Houston researcher wins competitive NSF award for work tying machine learning to the power grid

grant funding

The UH team is developing ways to use machine learning to ensure that power systems can continue to run efficiently when pulling their energy from wind and solar sources. Photo via Getty Images

An associate professor at the University of Houston received the highly competitive National Science Foundation CAREER Award earlier this month for a proposal focused on integrating renewable resources to improve power grids.

The award grants more than $500,000 to Xingpeng Li, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and leader of the Renewable Power Grid Lab at UH, to continue his work on developing ways to use machine learning to ensure that power systems can continue to run efficiently when pulling their energy from wind and solar sources, according to a statement from UH. This work has applications in the events of large disturbances to the grid.

Li explains that currently, power grids run off of converted, stored kinetic energy during grid disturbances.

"For example, when the grid experiences sudden large generation losses or increased electrical loads, the stored kinetic energy immediately converted to electrical energy and addressed the temporary shortfall in generation,” Li said in a statement. “However, as the proportion of wind and solar power increases in the grid, we want to maximize their use since their marginal costs are zero and they provide clean energy. Since we reduce the use of those traditional generators, we also reduce the power system inertia (or stored kinetic energy) substantially.”

Li plans to use machine learning to create more streamlined models that can be implemented into day-ahead scheduling applications that grid operators currently use.

“With the proposed new modeling and computational approaches, we can better manage grids and ensure it can supply continuous quality power to all the consumers," he said.

In addition to supporting Li's research and model creations, the funds will also go toward Li and his team's creation of a free, open-source tool for students from kindergarten up through their graduate studies. They are also developing an “Applied Machine Learning in Power Systems” course. Li says the course will help meet workforce needs.

The CAREER Award recognizes early-career faculty members who “have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization,” according to the NSF. It's given to about 500 researchers each year.

Earlier this year, Rice assistant professor Amanda Marciel was also granted an NSF CAREER Award to continue her research in designing branch elastomers that return to their original shape after being stretched. The research has applications in stretchable electronics and biomimetic tissues.

UH's Jian Shi recently received the NSF's CAREER award, which will dole out $500,861 in funding through February 2029. Photo via UH.edu

Houston researcher scores $500,000 award to continue on work on energy transition

zeroing in on zero emissions

A University of Houston professor and researcher is laser focused on his work within the energy transition, and National Science Foundation has taken note, awarding him over half a million dollars in funding.

Jian Shi, an assistant professor within the Cullen College of Engineering, recently received the NSF's CAREER award, which will dole out $500,861 in funding through February 2029.

The award was granted for his research, entitled “A Unified Zero-Carbon-Driven Design Framework for Accelerating Power Grid Deep Decarbonization.”

“One of the most major challenges inherent in energy transition is the cost. While reducing carbon emissions serves the best interest of society in the long run, the short-term financial burdens also need to be carefully evaluated to ensure that we have a safe, affordable, reliable and just transition for all,” Shi says in a UH news release. “This challenge has inspired me to work on the innovative framework of “ZERO-Accelerator.”

Shi's ZERO-Accelerator is focused on taking standard carbon-driven tools and integrating them into current power grid operational practices. Shi is the director and founder of SOAR, or the Smart and ZerO-Carbon Energy Analytics and Research Lab.

“It synthesizes interactions from multiple key stakeholders involved in the electricity ecosystem,” says Shi. “The framework considers how to manage carbon allowance allocation and trading for electricity producers, how to maintain a 24/7 zero-carbon power grid for power grid operators and how to enable consumers to understand their carbon footprint and participate in the zero-carbon grid operation.”

In his CAREER proposal, Shi explains that he is also contributing to training the future energy workforce. He adds that he shares this award with his colleagues.

“I believe no accomplishment is truly individual,” he says. “Rather, it is a collective triumph achieved through collaboration, support and shared dedication. As I reflect on the milestones I've reached, I am compelled to express my deepest gratitude to my esteemed colleagues whose unwavering commitment has been instrumental in not just my collective success, but our collective success as well."

Last summer, Shi mentored a UH team in the inaugural American-Made Carbon Management Collegiate Competition, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management. The team, GreenHouston, took third place in the competition, securing a $5,000 cash prize.

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Texas falls lower on national ranking of greenest states for 2025

room to improve

Texas dropped in the rankings on WalletHub's Greenest States 2025 report.

The report, released last month, considered 28 relevant metrics—from air and water quality to the number of alternative fuel stations and green buildings per capita—to call out states doing the best (and worst) jobs of caring for the environment.

Texas came in at No. 42 out of 50, with a total score of 42.54 out of 100. Last year, the Lone Star State ranked No. 38 with a score of 50.40 based on 25 metrics.

