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Houston university's compost program reaches major milestone

seeing green

Rice University, which works with Houston-based Moonshot Compost, reported a milestone achievement this month. Photo via Getty Images

Rice University and its campus community have officially diverted over 1 million pounds of food waste from landfills.

The university, which works with Houston-based Moonshot Compost, reported the milestone achievement this month. The program was originally launched in November 2020.

“The genesis of the current composting program was a partnership between Housing and Dining, the Office of Sustainability and an undergraduate student named Ashley Fitzpatrick,” says Richard Johnson, senior executive director for sustainability at Rice, in a news release.

“We spent quite a bit of time developing options for food waste composting at Rice with those efforts really ramping up in 2019. After a pilot project, further reflection and an interruption due to the pandemic, we found Moonshot Compost, and they proved to be the partner we needed.”

Fitzpatrick, the student who started it all went on to graduate and now works for Moonshot Compost. She did leave a legacy of student involvement in the program, and Isabelle Chang now serves as an undergraduate student intern in the Office of Sustainability. The role includes liaising with students and other major players on campus who have feedback for the program.

Rice previously had a composting program, but it never reached the same level of scale, per the news release.

“Many years ago — from the late 1990s to about 2007 — we had an on-campus composting device called the Earth Tub that provided food waste composting at one campus kitchen,” Johnson said. “However, the device failed, and frankly, the process of operating the device, getting the food waste into the device and maintaining it all proved onerous. Interest in composting remained after we decommissioned the Earth Tub, and for years we looked for alternatives [before finding Moonshot Compost].”

Launched in July 2020 by Chris Wood and Joe Villa, Moonshot operates with a team of drivers utilizing its data platform to quantify the environmental benefits of composting. The duo went on to team up with energy industry veteran Rene Ramirez to harness their compost into clean hydrogen power.

Last fall, Moonshot Hydrogen signed a memorandum of understanding with the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization. The agreement includes facilitating the first operating commercial pilot that biologically turns food waste into hydrogen.

ESG has certainly come a long way, but has it come too far, actually? Photo via Getty Images

Houston energy tech entrepreneur on if 'ESG' is a dirty word

guest column

Whose responsibility is it to care for the social good? That’s an important, yet hopelessly complex question, particularly when aimed at sustainability.

When it comes to businesses and other profit-seeking firms, they tend to search for a balance between success today and success overtime. Too much focus in either direction can be deadly.

An apt analogy is a virus: too much reproduction too fast and the host dies, which is why the most successful viruses find the threshold for maximizing reproduction without overly weakening the host.

Payment is about to be due, but from whom?

The ESG movement encapsulates targets from ethical investing related to environmental issues, social values and corporate governance. As it relates to climate, people are working hard to determine how much cumulative effect of human activity is too much for our survival. And there continues to be open questions about how businesses should react to the scientific consensus that climate conditions will continue getting worse, without immediate and severe corrective action. If the consensus is that this is a problem for businesses to fix, whose money do they spend to do it?

Greed was good, once

Nobel-winning economist Milton Friedman famously advocated for firms to focus primarily on returning value to shareholders. With respect to social good, he advocated that shareholders use their returns to pursue them; businesses should just chase profit. His 1970 article in the New York Times Magazine is worth a read, particularly his last paragraph, where he observes that corporate dollars spent advancing social responsibility represent the theft of money from investors, customers, or employees. The challenge is, how many negative externalities do we absorb before seeking to redirect corporate profits?

Making impact be part of the analysis

Others have argued that firms have a social responsibility and should pursue, using the term John Elkington coined in 1994, a triple bottom line approach, focusing on profit, people, and planet. Adherents to this approach believe you only get what you measure, and therefore,businesses should measure more than just profit. The challenge is, who is smart enough to balance these accounts?

ESG to the rescue?

The term ESG itself was the result of good intentioned actors in the investment space who wanted to track the efficacy of investing in businesses that scored well for social responsibility. They theorized, and had some support, that these companies outperformed the market. The result was the formation of the Principles for Responsible Investment in 2013, with its six core principles for “incorporating ESG issues into investment practice.”

