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Houston's PowerBridge partners on 2GW Texas AI data center campus

data center venture

PowerBridge and Liberty Energy's West Texas data center campus is expected to deliver power next year. Photo courtesy Liberty Energy

Houston-based PowerBridge has formed a joint venture with Denver-based Liberty Energy to develop large-scale data center campuses.

The joint venture’s initial focus will be PowerBridge’s Alpha Digital Campus, a 2-gigawatt data center operation planned for West Texas. PowerBridge sets up data center campuses to support AI and cloud computing. Liberty is an energy company whose Liberty Power Innovations subsidiary offers distributed power and energy storage services.

Houston-based investment firm Five Point Infrastructure LLC established PowerBridge last year, committing up to $1 billion in equity. Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported Five Point is trying to raise $2.5 billion for a new fund targeting water management projects, natural gas treatment systems and data center sites.

Through Five Point subsidiary LandBridge, PowerBridge enjoys access to more than 275,000 acres for infrastructure development as well as low-cost natural gas.

The first phase of PowerBridge’s West Texas campus is expected to offer more than 300 megawatts of generation capacity, with the potential to add more capacity over time. The campus is scheduled to start delivering power in the fourth quarter of 2027.

“By aligning our powered-campus development assets with Liberty’s comprehensive power services and operational expertise, we are creating a model that can be scaled across future gigawatt-scale powered data center campuses in West Texas,” Alex Hernandez, founder and CEO of PowerBridge, said in a release.

Before joining PowerBridge in 2025, Hernandez led Cumulus Data and Talen Energy Corp., a provider of power and energy infrastructure. Amazon Web Services bought Cumulus Data, a subsidiary of Houston-based Talen, in 2024 for $650 million. Cumulus develops nuclear-powered data centers.

Hernandez sits on the board of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages about 90 percent of the state’s electrical load.

Liberty recently announced a partnership with Houston-based energy technology company SLB to support the expansion of data center capacity.

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Texas is poised to become the world’s largest data center market. Photo courtesy Google

Texas Gov. Abbott seeks data center crackdown as state grapples with growing power demand

growing pains

Just seven months ago, Gov. Greg Abbott trumpeted Google’s $40 billion plan to add three data center campuses in Texas. Now, amid growing public outcry over such projects, Abbott is pushing for a regulatory crackdown on data centers in the Lone Star State.

Abbott recently sent a letter to leaders of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) proposing stricter oversight of the state’s data centers. Texas is home to more than 400 data centers, with many more on the way, and is poised to become the world’s largest data center market.

Among other things, Abbott wants to:

  • Ensure residential electric bills go down — not up — as data centers connect to ERCOT’s grid, which supplies power for about 90 percent of Texans.
  • Require data centers to cover the costs of upgrades to deliver electricity to the power-hungry facilities.
  • Repeal sales tax exemptions and other “outdated or unnecessary” financial incentives for data centers.
  • Institute “best practices,” such as property setbacks and noise-reduction technology, to ease the impact of data centers on nearby residents.
  • Demand that all new data centers, which use a tremendous amount of water, be built with water-efficient technology.
  • Require large data centers to generate annual reports on their use of electricity and water.

Abbott has set a July 17 deadline for the PUC and ERCOT to address his recommendations.

“As Texas continues to welcome innovation and investment, we must ensure that growth strengthens our people and their quality of life without placing undue burdens on Texans and local communities,” Abbott wrote.

Abbott’s call for tighter control of data centers has elicited both praise and skepticism.

In a social media post on X, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican, thanked Abbott for seeking “accountability and reform” in the state’s data center industry. Burrows has made data centers one of his priority issues for the 2027 state legislative session.

State oil and gas regulator Wayne Christian, a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, weighed in with similarly positive comments about Abbott’s directive. He says an outright ban on data centers isn’t the answer to residents’ complaints about new facilities.

“The Texas way is not to answer innovation with government overreach or fear-driven bans,” Christian, whose agency wasn’t cited in Abbott’s letter, said in a statement posted on X. “Our job is to protect prosperity, safeguard taxpayers and ensure the infrastructure that powers our economy remains strong and reliable.”

Gina Hinojosa, an Austin Democrat who’s challenging Abbott in this November’s gubernatorial race, took issue with the governor’s edict on data centers.

“Greg Abbott is changing his tune on data centers because he knows his policies are unpopular,” Hinojosa, a state representative, wrote on X. “Nobody believes the arsonist is gonna be the one to put out the fire.”

Abbott’s call for stepped-up regulation of data centers echoes many of the concerns expressed by the state chapter of the Sierra Club, an environmental nonprofit.

“The growth of data centers reflects a broader transformation taking place across Texas,” the Sierra Club says on its website. “The state is becoming a hub for the technologies that will shape the future economy, from artificial intelligence to advanced computing and cloud services. At the same time, Texans deserve transparency about how these projects affect the communities where they are built.”

