University of Houston collaborates with county on future-facing sustainability efforts

dream team

Experts from the University of Houston are teaming up with the city on key sustainability efforts.

Researchers at the University of Houston are partnering with the Harris County Office of County Administration’s Sustainability Office, the Harris County Energy Management Team, and other county staff in an effort to develop a comprehensive baseline of energy use and energy-use intensity that will aim to reduce energy costs and emissions in county facilities.

Once fully established, the team will work on tracking progress and evaluating the effectiveness of energy-saving measures over time. They will begin to build the foundation for future programs aimed at maximizing savings, reducing energy consumption, and increasing the use of renewable energy sources in county operations.

Harris County energy managers, Glen Rhoden and Yas Ahmadi, will work with UH professionals, including:

Jian Shi, UH Cullen College of Engineering associate professor of engineering technology and electrical and computer engineering
Zhu Han, Moores professor of electrical and computer engineering
Xidan "Delia" Zhang, UH research intern

The group began collaborating a year ago, and analyzed energy consumption data from county facilities.They were able to successfully identify key summertime energy-saving opportunities and completed retro-commissioning of four county buildings. Those efforts saved over $230,000 annually in electricity costs.

“This project is a prime example of how impactful research at UH can be when applied to real-world challenges, delivering tangible benefits to both the environment and the communities we serve,” Shi says in a news release.

The team will plan to do additional building projects, which includes the development of solar energy and heat pump initiatives, building automation system upgrades, and LED lighting installations. The goal is to reduce electricity usage by at least 5 percent per year for county facilities by 2030 and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent over the next 5 years for county buildings.

“Addressing climate change and the energy transition requires a collaborative effort that is not only data-driven and action-oriented but also human-centric,” Shi adds. “It’s about more than just technology—it’s about improving the quality of life for Texans.”

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Houston geothermal startup adds former bp, Calpine execs to C-suite

new leaders

XGS Energy, a Houston-based developer of geothermal power systems, has added several energy industry veterans to its C-suite this summer.

The company named Al Vickers as its new chief operating officer earlier this month. Vickers will replace Ghazal Izadi in the role, as she moves into the chief growth officer position.

Vickers previously served as CEO of bp's U.S. Low Carbon Energy business and most recently was COO of Houston-based Grid United, which develops next-generation transmission infrastructure.

“I have spent my career developing, building, and operating large, complex energy infrastructure, and I am excited to work with XGS’s proven technology, which is ready to deliver clean, round-the-clock power at the scale the grid and customers need,” Vickers said in a news release. “XGS sits at the intersection of innovation, affordability, demand growth, responsible infrastructure development, and long-term energy resilience. I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and apply best practices from both oil and gas and infrastructure development to deliver gigawatt-scale geothermal projects.”

Kurt Fricker, who most recently held leadership roles at Hess Corporation, was also announced as XGS's new chief procurement officer.

The hires come shortly after XGS announced Richard Chong as its new chief financial officer in May.

Chong joins XGS from Houston-based power producer Calpine, where he most recently was vice president of finance. His work there included leading $2.25 billion in financing for Geysers, the world’s largest geothermal power complex.

Chong says XGS’ proven technology and the rising demand for clean power will help the company execute on its multi-gigawatt pipeline.

“I look forward to applying the experience I’ve built over two decades in energy finance to help XGS deliver clean, reliable power to customers and unlock the massive development opportunity ahead for next-generation geothermal,” Chong said in the release.

XGS’ first project is a 150-megawatt geothermal facility in New Mexico. It will supply around-the-clock electricity to the grid operated by Public Service Co. of New Mexico in support of Meta data centers.

XGS recently tapped Houston-based energy technology company Baker Hughes to provide engineering services for the New Mexico project.

XGS’ geothermal system uses thermally conductive materials to deliver affordable energy anywhere hot rock exists — without the need for water resources or specific geological conditions. This results in lower-risk projects, more site options, easier permitting and faster deployment.