ESG has certainly come a long way from Milton Friendmen, though it’s challenging to say how the movement is going. From one perspective, it looks like everyone is in trouble. Banks for investing in companies who are not moving fast enough. Energy companies and other producers of consumer products for greenwashing their efforts. Private equity firms for forcing ESG standards that some view as a step-too-far. Financial service companies for assisting in greenwashing. And, of course, the worst offenders are “the woke.” From the other perspective, we are finally starting to see some incentives for companies to address and solve long-ignored problems.

One size fits no one

The question of “Who is responsible for ESG?” reminds me of a presentation I attended in spring 2022, given by a senior executive of a large landfill operator. Before he began his discussion of the environmental impacts of operating a landfill, he noted that his billion dollar company did not really create any trash, it simply collected and received trash from all of us! He was begging the question, “Am I solely responsible for your bad decisions?”

And that’s really the issue with ESG, is it not? Who, for example, is responsible for creating pollution? The energy companies for producing oil and natural gas from underground reserves, or the members of the public who drive cars, buy plastic goods, and flip on the lights? The government for letting those things happen? The answer is sadly both none of us and all of us.

Regulators, mount up

Regulating and investing are often in conflict, but they share one common characteristic: few people have ever done either well. That doesn’t mean we quit trying. There are those among us who can find the signal in the noise, who can stare at a pile of numbers and find the rule that answers the question, or at least correlates well to the desired outcome.

People change expensive behaviors

Charlie Munger famously said, “Show me the incentive, and I’ll show you the outcome.” If I had a magic wand, I would want the power to create global markets for the right to release harmful pollutants / emissions or deposit certain types of waste in landfills. It has worked before, and it will likely be what leads us where we need to go. Until we create marketplaces limiting the release of pollutants and disposal of waste, society will continue to fall prey to complex regulatory solutions that are easy for incumbent industries to strike down. Instead, putting a price on these activities will allow the incumbents to innovate and new companies to compete.

When it comes to ESG, I think we fear two outcomes equally: a world that feels a little out of control and a class of people, or institutions of government, who appear all too confident they have the answers. Maybe we can turn the heat down in the ESG debate by prioritizing what we measure and report and creating marketplaces that incentivize people to solve the most pressing problems.

———

Chris Wood is the co-founder of Houston-based Moonshot Compost.

Houston energy transition folks — here's what to know to start your week. Photo via Getty Images

Houston energy transition events not to miss, expert commentary on climate crisis, and more things to know

take note

Editor's note: Start your week off strong with three quick things to catch up on in Houston's energy transition: a roundup of events not to miss, a new Houston energy executive to know, and more.

Events not to miss

Put these Houston-area energy-related events on your calendar.

    • Future of Energy Summit is Tuesday, February 6, at AC Hotel by Marriott Houston Downtown. Register.
    • The 2024 NAPE Summit is Wednesday, February 7, to Friday, February 9, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. It's the energy industry’s marketplace for the buying, selling and trading of prospects and producing properties. Register.
    • The De Lange Conference, taking place February 9 and 10 at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is centered around the theme “Brave New Worlds: Who Decides? Research, Risk and Responsibility” this year. Register.
    • The Future of Energy Across the Americas: Helping Lawyers Predict and Adapt — the 2024 Houston Energy Conference — is February 27 to March 1. Register.
    • CERAWeek 2024 is Monday, March 18, to Friday, March 22, in the George R. Brown Convention Center. Register.

    ​Commentary: Chris Wood, co-founder of Moonshot Compost, on loving the climate apocalypse​

    Chris Wood knows that the last thing anyone wants to be reminded of in 2024 is the impending climate apocalypse, but, as he writes in his guest column, "There is a scientific consensus that the world climate is trending towards uninhabitable for many species, including humans, due in large part to results of human activity."

