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Gulf Coast projects score DOE funding, Houston energy companies announce big deals, and more trending news

Here's what news on EnergyCapital trended this week. Photo via Getty Images

Editor's note: From the Department of Energy funding regional projects to big clean energy deals, these are the top headlines that resonated with EnergyCapital readers on social media and daily newsletter this week.

DOE deploys $6B into decarbonization projects — including 4 on the Gulf Coast

Four decarbonization projects in the region have received federal support. Photo via Getty Images

Four projects along the Gulf Coast will receive a share of up to $6 billion in federal funding for decarbonization initiatives.

The $6 billion in funding was announced March 25 by the U.S. Department of Energy. The federal agency and the award recipients still must hammer out details.

“Spurring on the next generation of decarbonization technologies in key industries like steel, paper, concrete, and glass will keep America the most competitive nation on Earth,” U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says in a news release. Continue reading.

SLB to consolidate carbon capture business in partnership

The combined technology portfolios will accelerate the introduction of promising early-stage decarbonization technology. Photo via Getty Images

SLB announced its plans to combine its carbon capture business with Norway company, Aker Carbon Capture.

Upon completion of the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of this year, SLB will own 80 percent of the combined business and ACC will own 20 percent.

According to a SLB news release, the combined technology portfolios will accelerate the introduction of promising early-stage decarbonization technology. Continue reading.

Home Depot taps Houston company as exclusive solar, battery service partner

Under this partnership, Home Depot customers will be able to buy Sunnova’s Adaptive Home products, which includes solar power, battery storage, and smart energy management. Photo via Sunnova

Houston-based clean energy company Sunnova Energy International has been tapped as the exclusive provider of solar power and battery storage services for the more than 2,000 Home Depot stores in the U.S.

Under this partnership, Home Depot customers will be able to buy Sunnova’s Adaptive Home products. The Adaptive Home line combines solar power, battery storage, and smart energy management.

Sunnova didn’t assign a value to the Home Depot deal. Continue reading.

Baker Hughes, bp team up on flare emissions monitoring tech

bp is now using Baker Hughes emissions abatement technology, flare.IQ, to quantify methane emissions from its flares. Photo via Canva

Two energy companies with Houston headquarters are collaborating on flare emissions monitoring.

According to a news release, bp is now using Baker Hughes emissions abatement technology, flare.IQ, to quantify "methane emissions from its flares, a new application for the upstream oil and gas sector." The statement goes on to explain that the industry doesn't have a to methane emission quantifying, and that bp ad Baker Hughes has facilitated a large, full-scale series of studies on the technology.

Now, bp is utilizing 65 flares across seven regions to reduce emissions. Continue reading.

Hot rocks, AI, and more — 5 themes and takeaways from CERAWeek 2024 in Houston

Here are five things to know from CERAWeek this year. Photo courtesy of CERAWeek

The 2024 edition of CERAWeek by S&P Global wrapped up last Friday in Houston, and a handful of themes emerged as topical and disruptive amid the energy transition.

Here are five takeaways from the conference, according to EnergyCapital reporting. Continue reading.

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A View From HETI

The USDA has announced a $1.4 billion investment to transition San Miguel Electric Cooperative in rural South Texas to a 600-megawatt solar and battery energy system, aiming to reduce climate pollution and create jobs by 2027.

The United States Department of Agriculture recently announced that San Miguel Electric Cooperative Inc., located in Christine, Texas, in Atascosa County, just outside of San Antonio, will transition its operations to produce 600 megawatts of energy using solar panels and a battery energy storage system (BESS).

The project is expected to reduce climate pollution by 1.8 tons annually, equivalent to removing 446,000 cars from the road each year, says USDA.

The project with the San Miguel Electric Cooperative plans to use more than $1.4 billion investment to procure 600 megawatts of renewable energy through solar voltaic panels and a battery energy storage system to power 47 counties across rural South Texas. The clean project also hopes to support as many as 600 jobs.

This is part of the over $4.37 billion in clean energy investments through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program, which has rural electric cooperatives supporting the economy via job creation, lowering electricity costs for businesses and families and reducing climate pollution. The New ERA was made possible by President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which was the largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936.

San Miguel plans to convert its operations to a 400-megawatt solar generation facility and 200-megawatt battery storage facility, and the transition should be complete by 2027. Currently, San Miguel produces 391 megawatts of electricity through a contract with South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC).

“USDA is committed to enhancing the quality of life and improving air and water in our rural communities,” Secretary Tom Vilsack says in a news release. “The Inflation Reduction Act’s historic investments enable USDA to partner with rural electric cooperatives to strengthen America’s energy security and lower electricity bills for hardworking families, farmers and small business owners.”

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