SILAS RAY
OperatingNatural Gas power plant
- Capacity
- 181 MW
- Primary fuel
- Natural Gas
- County
- Cameron County
- Operator
- BROWNSVILLE PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD
- Status
- Operating
- Commissioned
- 1959
- EIA plant ID
- 3559
- Generators
- 8
- Technology
- Natural Gas Fired Combined Cycle
- Net generation (2024)
- 103 GWh
- Capacity factor (2024, EIA nameplate)
- 8.3%
- Data vintage
- EIA-860 2024 final; EIA-923 2022-2024 final
- Coordinates
- 25.9131, -97.5214
SILAS RAY, a 181 MW Natural Gas power plant in Cameron County, Texas. Operated by BROWNSVILLE PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD, commissioned 1959.
How SILAS RAY compares
With 181 MW of capacity, SILAS RAY ranks 132nd among the 307 operating power plants Bywatts maps in Texas and 95th of the 134 operating Natural Gas plants in the state. It accounts for about 0.3% of Texas's operating Natural Gas capacity and 0.2% of all operating capacity in the state. Nationally it is the 558th-largest of the 1,185 operating Natural Gas plants in the database. Commissioned in 1959, it is older than 92% of the 303 operating Texas plants with a recorded commissioning year. It shares Cameron County with 2 other operating plants, LOS VIENTOS WIND 1B and LOS VIENTOS WIND 1A.
EIA-860 lists 8 generators at the site with 143 MW of nameplate capacity, mainly natural gas fired combined cycle technology (this page's HIFLD capacity figure is 181 MW). Net generation was 103 GWh in 2024 (an 8.3% capacity factor), up 64% from 2022. Its generators came online between 1959 and 2004.
Grid neighborhood
The closest transmission line found within 10 miles is a 138 kV line owned by BROWNSVILLE PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD, under 0.1 miles away.
Computed by Bywatts from HIFLD power plant and transmission line records and EIA-860/923 survey data; distances are straight-line. Sources and methodology
Weather peril exposure
SILAS RAY is a 181 MW natural gas power plant in Cameron County, TX, operated by BROWNSVILLE PUBLIC UTILITIES BOARD, commissioned in 1959. Cameron County carries high modeled catastrophe exposure in the FEMA National Risk Index, scoring 4.1 of 5 at the 78th national percentile. Lightning is the leading peril, rated Relatively High by FEMA at the 96th 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.
Cameron County hazard ratings
| Peril | FEMA rating | National percentile | Peril score | Events per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning | Relatively High | 96th | 4.8 of 5 | 34.1 |
| Hurricane | Very High | 94th | 4.8 of 5 | 0.16 |
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 66th | 3.6 of 5 | 0.16 |
| Hail | Relatively High | 60th | 3.4 of 5 | 0.33 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 48th | 2.9 of 5 | <0.01 |
| Heat wave | Relatively High | 39th | 2.6 of 5 | 7.5 |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively Moderate | 39th | 2.6 of 5 | 3.7 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 26th | 2.0 of 5 | 0.57 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 22nd | 1.9 of 5 | 0.43 |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 17th | 1.7 of 5 | 0.18 |
| Riverine flooding | Relatively Moderate | 10th | 1.4 of 5 | 2.5 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 9th | 1.4 of 5 | <0.01 |
Model hail, wind and flood exposure for Cameron 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.