checked 2026-09-26 · Next update early next month
4 proposed energy projects from ERCOT's September 2026 report, plus who to call in Carson County and in TCEQ Region 1 before signing a solar, wind, or battery storage lease.
Check land in Carson CountyOpens the land report with the map on the county; click a spot for its flood, wetland, habitat, line-distance and parcel check.
Power reliability here: minutes without power per year, outages per year, and outage length for Carson County, 2013–2024, from the serving utilities' EIA filings.
What energy projects are proposed in Carson County?
ERCOT's September 2026 interconnection report lists 4 proposed energy projects in Carson County (1 solar, 1 wind and 2 battery storage), about 1,618 MW in all. 3 of the 4 have a signed interconnection agreement.
What stands out in Carson County
By capacity, wind leads in Carson County with 606 MW across 1 project, followed by battery storage (2 projects, 572 MW) and solar (1 project, 439 MW). The largest single project is Kingsmill Wind SLF, a 606 MW wind project listed under Kingsmill Wind, LLC, with an interconnection agreement signed in Dec 2025, and its target online date is Sep 2029. Of the 4, 1 is still in ERCOT's study process and 3 have a signed interconnection agreement but no security posted yet. Every listed connection point is on the 345 kV system (why the voltage matters). Panhandle Solar Group Operating Company LLC is listed on the most projects here (2 of 4); 3 different companies appear in all. Target online dates for the projects not yet running span Oct 2028 to Jun 2031. All of them fall in ERCOT's Panhandle load zone.
A listing is a request to study a grid connection, not a built project; the stage column says how far each one has gone.
Stage, most advanced first: Approved for synchronization (first power) · Approved for energization (backfeed) · Under construction · Signed; security posted (interconnection agreement signed and financial security posted) · Signed (agreement signed, security not yet posted) · In study (screening or full interconnection study, no agreement). A target date that has already passed is marked; ERCOT keeps the developer's last reported date until the developer changes it.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Project and connection point | Developer as listed by ERCOT | Type | MW | Target online date iThe commercial operation date the developer reported to ERCOT (ERCOT calls it the projected COD). Developers set and change it, many projects slip, and some are never built. It is not a promise or a construction date. | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsmill Wind SLF79005 Railhead 345kV | Kingsmill Wind, LLC | Wind | 606.3 | Sep 2029 | Signed Dec 2025 |
| Panhandle Flagship Solar 1345 kV Railhead Substation (RAILHEAD #79005) · shared with 1 other request | Panhandle Solar Group Operating Company LLC | Solar | 439.4 | Jun 2031 | Signed Aug 2025 |
| Panhandle Flagship Storage345 kV Railhead Substation (RAILHEAD #79005) · shared with 1 other request | Panhandle Solar Group Operating Company LLC | Battery storage (paired with solar) | 371.7 | Jun 2031 | Signed Aug 2025 |
| Kota Battery23900 Alibates 345kV | Kota Storage, LLC | Battery storage (stand-alone) | 200.8 | Oct 2028 | In study |
Crowded connection points in Carson County
Substations and switching stations named by two or more of the county's requests, matched on ERCOT's PSS/E bus number rather than the exact wording, so "60404 SOLSTICE", "AEP Solstice Substation #60404" and a tap off the Solstice line count together. Every request statewide that names the bus is listed; a request on a tap line counts toward both ends. Sharing a bus is not the same as sharing a study group, and ERCOT decides the latter.
Railhead (79005) 345 kV 5 requests · 1,982 MW · 3 in Carson County, 2 in Hutchinson5 signed
- Kingsmill Wind SLF 27INR0140 · Wind · 606 MW · Signed Dec 2025
- Panhandle Flagship Solar 1 27INR0022 · Solar · 439 MW · Signed Aug 2025
- Panhandle Flagship Storage 27INR0025 · Battery storage · 372 MW · Signed Aug 2025
- Panhandle Flagship Solar 2 27INR0023 · Solar · 304 MW · Signed Aug 2025 · Hutchinson
- Panhandle Flagship Solar 3 27INR0024 · Solar · 260 MW · Signed Aug 2025 · Hutchinson
What the stages and dates mean: how to read ERCOT's report. ERCOT's report lists self-limiting facilities (batteries that limit injection below nameplate) at 0 MW; repowers of existing plants show 0 with no capacity change. "Approved for energization" and "approved for synchronization" are ERCOT's own milestones (backfeed, then first power). "Shared with N other requests" counts active requests anywhere in ERCOT naming the same point of interconnection, matched on ERCOT's exact wording, so a bus written two ways counts as two points. Source: ERCOT Generator Interconnection Status (GIS) Report, September 2026, planning data entered by developers and transmission providers that ERCOT says may contain errors. Parcel & Grid is not affiliated with ERCOT.
Who to contact in Carson County
- Carson County appraisal district and tax office: parcel records and agricultural valuation, which a lease can end (directory, Texas Comptroller · rollback taxes).
- TCEQ Region 1, Amarillo: 5809 S. Western St., Ste 260, Amarillo TX 79110-3631, 806-353-9251; spills, 24 hours: 800-832-8224. Handles the construction stormwater permit for sites of 1 acre or more (TCEQ).
- Carson County judge and commissioners court: road use agreements, tax agreements, and floodplain development permits where the county takes part in the flood insurance program.
- Flood maps: FEMA map search for Carson County.
Permits and reviews for Carson County
Texas has no state siting permit for solar or wind, and Texas counties generally have no zoning authority, so a project in Carson County is shaped by site control, the county road use agreement, tax agreements, and the grid connection (what still applies · the twelve approvals, stage by stage). Wetland, endangered species, historic, and FAA reviews depend on the site: statewide and federal contacts · decommissioning law.
How a project in Carson County connects to the grid
Carson County is on the ERCOT grid. The projects listed above are in ERCOT's Panhandle load zone. The serving utility handles the connection request. Interconnection by market and utility · what ERCOT is.
How long it takes. ERCOT staff put the connection process at 18 to 30 months for generation of 10 MW or more, before construction or supply delays (ERCOT, Oct. 2024). Across the U.S., the median project built in 2025 took 61 months from interconnection request to commercial operation (Berkeley Lab, Queued Up 2026), so a lease signed today usually means construction years out: timelines by market.
Solar for homes and businesses in Carson County
Texas rules for rooftop and on-site systems are the same in every county; your electric utility sets the application steps: Texas home and business solar rules · your utility's application links.
Get the land report for a spot in Carson County
Get a free land report for any point: flood zone, wetlands, nearest power line, soils, and parcel acreage.
Other counties served by TCEQ Region 1
Armstrong · Briscoe · Castro · Childress · Collingsworth · Dallam · Deaf Smith · Donley · Gray · Hall · Hansford · Hartley · Hemphill · Hutchinson · Lipscomb · Moore · Ochiltree · Oldham · Parmer · Potter · Randall · Roberts · Sherman · Swisher · Wheeler