    He cites a report that 93 percent “believe that climate change poses a serious and imminent threat to the planet.”

    "Until recently reviewing this report, I was unaware that 93 percent of any of us could agree on anything," he writes. "It got me thinking, how much of our problem today is based on misunderstanding both the nature of the problem and the solution?" Read more.

    New hire: Bracewell names new partner to advise clients on energy transition tax incentives

    Bracewell announced that Jennifer Speck has joined the firm's tax department as a partner in the Houston office. Speck will advise clients on energy transition tax incentives.

    Some of her experiences include onshore and offshore wind, solar, carbon capture, clean hydrogen and clean fuel projects. She recently served as senior manager of tax and regulatory compliance at Navigator CO2 Ventures LLC. She graduated in 2010 with a B.F.A. in mental health psychology from Northeastern State University, and received her J.D., with honors, from The University of Tulsa College of Law in 2012. Read more.

    Houston climate tech founder weighs in on his observations on what's true, what's exaggerated, and what all humans can agree on about the climate crisis. Photo via Getty Imagees

    Houston expert: Why climate action needs better PR and how to love the climate apocalypse

    guest column

    The last thing anyone wants in 2024 is a reminder of the impending climate apocalypse, but here it is: There is a scientific consensus that the world climate is trending towards uninhabitable for many species, including humans, due in large part to results of human activity.

    Psychologists today observe a growing trend of patients with eco-anxiety or climate doom, reflecting some people’s inability to cope with their climate fears. The Edelman Trust Barometer, in its most recent survey respondents in 14 countries, reports that 93 percent “believe that climate change poses a serious and imminent threat to the planet.”

    Until recently reviewing this report, I was unaware that 93 percent of any of us could agree on anything. It got me thinking, how much of our problem today is based on misunderstanding both the nature of the problem and the solution?

    We’ve been worried for good reason before 

    It’s worth keeping in mind that climate change is not the first time smart people thought humans were doomed by our own successes or failures. Robert Malthus theorized at the end of the 18th century that projected human fertility would certainly outpace agricultural production. Just a century and a half later, about half of all Americans expected a nuclear war, and the number jumped to as high as 80 percent expecting the next war to be nuclear. Yes, global hunger and nuclear threats still exist, but our results have outperformed the worst of those dire projections.

    We are worried for good reason today 

    Today changing climate conditions have grabbed the headlines. The world’s climate is changing at a rate faster than we can model effectively, though our best modeling suggests significant, coordinated, global efforts are necessary to reverse current trends. While there’s still lots to learn, the consensus is that we are approaching a global temperature barrier across which we may not be able to quickly return. These conclusions are worrisome.

    How did we get here?

    Our reliance on hydrocarbons is at the heart of our climate challenge. If combusting them is so damaging, why do we keep doing it? We know enough about our human cognitive biases to say that humans tend to “live in the moment” when it comes to decision making. Nobel Prize-winning economic research suggests we choose behaviors that reward us today rather than those with longer term payoffs. Also, changing behaviors around hydrocarbons is hard. Crude oil, natural gas and coal have played a central role in the reduction of human suffering over time, helping to lift entire populations out of poverty, providing the power for our modern lives and even supplying instrumental materials for clothes and packaging. It’s hard to stop relying on a resource so plentiful, versatile and reliable.

    How do we get out of here?

    Technological advances in the future may help us address climate in new and unexpected ways. If we do nothing and hope for the best, what’s the alternative? We can take confidence that we’ve addressed difficult problems before. We can also take confidence that advancements like nuclear, solar, geothermal and wind power are already supplementing our primary reliance on hydrocarbons.

    The path forward will be extending the utility of these existing alternatives and identifying new technologies. We need to reduce emissions and to withdraw greenhouse gasses (GHGs) that have already been emitted. The nascent energy transition will continue to be funded by venture capitalists, government spending/incentives and private philanthropy. Larger funding sources will come from private equity and public markets, as successful technologies compete for more traditional sources of capital.

