Future-focused Houston nonprofit names leadership plans

transition plans

David Gow has been named president and CEO of the Center for Houston's Future, succeeding Brett Perlman who's focusing on the organization's hydrogen mission. Photos courtesy

A nonprofit organization dedicated to leading Houston into the future has named its next leader.

The Center for Houston’s Future named David Gow as president and CEO, succeeding Brett Perlman, who was announced in April to be remaining at the Center with a focus on the Center’s hydrogen initiative. Gow is the founder and chairman of Gow Media, EnergyCapital's parent company. His role is effective September 3.

“I am excited to step into this opportunity with the Center and work with the team, the board and many other stakeholders to help shape Houston’s future,” Gow says in a news release. “The Center presents an exciting opportunity to cast a vision for our region and identify initiatives that will make an impact.”

Gow — whose career includes a portfolio of online media properties and ESPN Radio — is a board member of Goose Capital and chair of MSAI, an entity he formed through a SPAC acquisition. Before he founded Gow Media, he served as CFO and CEO of an online watch retailer, Ashford.com. Prior to Ashford, Gow was director of corporate strategy at Compaq Computers and a consultant at McKinsey & Co. He received his master’s in public policy from Harvard and his bachelor's in economics from Williams College.

“David’s portfolio of experiences and skills, record of innovation and success, and deep commitment to the Houston community make him the perfect fit to lead the Center as we chart and execute on our next set of initiatives focused on ensuring a bright future for all residents in the Houston region,” adds Center for Houston’s Future Board Chair Cindy Yeilding.

In his new role, Gow will lead the Center’s next effort, Vision 2050, which plans to identify the city's key issues, gaps, and opportunities.

“Today’s announcement also reflects the success of the Center’s clean hydrogen program,” Yeilding continues. “On behalf of the Center’s board, I’d also like to recognize Brett for launching and building such a successful and important effort as well as his overall leadership and record of achievement at the Center these past seven years.”

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

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A deal that's been a year in the making has officially closed. Photo via infraredcameras.com

Houston-area high-tech monitoring device co. IPOs with close of SPAC deal

cashing that blank check

A special purpose acquisition company has sealed the deal on its acquisition of a company with thermal imaging and sensing platform technology.

SportsMap Tech Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: SMAP) announced the close of its acquisition of Beaumont-based Infrared Cameras Holdings Inc. (ICI), which will be the name of the combined company. The new ticker symbol for the combined company’s common stock and public warrants will be ticker symbols “MSAI” and “MSAIW,” respectively.

“The close of the business combination represents a monumental milestone for our company, as we view the business to be well-suited for the public market," Infrared Cameras’ CEO Gary Strahan says in a news release. Strahan and his executive team will continue to lead the company.

Originally announced in the fall of 2021, the $100 million blank-check company is led by David Gow, CEO and chairman. Gow is also chairman of Gow Media, which owns digital media outlets InnovationMap, EnergyCapitalHTX, SportsMap, and CultureMap, as well as the SportsMap Radio Network, ESPN 97.5 and 92.5.

The SPAC revealed it would be acquiring ICI just over a year ago. According to the news release, SMAP’s stockholders approved the deal at a special meeting held on December 8.

"I’m happy to complete the business transaction, and equally excited to see Gary and his team deliver a unique product and solution to a diversified sub-set of market verticals," Gow says in the release. "We view this event to serve as the initial catalyst for the Company to deliver long-term shareholder returns.”

ICI's technology includes a patented single pane-of-glass view that can be used to monitor and analyze live imaging and sensing data across industries, including monitoring overheating equipment and methane gas leaks in the oil patch. ICI provides both the physical technology as well as a software-as-a-service component. Following the close of the deal, ICI reports that it will be focused on "new customer expansion, becoming a global online retailer, solidifying operational excellence, and continual improvements" to its technology.

“We have built a diversified integrated thermal imaging and sensing platform that is enhanced by our cloud-enabled technology, allowing for improved operations and critical asset protection," Strahan says. "We believe the support of investors as a public entity will aid our ultimate strategic objective of driving growth through increased enterprise customers, while, over time, positively transforming our margins as a result of our SaaS unit economics.”

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

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Houston company wins contract to operate South Texas wind farm

wind deal

Houston-based Consolidated Asset Management Services (CAMS), which provides services for owners of energy infrastructure, has added the owner of a South Texas wind power project to its customer list.

The new customer, InfraRed Capital Partners, owns the 202-megawatt Mesteño Wind Project in the Rio Grande Valley. InfraRed bought the wind farm from Charlotte, North Carolina-based power provider Duke Energy in 2024. CAMS will provide asset management, remote operations, maintenance, compliance and IT services for the Mesteño project.

Mesteño began generating power in 2019. The wind farm is connected to the electric grid operated by the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

With the addition of Mesteño, CAMS now manages wind energy projects with generation capacity of more than 2,500 megawatts.

Mesteño features one of the tallest wind turbine installations in the U.S., with towers reaching 590.5 feet. Located near Rio Grande City, the project produces enough clean energy to power about 60,000 average homes.

In June, CAMS was named to the Financial Times’ list of the 300 fastest-growing companies in North and South America. The company’s revenue grew more than 70 percent from 2020 to 2023.

Earlier this year, CAMS jumped into the super-hot data center sector with the rollout of services designed to help deliver reliable, cost-effective power to energy-hungry data centers. The initiative focuses on supplying renewable energy and natural gas.

