The permit path.

Gas-fired generation in Texas needs air permit authorization from the TCEQ — the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality — before construction begins. The path a project takes depends mostly on its emissions profile, the process is measured in months, and it sits squarely on the critical path. That is why "permits in hand" is the phrase that separates real projects from planned ones.

Why the air permit is the gate

Almost everything else in a behind-the-meter buildout can be bought, hired, or accelerated. The air permit cannot. It is a regulatory review that runs on the agency's clock, and construction of the permitted equipment can't lawfully start without it. In practice that makes air permitting one of the few true gates in the timeline advantage BTM holds over the grid queue — the schedule risk that doesn't yield to money.

Two paths through the agency

Conceptually, Texas offers two routes. Standard permits are pre-defined authorizations: the agency has already decided what a class of equipment may emit and under what conditions, and a project that fits inside those conditions can qualify through a more streamlined review. Case-by-case review is the alternative for projects that don't fit the template — a site-specific analysis of the equipment, its controls, and its impact, with more scrutiny and more calendar. Which path applies is an engineering question before it is a legal one.

What actually drives the timeline

Three things, mostly. The emissions profile of the chosen equipment — cleaner-burning machines with modern controls have an easier path. The analysis burden — how much modeling the application needs to demonstrate compliance. And the site itself — its surroundings and what else operates nearby. Projects that select equipment with permitting in mind, early, tend to move in months. Projects that treat permitting as paperwork discover it is design. Equipment choice and permit strategy should be made together, by people who have run this play before.

Why permits-in-hand is the gold standard

An issued permit is retired risk: the agency has reviewed the specific machines on the specific site and said yes. A pending application is a probability. When evaluating a provider's claims, the distinction is worth more than almost any other diligence item, which is why it anchors our provider evaluation framework. Corley Energy pulled permits at Power Foundry before marketing capacity for exactly this reason.

Verify before you rely

Permitting rules, thresholds, and review practices change, and this page describes program mechanics, not current law — it is not legal advice. Before committing capital against a permitting assumption, have environmental counsel confirm the current TCEQ requirements for the specific equipment and site in question. The program's shape is stable; the details move, and a schedule built on last year's details is a schedule built on sand.

About Corley Energy

Corley Energy is a behind-the-meter independent power producer, founded in 2024 by Jake Corley, Tim Bozeman, and Mark Meyer. We convert stranded Permian Basin natural gas into firm, contracted electricity for AI data centers at Power Foundry, our ~1,000-acre development in Upton County, Texas. Start with what a power foundry is, see the company facts, or check current capacity on the Sites page.

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