    Climate Tech will be a large piece of the climate puzzle

    My biases are likely clear: the same global capitalism that brought about our complicated modern world, with its apparent abundance and related climate consequences, has the best chance to save us. Early stage climate tech funding is increasing, even if it’s still too small. It has been observed that climate tech startups receiving funding today fail to track solutions for industries in proportion to their related production of GHGs. For instance, the agriculture and food sector creates about 18 percent of global GHGs, while climate tech companies seeking to address that sector receive about 9 percent of climate tech funding. These misalignments aside, the trendlines are in the right direction.

    What can you do?

    From a psychological perspective, healthy coping means making small decisions that address your fears, even if you can’t eliminate the root causes. Where does that leave you?

    Be a voice for reasonable change. Make changes in your behavior where and when you can. Also, take comfort when you see existing industries adopting meaningful sustainable practices at faster rates. Support the companies you believe are part of the solution.

    We are already seeing a burgeoning climate tech industry across the globe and here at home. With concerted efforts like the Ion and Greentown Labs, the Houston climate tech sector is helping to lead the charge. In what was even recently an unthinkable reality, the United States has taken a leadership role. Tellingly, we are not leading necessarily by setting targets, but instead by funding young startups and new infrastructure like the hydrogen hubs. We don’t know when or where the next Thomas Edison will emerge to shine a new light in a dark world. However, I do suspect that that woman or man is alive today, and it’s our job to keep building a world worth that person saving.

    ---

    Chris Wood is the co-founder of Houston-based Moonshot Compost.

    Moonshot Compost has announced its plans to create green hydrogen at scale. Photo via Getty Images

    Houston startup launches clean energy business to turn compost into hydrogen

    waste to power

    You may already know Moonshot Compost, a Houston company devoted to collecting food waste all over Texas. Now, meet Moonshot Hydrogen.

    Founders and brothers-in-law Chris Wood and Joe Villa have joined forces with energy industry veteran Rene Ramirez to harness their compost into clean hydrogen power.

    Earlier this month, the new branch of the existing company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization. The agreement comes close to a year after Ramirez first began working with Purdue University Northwest professors, Robert Kramer and Libbie Pelter, and Purdue University’s professor, John Patterson. The result is the first operating commercial pilot that biologically turns food waste into hydrogen.

    This revelation comes just days after the Biden-Harris administration announced that it had set aside $7 billion to H2Hubs, a collection of seven regional hydrogen power stations, including one in the Houston area.

    “We love the timing. There’s just a lot of interest right now,” Wood tells EnergyCapital in a video call with Villa and Ramirez. “It's been fun to watch Rene's long relationship with Purdue come to fruition on behalf of that hydrogen at the same time that the DoD is moving forward with their announcement on the hydrogen hubs.”

    Wood and Villa founded Moonshot Compost three years ago.

    “The thought was, 'waste is so valuable, and there's so much of it in the trash.' So we wanted to focus on, ‘Let's get our hands on as much food waste as possible,’ and always be focused on doing the best thing with our food waste,” Wood says.

    Initially, that meant making compost, which saved the waste from a landfill and produced high-quality, nutrient-rich soil. Customers include both private homes and commercial accounts. Those include heavy hitters like Rice University, Conoco Phillips and Texas Children’s Hospital, as well as beloved restaurants ranging from Bludorn to Tacodeli. And that’s just in Houston. The company now collects from businesses in Austin, Dallas and Waco, too.

    That extended footprint will be important to Moonshot Hydrogen.

    “Our big dream is ideally that we have one of these hydrogen facilities in almost every city that we can think of. Your city has that ability to charge up or refuel the cars with hydrogen at-location and not have to worry about going 300 miles away,” says Ramirez.

    Filling up your car with zero-emission hydrogen made from compost? It could be a reality sooner than you think. According to Wood, Moonshot is already in the preliminary stages of discussions with a facility to pilot just such a program.