Google's $40B investment in Texas data centers includes energy infrastructure

The future of data

Google is investing a huge chunk of money in Texas: According to a release, the company will invest $40 billion on cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, with the development of new data centers in Armstrong and Haskell counties.

The company announced its intentions at a meeting on November 14 attended by federal, state, and local leaders including Gov. Greg Abbott who called it "a Texas-sized investment."

Google will open two new data center campuses in Haskell County and a data center campus in Armstrong County.

Additionally, the first building at the company’s Red Oak campus in Ellis County is now operational. Google is continuing to invest in its existing Midlothian campus and Dallas cloud region, which are part of the company’s global network of 42 cloud regions that deliver high-performance, low-latency services that businesses and organizations use to build and scale their own AI-powered solutions.

Energy demands

Google is committed to responsibly growing its infrastructure by bringing new energy resources onto the grid, paying for costs associated with its operations, and supporting community energy efficiency initiatives.

One of the new Haskell data centers will be co-located with — or built directly alongside — a new solar and battery energy storage plant, creating the first industrial park to be developed through Google’s partnership with Intersect and TPG Rise Climate announced last year.

Google has contracted to add more than 6,200 megawatts (MW) of net new energy generation and capacity to the Texas electricity grid through power purchase agreements (PPAs) with energy developers such as AES Corporation, Enel North America, Intersect, Clearway, ENGIE, SB Energy, Ørsted, and X-Elio.

Water demands

Google’s three new facilities in Armstrong and Haskell counties will use air-cooling technology, limiting water use to site operations like kitchens. The company is also contributing $2.6 million to help Texas Water Trade create and enhance up to 1,000 acres of wetlands along the Trinity-San Jacinto Estuary. Google is also sponsoring a regenerative agriculture program with Indigo Ag in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and an irrigation efficiency project with N-Drip in the Texas High Plains.

In addition to the data centers, Google is committing $7 million in grants to support AI-related initiatives in healthcare, energy, and education across the state. This includes helping CareMessage enhance rural healthcare access; enabling the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech University to address energy challenges that will arise with AI, and expanding AI training for Texas educators and students through support to Houston City College.

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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Texas A&M's micro-nuclear reactor tops energy transition news to know

Trending News

Editor's note: The top energy transition news of November includes major energy initiatives from Texas universities and the creation of a new Carbon Measures coalition. Here are the most-read EnergyCapitalHTX stories from Nov. 1-15:

1. Micro-nuclear reactor to launch next year at Texas A&M innovation campus

Last Energy will build a 5-megawatt reactor at the Texas A&M-RELLIS campus. Photo courtesy Last Energy.

The Texas A&M University System and Last Energy plan to launch a micro-nuclear reactor pilot project next summer at the Texas A&M-RELLIS technology and innovation campus in Bryan. Washington, D.C.-based Last Energy will build a 5-megawatt reactor that’s a scaled-down version of its 20-megawatt reactor. The micro-reactor initially will aim to demonstrate safety and stability, and test the ability to generate electricity for the grid. Continue reading.

2. Baker Hughes to provide equipment for massive low-carbon ammonia plant

Baker Hughes will supply equipment for Blue Point Number One, a $4 billion low-carbon ammonia plant being developed in Louisiana. Photo courtesy Technip Energies.

Houston-based energy technology company Baker Hughes has been tapped to supply equipment for what will be the world’s largest low-carbon ammonia plant. French technology and engineering company Technip Energies will buy a steam turbine generator and compression equipment from Baker Hughes for Blue Point Number One, a $4 billion low-carbon ammonia plant being developed in Louisiana by a joint venture comprising CF Industries, JERA and Mitsui & Co. Technip was awarded a contract worth at least $1.1 billion to provide services for the Blue Point project. Continue reading.

3. Major Houston energy companies join new Carbon Measures coalition

The new Carbon Measures coalition will create a framework that eliminates double-counting of carbon pollution and attributes emissions to their sources. Photo via Getty Images.

Six companies with a large presence in the Houston area have joined a new coalition of companies pursuing a better way to track the carbon emissions of products they manufacture, purchase and finance. Houston-area members of the Carbon Measures coalition are Spring-based ExxonMobil; Air Liquide, whose U.S. headquarters is in Housto; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, whose U.S. headquarters is in Houston; Honeywell, whose Performance Materials and Technologies business is based in Houston; BASF, whose global oilfield solutions business is based in Houston; and Linde, whose Linde Engineering Americas business is based in Houston. Continue reading.

4. Wind and solar supplied over a third of ERCOT power, report shows

A new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that wind and solar supplied more than 30 percent of ERCOT’s electricity in the first nine months of 2025. Photo via Unsplash.

Since 2023, wind and solar power have been the fastest-growing sources of electricity for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and increasingly are meeting stepped-up demand, according to a new report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The report says utility-scale solar generated 50 percent more electricity for ERCOT in the first nine months this year compared with the same period in 2024. Meanwhile, electricity generated by wind power rose 4 percent in the first nine months of this year versus the same period in 2024. Continue reading.

5. Rice University partners with Australian co. to boost mineral processing, battery innovation

Locksley Resources will provide antimony-rich feedstocks from a project in the Mojave Desert as part of a new partnership with Rice University that aims to develop scalable methods for extracting and utilizing antimony. Photo via locksleyresources.com.au.

Rice University and Australian mineral exploration company Locksley Resources have joined together in a research partnership to accelerate the development of antimony processing in the U.S. Antimony is a critical mineral used for defense systems, electronics and battery storage. Rice and Locksley will work together to develop scalable methods for extracting and utilizing antimony. Continue reading.

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