Texas' poor ranking was driven by its last-placed ranking, coming in at No. 50, for overall environmental quality. It was tied for No. 45 for air quality and ranked No. 46 for water quality, which helped comprise the overall environmental quality score.

Other metrics fell closer toward the middle of the pack. The state ranked No. 32 for eco-friendly behaviors and No. 39 for climate-change contributions.

California also fell on the annual report. While the state claimed the top spot in 2024, it came in at No. 7 this year. Vermont, which came in second in 2024, was named the greenest state in 2025.

Hawaii, which didn't crack the top five last year, was ranked No. 2 on the 2025 report. New York, Maryland and Maine rounded out the top five this year.

West Virginia was the country's least green state again this year, followed by Louisiana, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi.

The report also showed that Democrat-led states ranked around No. 12 on average, whereas Republican states fell at around No. 33.

While the WalletHub report seems bleak for Texas, others have shown more positive signs for the state. Texas was ranked slightly above average in a recent ranking of the best states for sustainable development. A recently released U.S. Energy Storage Monitor shows that Texas led all states and surpassed California in the fourth quarter of 2024 by installing 1.2 gigawatts of utility-scale energy storage for solar and wind power.

Still, WalletHub also recently ranked Houston No. 98 out of 100 of the largest cities on its Greenest Cities in America report. Read more here.

Source: WalletHub

Houston renewables developer and Google agree to second solar collaboration

power purchase

EnergyRe, a developer of large-scale renewable energy projects with headquarters in Houston and New York, has signed a renewable energy agreement that will allow Google to invest in and purchase renewable energy credits (RECs) from its projects under development in South Carolina.

Google will be able to pull from energyRe’s portfolio of more than 600 megawatts of new solar and solar storage projects in the state.

The agreement marks the second partnership between the companies. Last year, energyRe and Google signed a 12-year power purchase agreement in which Google would purchase renewable energy from a 435-megawatt solar project. EnergyRe would supply electricity and RECs generated from the solar project to Google to power the equivalent of more than 56,000 homes.

"Strengthening the grid by deploying more reliable and clean energy is crucial for supporting the digital infrastructure that businesses and individuals depend on," Amanda Peterson Corio, head of data center energy at Google, said in a news release. "Our collaboration with energyRe will help power our data centers and the broader economic growth of South Carolina."

EnergyRe's work includes developing high-voltage transmission, onshore and offshore wind, large-scale solar, distributed generation and storage assets in markets around the United States. Its national onshore utility-scale portfolio includes 1,520 megawatts of contracted solar assets and 398 megawatt-hours of contracted battery storage assets.

"This agreement is a milestone in energyRe's mission to develop innovative and impactful clean energy solutions for the future," Miguel Prado, CEO of energyRe, added in the news release."We're honored to partner with Google to help advance their ambitious sustainability and decarbonization objectives while delivering dependable, locally sourced clean energy to meet growing energy demands."

Google aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its operations and value chain by 2030.

Engie partners on major Texas, California battery storage portfolio

power partners

Houston’s Engie North America has partnered with New York-based CBRE Investment Management on a 2.4-gigawatt portfolio of battery storage assets in Texas and California.

The portfolio consists of 31 projects operating in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and California Independent System Operator (CAISO) territories. According to a company statement, the transaction represents one of Engie’s largest operating portfolio partnerships in the U.S.

“We are delighted that ENGIE and CBRE IM are partnering in this industry-leading transaction, supporting 2.4 GW of storage that will support the growing demand for power in Texas and California,” Dave Carroll, Chief Renewables Officer and SVP, ENGIE North America, said in the news release.

The deal is also one of the sector’s largest sales completed to date. Engie will retain a controlling share in the portfolio and will continue to operate and manage the assets.

“The scale of this portfolio reflects ENGIE’s commitments to meeting the energy needs of the U.S. and increasing the resilience of the ERCOT and CAISO grids,” Carroll added in the news release. “CBRE IM’s investment reflects their confidence in ENGIE’s proven track record in developing, building, operating and financing renewable assets, both in North America and globally.”

In North America, ENGIE currently has more than 11 gigawatts of renewable production and battery storage in operation or construction. Last year, Engie added 4.2 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity worldwide, bringing the total capacity to 46 gigawatts as of December 31. It also recently made a preliminary deal to supply wind power to a Cipher Mining data center in Texas.

As of March 31, 2025, CBRE IM had $149.1 billion in assets under management and operated in 20 countries.

“We are excited to partner with ENGIE on this high-quality, scaled battery storage portfolio with a strong operating track record,” Robert Shaw, managing director, private infrastructure strategies at CBRE Investment Management, said in the release.

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