SAND HILL
OperatingNatural Gas power plant
- Capacity
- 696 MW
- Primary fuel
- Natural Gas
- County
- Travis County
- Operator
- AUSTIN ENERGY
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 2001
- EIA plant ID
- 7900
- Generators
- 8
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle
- Net generation (2024)
- 2,134 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 35%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 30.2088, -97.6136
SAND HILL, a 696 MW Natural Gas power plant in Travis County, Texas. Operated by AUSTIN ENERGY, commissioned 2001.
How SAND HILL compares
With 696 MW of capacity, SAND HILL ranks 50th among the 307 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Texas and 37th of the 134 operating Natural Gas plants in the state. It accounts for about 1.0% of Texas's operating Natural Gas capacity and 0.7% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 189th-largest of the 1,185 operating Natural Gas plants in the database. Commissioned in 2001, it is newer than 47% of the 303 operating Texas plants with a recorded commissioning year. Its operator, AUSTIN ENERGY, runs 3 operating plants in Texas totaling 909 MW. It shares Travis County with 9 other operating plants, including DECKER CREEK and HAL C WEAVER POWER PLANT.
EIA-860 lists 8 generators at the site with 696 MW of nameplate capacity, mainly natural gas fired combined cycle technology. Net generation was 2,134 GWh in 2024 (a 35% capacity factor), up 32% from 2022. Its generators came online between 2001 and 2010.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 138 kV line owned by ONCOR ELECTRIC DELIVERY CO., about 0.1 miles away. Another 12 operating power plants totaling 2,505 MW sit within 25 miles; the largest is BASTROP ENERGY CENTER (728 MW, Natural Gas). Within 50 miles is one mapped data center, CyrusOne Austin (Met 2) in Austin, about 5.0 miles away.
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant and transmission line records, EIA-860/923 survey data and PeeringDB data center locations; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
SAND HILL is a 696 MW natural gas power plant in Travis County, TX, operated by AUSTIN ENERGY, commissioned in 2001. Travis County carries critical modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 4.3 of 5 at the 83rd national percentile. Hail is the leading peril, rated Very High by FEMA at the 87th percentile.
The Bywatts loss layer is calibrated to solar PV hardware, so it is not applied to a natural gas plant. The ratings below are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings for this location.
Travis County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hail | Very High | 87th | 4.5 of 5 | 3.9 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | 54th | 3.2 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Riverine flooding | Relatively High | 53rd | 3.1 of 5 | 5.5 |
| Tornado | Very High | 51st | 3.1 of 5 | 0.54 |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | 48th | 2.9 of 5 | 0.03 |
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 32nd | 2.3 of 5 | 0.55 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 32nd | 2.3 of 5 | 1.6 |
| Heat wave | Relatively High | 20th | 1.8 of 5 | 10.3 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 13th | 1.5 of 5 | 3.8 |
| Lightning | Relatively High | 10th | 1.4 of 5 | 49.2 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 7th | 1.3 of 5 | <0.01 |
Perils not assessed in Travis County
These perils carry no usable National Risk Index figure for this county, so they are excluded from the scoring rather than scored zero. A zero would claim the peril was assessed and found benign.
| Peril | Why it is not scored |
|---|---|
| Coastal flooding | FEMA rating is "Not Applicable" for this county |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Travis County in the weather risk calculator
Ratings are the FEMA National Risk Index county hazard ratings; the peril score is a Bywatts transform of the FEMA national percentile. Full data sources and the solar vulnerability methodology are in the weather risk calculator.
Modeled estimate for screening and negotiation. Built from FEMA National Risk Index county hazard data and a solar vulnerability layer documented above. Not a quote, a binder, or actuarial advice, and not a substitute for a carrier's own model. Hazard data: FEMA National Risk Index December 2025, synced 2026-07-24. Resolution is county level, not site level.