    “We’ve been thrilled with how receptive people are. There does seem to be a general acknowledgment that this would fit well with Houston’s desire to be the energy transition capital of the world,” he says.

    Their patent-protected technology assures that Moonshot is the only company with this novel solution to food waste. Most exciting is the fact that the institutions with which Moonshot already partners could be on the ground floor of being at least partially powered by their own discarded scraps.

    “Everyone loves the circularity aspect of it,” says Ramirez. And with a potential launch as soon as next March, it’s one step closer to a reality for the Energy Transition Capital.

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    HETI members to take the stage at CERAWeek 2026 in Houston

    The View from HETI

    CERAWeek returns to Houston March 23–27, convening global industry leaders to explore the trends shaping the future of energy.

    The Greater Houston Partnership’s Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) members will play a key role in this year’s program, contributing to discussions spanning digital innovation, power systems, decarbonization and workforce. Below are the sessions featuring HETI members throughout the week:

    AI in Energy: Managing the Transformation
    Monday, March 23 | 9:30-10:00 a.m.
    Speakers: Hector Rocha, Accenture; Rebecca Hofmann, Blockchain For Energy; Paul Markwell, S&P Global

    Scaling Innovation: Building the Ecosystem for the Next Energy Breakthroughs
    Monday, March 23 | 10:30-11:10 a.m.
    Speakers: Graham Gordon, Accenture; Carolyn Seto, S&P Global; Bernie Bulkin, Global Energy Infrastructure Plc; Georgina Campbell Flatter, Greentown Labs
    Examines how partnerships across capital, policy and infrastructure can accelerate commercialization and scaling of breakthrough energy technologies.

    Oil Strategies for a World in Transition
    Monday, March 23 | 11:15-11:55 a.m.
    Speakers: Olivier Le Peuch, SLB; Anders Opedal, Equinor; Vicki Hollub, Occidental; Atul Arya, S&P Global
    Discusses how producers are adapting portfolio strategies to balance resilience, demand outlooks and transition pressures.

    Gas: Growing Markets and New Players
    Monday, March 23 | 12:00-12:40 p.m.
    Speakers: Liz Westcott, Woodside Energy; Toby Rice, EQT Corporation; Shankari Srinivasan, S&P Global; Ryosuke Tsugaru, JERA CO., INC.

    Advances in Exploration Technologies for Oil & Gas and Mining
    Monday, March 23 | 1:30-2:10 p.m.
    Speakers: Amy Callahan, Accenture; Hussein Shel, Amazon Web Services; Oscar Abbink, S&P Global
    Highlights sensing, imaging and AI tools improving discovery efficiency and sustainability in exploration.

    AI in Action: From Pilot to Profit
    Monday, March 23 | 1:30-2:00 p.m.
    Speakers: Shridevi Bale, Accenture; Paul Gruenwald, S&P Global
    Shares lessons from scaling AI deployments beyond pilots into measurable operational value.

    Power Networks: Collaborating to Meet Demand
    Monday, March 23 | 2:15-2:55 p.m.
    Speakers: Lawrence Coben, NRG Energy; Jim Murphy, Invenergy; Eduard Sala de Vedruna, S&P Global
    Examines grid readiness and collaboration models needed to manage surging electricity demand.

    New Phase of Gas: From Regional Security to Global Market Integration
    Monday, March 23 | 3:00-3:40 p.m.
    Speakers: Cederic Cremers, Shell; Balaji Krishnamurthy, Chevron; Kevin Gallagher, Santos; Mansoor Al Hamed, Mubadala Energy; Dave Ernsberger, S&P Global
    Discusses LNG’s evolving role in global integration, energy security and future pricing structures.

    Transforming Upstream: Pathways to Scaling New Technologies
    Monday, March 23 | 7:00-8:30 p.m.
    Speakers: Rami El Debs, Accenture; Trey Lowe, Devon Energy; Bader Al-Attar, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
    Explores adoption of advanced digital and automation technologies in upstream operations.

