seeing green

Houston airports land $12.5M for green projects, announce new EV fleet

Houston's airports are looking more and more green. Photo via fly2houston.org

Houston Airports will receive funding from The Federal Aviation Administration in the next few months on projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and implementing the administration's climate challenge guidance at its hubs.

The funds — about $12.5 million — come from the FAA's FY2022 Airport Improvement Program Supplemental Discretionary Grant Competition and are slated to be rolled-out by September 2024. Projects at George Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports were among 79 projects around the country, which the FAA granted about $268 million to in total.

“Houston Airports is committed to reducing our environmental impact while also protecting the planet as we expand our global reach. These FAA grants fund our ability to invest in smart and sustainable solutions” Jim Szczesniak, COO for Houston Airports, said in a statement. “The end result of these projects will be a more resilient, efficient and sustainable airport system that aligns with the goal of Houston Airports to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.”

IAH received $10.3 million for two projects that will replace existing generators and fund an energy audit to find energy and water use efficiencies at the airport, as well as "define actionable steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the airfield and the airport's buildings," according to the statement.

Hobby received $2.1 million to also go towards an energy audit and to create a Resiliency Master Plan to help mitigate the impacts of climate change, severe weather and floods in a sustainable way.

Separate from the FAA funds, Houston airports also announced in recent weeks that it will add an all-electric fleet of vehicles for its six airport locations by the end of 2023.

According to a release from HAS, ground operations are a major source of the aviation industry's carbon footprint.

The fleet will include 25 Ford F-150 Lightnings, which can travel up to 320 miles on a full charge. HAS's maintenance team planned to install 11 Level 2 charging stations to support the fleet at its airports this summer.

These updates are all part of HAS's Sustainable Management Plan, which aims to get the system to carbon neutrality by 2030.

Earlier this year, Hertz Electrifies Houston, in partnership with bp pulse, announced that it would install a new EV fast-charging hub to Hobby Airport that's designed to serve ride-hail, taxi fleets and the general public. The initiative, which was formed by The Hertz Corp. and the City of Houston, also aimed to bring 2,100 rental electric vehicles to Houston.

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A View From HETI

A unanimous settlement has been reached in Blackstone's $11.5 billion acquisition of TXNM Energy. Photo via Unsplash.

A settlement has been reached in a regulatory dispute over Blackstone Infrastructure’s pending acquisition of TXNM Energy, the parent company of Texas-New Mexico Power Co. , which provides electricity in the Houston area. The settlement still must be approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

Aside from Public Utility Commission staffers, participants in the settlement include TXNM Energy, Texas cities served by Texas-New Mexico Power, the Texas Office of Public Utility Counsel, Texas Industrial Energy Consumers, Walmart and the Texas Energy Association for Marketers.

Texas-New Mexico Power, based in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Lewisville, supplies electricity to more than 280,000 homes and businesses in Texas. Ten cities are in Texas-New Mexico Power’s Houston-area service territory:

  • Alvin
  • Angleton
  • Brazoria
  • Dickinson
  • Friendswood
  • La Marque
  • League City
  • Sweeny
  • Texas City
  • West Columbia

Under the terms of the settlement, Texas-New Mexico Power must:

  • Provide a $45.5 million rate credit to customers over 48 months, once the deal closes
  • Maintain a seven-member board of directors, including three unaffiliated directors as well as the company’s president and CEO
  • Embrace “robust” financial safeguards
  • Keep its headquarters within the utility’s Texas service territory
  • Avoid involuntary layoffs, as well as reductions of wages or benefits related to for-cause terminations or performance issues

The settlement also calls for Texas-New Mexico Power to retain its $4.2 billion five-year capital spending plan through 2029. The plan will help Texas-New Mexico Power cope with rising demand; peak demand increased about 66 percent from 2020 to 2024.

Citing the capital spending plan in testimony submitted to the Public Utility Commission, Sebastian Sherman, senior managing director of Blackstone Infrastructure, said Texas-New Mexico Power “needs the right support to modernize infrastructure, to strengthen the grid against wildfire and other risks, and to meet surging electricity demand in Texas.”

Blackstone Infrastructure, which has more than $64 billion in assets under management, agreed in August to buy TXNM Energy in a $11.5 billion deal.

Neal Walker, president of Texas-New Mexico Power, says the deal will help his company maintain a reliable, resilient grid, and offer “the financial resources necessary to thrive in this rapidly changing energy environment and meet the unprecedented future growth anticipated across Texas.”

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