turner's legacy

In final State of the City speech, Houston mayor addresses resiliency, energy transition efforts

"I am proud of the city that I shall pass forward." Photo courtesy of the city of Houston

For his eighth and final time, Mayor Sylvester Turner delivered the State of the City address last week, and he highlighted some of the gains within his tenure.

"We are greener, more compassionate, more united, and more forward-moving than we can ever imagine," says Mayor Turner. “What I can say to Houstonians is that I have given you my best, and I am proud of the city that I shall pass forward.”

At the event, which boasted a sold-out crowd of 1,500 Houstonians, Mayor turned announced some of the initiatives he's most proud of accomplishing and revealed release of “A Winning Legacy,” a book detailing his legacy.

“Together, we have faced many storms – seven federally declared disasters in eight years. From floods or a freeze, from a Super Bowl or the pandemic, we rose and met the challenges of our times,” says the mayor in his speech. “From inequities in neighborhoods investments to billions of dollars in pension unfunded liabilities, from One Safe Houston to One Clean Houston, we confronted each issue head on and set the city on firmer footing.”

Mayor Turner goes on to name the other storms that hit Houston during his tenure, and how resiliency and the energy transition became major themes of this office.

"We are the energy capital of the world," he says to the crowd. "We purchase more renewable energy than any other city in the United States. ... We lead the country in renewables."

In the address, Mayor Turner mentions his work on a project, announced last year, to convert a former landfill into a solar farm.

"The Sunnyside Solar Farm, which will be the largest urban solar farm in the country, will be operational by 2024," he says.

Mayor Turner wraps up his speech, which is available in its entirety on the city's YouTube page, with noting that he is leaving the next mayor — who will be decided in next month's election — with a $420 million surplus. When Mayor Turner was elected in 2015, the city had a $160 million deficit.

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A View From HETI

John Carrington is now CEO of Enchanted Rock. Photo courtesy Enchanted Rock.

Houston-based electric microgrid company Enchanted Rock has named a new CEO.

John Carrington has assumed the role after serving as Enchanted Rock's executive chairman since June, the company announced earlier this month.

Carrington most recently was CEO of Houston-based Stem, which offers AI-enabled software and services designed for setting up and operating clean energy facilities. He stepped down as Stem’s CEO in September 2024. Stem, which was founded in 2006 and went public under Carrington's leadership in 2021, was previously based in San Francisco.

Carrington has also held senior leadership roles at Miasolé, First Solar and GE.

Corey Amthor has served as acting CEO of Enchanted Rock since June. He succeeded Enchanted Rock founder Thomas McAndrew in the role, with McAndrew staying on with the company as a strategic advisor and board member. With the hiring of Carrington, Amthor has returned to his role as president. According to the company, Amthor and Carrington will "partner to drive the company’s next phase of growth."

“I’m proud to join a leadership team known for technical excellence and execution, and with our company-wide commitment to innovation, we are well positioned to navigate this moment of unprecedented demand and advance our mission alongside our customers nationwide,” Carrington said in the news release. “Enchanted Rock’s technology platform delivers resilient, clean and scalable ultra-low-emissions onsite power that solves some of the most urgent challenges facing our country today. I’m energized by the strong momentum and growing market demand for our solutions, and we remain committed to providing data centers and other critical sectors with the reliable power essential to their operations.”

This summer, Enchanted Rock also announced that Ian Blakely would reassume the role of CFO at the company. He previously served as chief strategy officer. Paul Froutan, Enchanted Rock's former CTO, was also named COO last year.

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