    Leadership Dialogue
    Tuesday, March 24 | 9:00-9:20 a.m.
    Speakers: Wael Sawan, Shell; Daniel Yergin, S&P Global

    One Grid, One ASEAN: Building a Shared Clean Energy Future
    Tuesday, March 24 | 10:30-11:10 a.m.
    Speakers: Akihiro Ondo, Mitsubishi Power; Gauri Jauhar, S&P Global

    Harmonizing Carbon Accounting: Charting a Path Forward
    Tuesday, March 24 | 10:40-11:20 a.m.
    Speakers: Edward Stones, Dow; Sasha Mackler, ExxonMobil; Musaab Al-Mulla, Saudi Aramco; Kevin Birn, S&P Global
    Examines efforts to standardize emissions accounting to improve comparability and market transparency.

    Global Exploration Revival: Lessons and New Strategies
    Tuesday, March 24 | 11:30-12:10 p.m.
    Speakers: John Ardill, ExxonMobil; Dan Pratt, S&P Global; Guido Brusco, Eni

    How Will AI Change the Game for Energy Profitability?
    Tuesday, March 24 | 12:20-1:00 p.m.
    Speakers: Rakesh Jaggi, SLB; Jim Masso, Honeywell; Atul Arya, S&P Global; Darryl Willis, Microsoft; Renata Baruzzi, Petrobras
    Examines how AI and cloud technologies could reshape cost structures and performance across energy systems.

    Balancing Act: Price, Reliability and the Global Call on U.S. Energy
    Tuesday, March 24 | 2:35-3:15 p.m.
    Speakers: Stéphane Michel, TotalEnergies; Eleonor Kramarz, S&P Global; Matt Schatzman, NextDecade; Brian Falik, Mercuria Energy America
    Explores tensions between domestic supply reliability and global export opportunities.

    The Future of Upstream: Matching Capital Discipline with Opportunity
    Tuesday, March 24 | 2:35-3:15 p.m.
    Speakers: Richard Jackson, Occidental; Philippe Mathieu, Equinor; Niloufar Molavi, PwC; Bob Fryklund, S&P Global

    Transforming the Energy Industry: How Will Technology Change Business Models?
    Tuesday, March 24 | 2:35- 3:15 p.m.
    Speakers: Ryder Booth, Chevron; Peter Terwiesch, ABB; Atul Arya, S&P Global
    Examines digital transformation and new partnership models reshaping energy value chains.

    Sustainable Solutions: Partnership, Technology and Innovative Paths
    Tuesday, March 24 | 3:25-4:05 p.m.
    Speakers: Barry Engle, ExxonMobil; Luis Cabra, Repsol; Leanne Todd, S&P Global; Roeland Baan, Topsoe
    Highlights collaborative approaches to deploying scalable decarbonization solutions.

    The Future of Refining: Resilience, Innovation and Low-Carbon Pathways
    Tuesday, March 24 | 3:25-4:05 p.m.
    Speakers: Amber Russell, bp; Kurt Barrow, S&P Global; Martijn van Koten, OMV; Atsuhiko Hirano, Idemitsu; Magnus Heimburg, VAROPreem
    Explores how refining and supply chains are adapting to policy, demand and emissions pressures.

    Reinventing Business Strategies: Thriving in the New Energy Economy
    Tuesday, March 24 | 4:15-4:55 p.m.
    Speakers: Muqsit Ashraf, Accenture; Philippe Frangules, S&P Global; Sushil Purohit, Gentari Sdn Bhd
    Discusses evolving strategies integrating new technologies and markets.

    Creating AI-Ready Organizations
    Tuesday, March 24 | 4:20-5:05 p.m.
    Speakers: David Rabley, Accenture; Gwenaelle Avice-Huet, Schneider Electric; Dave Ernsberger, S&P Global; Rob Schapiro, Microsoft; Geoffrey Parker, Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society at Dartmouth
    Focuses on workforce, leadership and infrastructure required for effective AI adoption.