Houstonians are concerned about data centers' high energy demands and the area’s power grid reliability, according to a new report. Photo courtesy UH

New survey reveals concerns over AI data center growth in Houston

data findings

A new report out of the University of Houston shows that area residents remain wary of the long-term effects of operating data centers.

The recent survey from the University of Houston’s latest SPACE City Panel, conducted by the Center for Public Policy at the Hobby School of Public Affairs, shows that while 85 percent of Houston-area residents use AI, nearly 63 percent oppose the construction of AI data centers within 1 mile of their homes.

Respondents’ concerns centered around data centers’ high energy demand and the area’s power grid reliability. According to the survey, 32 percent of residents who oppose local data center projects would be more likely to support the centers if they relied on renewable energy over fossil fuels.

“Respondents understand that AI can bring economic and educational benefits, but they are also concerned about the physical infrastructure needed to fuel AI, especially data centers,” Soran Mohtadi, post-doctoral fellow at the Hobby School and a researcher on the report, said in a news release. “This physical infrastructure demands more electricity and water, leading to environmental impacts.”

Experts estimate that 6.5 gigawatts of data center capacity will be added to the Texas grid by 2030. And Houston’s data center capacity is predicted to more than double by 2028.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas also projects electricity demand could reach 218 gigawatts by 2031, which would be more than double the record peak set in August 2023. Data centers are expected to account for 86 gigawatts of that new demand.

Survey respondents also said they are concerned about the state's future water supply, given the large amounts of water that data centers need to stay cool.

In terms of who’s responsible for that issue, 57.6 percent of respondents said they put the onus on Texas lawmakers, while 31.5 percent say tech companies should be responsible.

Additionally, more than 75 percent of respondents believed that data center developers and technology companies—not residents—should bear the cost of infrastructure upgrades to support data centers.

“Every decision legislators make has implications on residents’ everyday lives and local infrastructure now and in the future,” Maria P. Perez Arguelles, lead researcher on the report and research assistant professor at the Hobby School, added in the news release. “This issue is going to become more important in years to come, so this is just the beginning.”

Read the full report here.

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This article originally appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

ERCOT predicts power demand will hit a peak of more than 92.2 gigawatts this summer. Photo via Unsplash

ERCOT braces for record-breaking power demand this summer

hot temps, high demand

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages about 90 percent of the state’s power, is waving a warning flag: The ERCOT grid may set a new record for peak demand this summer.

Based on expectations for a hotter summer this year than last year, ERCOT predicts power demand will hit a peak of more than 92.2 gigawatts this summer — enough power for roughly 18.4 million homes.

“Given the potential for extreme heat combined with significant load growth, ERCOT may surpass its current all-time summer peak,” the organization says in its 2026 summertime forecast.

Further taxing the ERCOT grid are power-hungry data centers and cryptocurrency-mining facilities.

Last year’s peak summer demand for ERCOT reached 83.7 megawatts on Aug. 18, and all-time peak demand of 85.5 gigawatts was recorded on Aug. 10, 2023.

Fortunately, ERCOT believes the grid is in good shape to withstand this summer’s heat: It found a 0.09 percent chance of a grid emergency in June and a 0.21 percent chance in July.

More generation of electricity from solar and wind is helping ERCOT meet stepped-up demand prompted by population growth, and the significant power needs of data centers and cryptocurrency-mining facilities.

About 27 million Texas customers depend on power from ERCOT’s grid.

Residents in Montgomery, Liberty and Hardin counties can expect to see power grid improvements in the coming years. Photo via Getty Images

Texas awards $73M for Houston-area grid resilience project

grid funding

Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott announced millions in funding for energy resilience projects around this state this week, with one major project set to impact the greater Houston area.

As part of the Texas Energy Fund's Outside of ERCOT Grant Program, the state announced a roughly $73 million agreement with the Sam Houston Electric Cooperative to replace and upgrade more than 9,000 electric poles and improve other equipment in Montgomery, Liberty and Hardin counties. The agreement is the first for the fund's Outside of ERCOT Grant Program, which supports state projects outside of the state's largest grid.

The multibillion-dollar Texas Energy Fund aims to "finance the construction, maintenance, and modernization of electric facilities across Texas." It was approved by voters in 2023. Other programs within the fund include the:

  • In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program
  • Completion Bonus Grant Program
  • Texas Backup Power Package Program

“The Texas Energy Fund delivers real results for Texans and strengthens the electric systems that families, businesses, and communities depend on,” Abbott said in a news release. “This grant to Sam Houston Electric Cooperative will replace thousands of vulnerable utility poles to better withstand severe weather and ensure a more reliable and resilient grid in East Texas.”