Since 2023, XGS has raised nearly $57 million in venture capital.

XGS launched in 2008 in Palo Alto, California, as Geothermic Solution. In conjunction with its Series A round in 2023, the company rebranded to its current name. The company recently moved its headquarters to Houston, according to the Houston Business Journal.

Woodlands-based Lancium teams up on West Texas data center campus

coming soon

The Woodlands-based Lancium Technologies, which designs, develops, and manages gigawatt-scale data center campuses, has teamed up with Denver-based data center builder and operator Crusoe Energy Systems on a new grid-connected campus more than 100 miles east of Wichita Falls.

Construction on the 1-gigawatt Childress County campus, being built for an unidentified tech company, is expected to start in Q3 of this year.

Lancium owns the 270-acre site where the data center campus will be located and will set up and manage the campus’ energy infrastructure. Crusoe will design, build, and operate the campus.

The two companies already are working together on data centers in Abilene. Their first data center has already expanded to a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts, and a 900-megawatt data center is planned for adjacent land owned by Lancium.

The Abilene project is the first site of the Stargate initiative, an AI infrastructure program backed by MGX, OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank to create a U.S. network of hyperscale AI data centers. The four-year initiative has earmarked $500 billion to build the network.

“Childress is a natural next step in our partnership with Crusoe,” Lancium CEO Michael McNamara said in a news release. “Crusoe has been a great partner to build alongside in Abilene, and we’re glad to bring that same model — and the jobs and investment that come with it — to the community of Childress. We are deeply committed to working with local stakeholders to advance a model of development that addresses the broader needs of the community we will share for a very long time.”

Last year, Lancium appeared at No. 43 on Time and Statista’s list of America’s top greentech companies.

Lancium has raised $1.25 billion in funding since its founding in 2017, according to PitchBook and CB Insights.

In 2021, Lancium closed $150 million in funding led by Hanwha Solutions, with participation from SBI Holdings, Novawulf and other investors. Four years later, the company arranged $600 million in debt financing to advance development of “clean” data center campuses.

New York energy firm scoops up Houston’s Infinity Power Partners

m&a activity

Houston-based energy management and consulting firm Infinity Power Partners has been acquired by New York City-based Environ Energy, which also offers energy management and consulting services.

The deal creates a new “anchor segment” for Environ in the multifamily market. With the addition of Infinity Power’s roughly 2,000 clients in the multifamily sector, representing more than 1 million multifamily units under contract, Environ now has more than 8,000 U.S. clients in the commercial real estate, healthcare, manufacturing, education and government sectors.

“This acquisition continues to solidify our presence in key energy markets while aligning with founders who share our deep commitment to client success,” Environ CEO Chris Sternberg said in a news release.

Infinity Power co-founders and managing partners Nick Altman and Peter Selber have joined Environ, a portfolio company of investment firm 424 Capital. Altman and Selber founded Infinity Power in 2011.

“We built our business one relationship at a time,” Selber said, “with a strong commitment to the communities we serve. That same dedication is reflected in Environ’s approach — now delivered at scale.”

Altman says the acquisition is part of the “next chapter” in energy management. Energy management services help commercial customers reduce utility bills, improve equipment life, achieve green energy goals, and decrease risk tied to fluctuating energy prices.

“Energy management is a culture for continual improvement of energy performance and efficiency that’s integrated within an organization’s normal business practice,” according to the U.S. Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy.

In all, Environ has made six acquisitions in the past 17 months.

Last year, Environ acquired another Houston-based energy management and consulting firm, CSD Energy Advisors. In that deal, Environ gained nearly 1,000 clients, including several Fortune 500 companies and three large industrial energy users in Texas. As part of the deal, CSD co-founders Andrew Barth and JB Sowyrda joined Environ.

Also last year, Environ purchased Carrollton-based energy advisory firm Rapid Power Management (RPM).

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