    Meeting Power Demand for Data Centers
    Wednesday, March 25 | 10:30-11:20 a.m.
    Speakers: Karim Amin, Siemens Energy; Ed Baine, Dominion Energy; Douglas Giuffre, S&P Global; Ingmar Ritzenhofen, RWE Supply & Trading and RWE Clean Energy; Amanda Peterson Corio, Google; Jim Shield, Invenergy
    Discusses strategies for aligning infrastructure, policy and markets to meet data-center load growth.

    Where Agentic AI Is Now and What Comes Next
    Wednesday, March 25 | 10:30-11:00 a.m.
    Speakers: Tathagata Basu, Honeywell; Ben Wilson, Amazon Web Services, Bhavesh Dayalji, S&P Global

    People Power: Strategic Human Capital in a New Energy Era
    Wednesday, March 25 | 10:40-11:20 a.m.
    Speakers: Jessica Van Singel, Accenture
    Examines workforce strategy alignment with innovation and competitiveness goals.

    Global Energy Pathways in the Age of Abundance
    Wednesday, March 25 | 11:45-12:35 p.m.
    Speakers: Gareth Ramsay, bp; Atul Arya, S&P Global; Olu Verheijen, Office of the President of the Federal Public of Nigeria

    Agentic AI: Embracing Autonomy
    Thursday, March 26 | 10:00-10:30 a.m.
    Speakers: Trygve Randen, SLB; Uwa Airhiavbere, Microsoft; Eric Hanselman, S&P Global
    Examines governance and reliability considerations as autonomous AI systems expand in energy.

    The Changing Mix of U.S. Power Generation: Gas, Renewables, Coal, Nuclear and Beyond
    Thursday, March 26 | 10:30-11:20 a.m.
    Speakers: Bill Newsom, Mitsubishi Power; Douglas Giuffre, S&P Global; John-Paul Jones, Urenco Enrichment Company; Leslie Duke, Burns & McDonnell; Mike DeBock, NextEra Energy Resources
    Explores how policy and technology shifts are reshaping generation portfolios.

    Large Load Growth: Reshaping the Future of Power
    Thursday, March 26 | 11:10-11:50 a.m.
    Speakers: Robert Gaudette, NRG Energy; Petter Skantze, NextEra Energy Resources; Douglas Giuffre, S&P Global; Peter Lake, National Energy Dominance Council
    Discusses planning and market responses to large-scale electricity demand.

    Interconnecting America: The Grid’s Last Mile
    Thursday, March 26 | 12:00-12:40 p.m.
    Speakers: Tim Holt, Siemens Energy; Philippe Frangules, S&P Global; David Brast, TC Energy; David Rosner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

    AI: Driving Performance in the Power Sector
    Thursday, March 26 | 3:05-3:45 p.m.
    Speakers: Dak Liyanearachchi, NRG Energy; Hanna Grene, Microsoft; Douglas Giuffre, S&P Global
    Explores AI use cases improving grid management and forecasting.

    Digital Twins: The AI Enabler for Multiple Sectors
    Thursday, March 26 | 4:30-5:10 p.m.
    Speakers: Sacha Abinader, Accenture; Oscar Abbink, S&P Global
    Examines digital twins enabling predictive maintenance and AI training environments.

    View the full CERAWeek agenda.

    ———

    This article originally appeared on the Greater Houston Partnership's Houston Energy Transition Initiative blog. HETI exists to support Houston's future as an energy leader. For more information about the Houston Energy Transition Initiative, EnergyCapitalHTX's presenting sponsor, visit htxenergytransition.org.

    Houston data center capacity could more than double by 2028, CBRE report says

    data analysis

    The Houston market could more than double its data center capacity by the end of 2028, a new report indicates.

    The report, published by commercial real estate services provider CBRE, says greater demand for data center capacity in the Houston area is being fueled by energy companies, along with large-scale cloud services and AI-driven tenants.

    In the second half of 2025, the Houston market had 154 megawatts of data center capacity, which was on par with capacity in the second half of 2024. Another 28.5 megawatts of capacity was under construction during that period.

    “Multiple providers are advancing new builds and redevelopments, including significant power upgrades to recently purchased buildings, underscoring long-term confidence even as the market works through elevated vacancy and uneven absorption,” CBRE says of Houston’s data center presence.

    One project alone promises to significantly boost the Houston market’s data center capacity. Data center developer Serverfarm plans to use part of a $3 billion credit facility to build a 250-acre, AI-ready data center campus near Houston with a potential capacity of more than 500 megawatts. The Houston campus and two other Serverfarm projects are already leased to unidentified tenants, according to CoStar.

    A 60-megawatt, AI-ready Serverfarm data center is under construction in Houston. The $137 million, 438,000-square-foot project, located near the former headquarters of computer manufacturer Compaq, is supposed to be completed in the third quarter of 2027.

    Data Center Map identifies 59 data centers in the Houston area managed by 36 operators, including DataBank, Data Foundry, Digital Realty, IBM, Logix Fiber Networks, Lumen and TRG Datacenters. That compares with more than 180 data centers in Dallas-Fort Worth, more than 50 in the San Antonio area and 40 in the Austin area.

    Texas is home to more than 400 data centers, according to Data Center Map.

    In November, Google said it’s investing $40 billion to build AI data centers in West Texas and the Texas Panhandle.

    “This is a Texas-sized investment in the future of our great state,” Gov. Greg Abbott said when Google’s commitment was announced. “Texas is the epicenter of AI development, where companies can pair innovation with expanding energy. Google's $40 billion investment makes Texas Google's largest investment in any state in the country and supports energy efficiency and workforce development in our state.”

    Houston energy transition ecosystem rebrands as 'Energytech Cypher'

    new look

    Houston-based Energytech Nexus has rebranded.

    The cleantech founders community will now be known as Energytech Cypher. Organizers say the new name was inspired by the Arabic roots of the word cypher, ṣifr, which is also the root of the word zero.

    "A cypher is a key that unlocks what's hidden," Nada Ahmed, co-founder and chief revenue officer of Energytech Cypher, said in a news release. "And zero? Zero is where every transformation begins, the leap from 0 to 1, from idea to reality, from potential to power. We decode the energy transition by connecting the right founders, the right capital, and the right corporate partners at the right time, because the most important journey in energy is the one that takes you from nothing to something."

    Energytech Nexus has rebranded to Energytech Cypher.

    Co-founder and CEO Jason Ethier says that the name change better reflects the organization's mission.

    "The energy transition doesn't have a technology problem. It has a connection problem," Ehtier added in the release. "The right founders exist. The right investors exist. The right partners exist. What's been missing is the infrastructure to bring them together—to decode the complexity, remove the friction, and make sure the best technologies find the markets that need them. That's what this community has always done. Energytech Cypher is the name that finally says it."

    Energytech Cypher, previously known as Energytech Nexus, was first launched in 2023 and has grown from a podcast to a 130-member ecosystem. It has supported startups including Capwell Services, Resollant, Syzygy Plasmonics, Hertha Metals, Solidec and many others.

    It is known for its flagship programs like the Pilotathon, which connects founders with industry partners for pilot opportunities. The event debuted in 2024.

    Energytech Cypher also launched its COPILOT Accelerator last year. The accelerator partners with Browning the Green Space, a nonprofit that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the clean energy and climatech sectors. The inaugural cohort included two Houston-based startups and 12 others from around the U.S.

    It also hosts programs like Liftoff, Energy Tech Market, lunch and learns, CEO roundtables, investor workshops and international partnership initiatives.

    Last year, Energytech Cypher also announced a new strategic ecosystem partnership with Greentown Labs, aimed at accelerating growth for clean energy startups. It also named its global founding partners, including Houston-based operations such as Chevron Technology Ventures, Collide, Oxy Technology Ventures, and others from around the world.

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