The Houston-area project, nicknamed Steel Anchor, is expected to be completed by June 2031. According to the release from the governor's office, the Sam Houston Electric Cooperative’s territory is one of the most hurricane-prone service areas in the state. The cooperative serves more than 38,000 Texas consumers

“Over the past decade, Sam Houston EC has strategically replaced poles to improve the strength of its electricity distribution system. This grant will boost the Cooperative’s ongoing grid-hardening and resiliency program,” Doug Turk, CEO of the Sam Houston Electric Cooperative, added in the release.

Following the announcement of the Sam Houston funding, Abbott's office also awarded another $200 million from the Outside of ERCOT Grant Program to upgrade approximately 700 miles of power equipment in Northeast Texas. The equipment is operated by Southwestern Electric Power Company, which serves more than 192,000 Texas consumers. The project will include improvements to 200 circuits, replacing aging copper wire with aluminum alloy conductors and replacing existing utility poles.

Additionally, the state announced its seventh Texas Energy Fund loan agreement for a 570 megawatt natural gas power plant in Sherman, Texas. The 20-year loan of up to $411 million is between the Public Utility Commission of Texas and Rayburn Electric Cooperative and is part of the fund's In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program. Rayburn will build the facility near its existing Rayburn Energy Station 1 in the Texoma region. It will connect to the ERCOT North Load Zone.

“When Texas voters overwhelmingly approved the Texas Energy Fund, they gave us a mandate to secure new, reliable power generation for Texas,” PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson added in a release. “The TxEF is delivering on that promise, and Rayburn Electric Cooperative’s new 570 MW power plant is proof. We are ensuring Texas families and businesses have power they can depend on for years to come.”

Solar generation is expected to reach 78 billion kilowatt-hours in 2026 in the ERCOT grid. Photo via Pexels

Texas solar set to overtake coal for first time in 2026, EIA forecasts

solar on the rise

Solar power promises to shine even brighter in Texas this year.

A new forecast from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicates that for the first time, annual power generation from utility-scale solar will surpass annual power generation from coal across the territory covered by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

Solar generation is expected to reach 78 billion kilowatt-hours in 2026 in the ERCOT grid, compared with 60 billion kilowatt-hours for coal, the EIA forecast says. The ERCOT grid supplies power to about 90 percent of Texas, including the Houston area.

“Utility-scale solar generation has been increasing steadily in ERCOT as solar capacity additions help meet rapid electricity demand growth,” the forecast says.

Although natural gas remains the dominant source of electricity generation in ERCOT, accounting for an average 44 percent of electricity generation from 2021 to 2025, solar’s share of the generation mix rose from four percent to 12 percent. During the same period, coal’s share dropped from 19 percent to 13 percent.

EIA predicts about 40 percent of U.S. solar capacity, or 14 billion kilowatt-hours, added in 2026 will come from Texas.

Although EIA expects annual solar generation to exceed annual coal generation in 2026, solar surpassed coal in ERCOT on a monthly basis for the first time in March 2025, when solar generation totaled 4.33 billion kilowatt-hours and coal’s totaled 4.16 billion kilowatt-hours. Solar generation continued to exceed that of coal until August of that year.

“In 2026, we estimate that solar exceeded coal for the first time in March, and we forecast generation from solar installations in ERCOT will continue to exceed that from coal until December, when coal generation exceeds solar,” says EIA. “We expect solar generation to exceed that of coal for every month in 2027 except January and December.”

For 2027, EIA forecasts annual solar generation of 99 billion kilowatt-hours in the ERCOT grid, compared with 66 billion kilowatt-hours of annual coal generation.

In April, ERCOT projected almost 368 billion kilowatt-hours of demand in ERCOT’s territory by 2032. ERCOT’s all-time peak demand hit 85.5 billion kilowatt-hours in August 2023.

“Texas is experiencing exceptional growth and development, which is reshaping how large load demand is identified, verified, and incorporated into long-term planning,” ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas said. “As a result of a changing landscape, we believe this forecast to be higher than expected … load growth.”

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Houston researchers land $10M grant to study how climate change drives disease threats

climate health research

Researchers from Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas School of Public Health have received a $10 million grant to support research and public education on how climate change is linked to public health.

The funding comes from North Carolina-based Burroughs Wellcome Fund and is known as the organization’s Climate + Health Excellence (CHEX) award. It will be used over the next five years to launch the new FORECAST initiative, led by Rice professors and co-investigators Sylvia Dee and Joseph Campan.

FORECAST will “study how a rapidly changing environment and weather drive the emergence and expansion of deadly pathogens in human populations,” according to a release from Rice.

“This grant supports novel research linking climate change projections to health care solutions while simultaneously ensuring the next generation of scientists, leaders and policymakers have the training to assess and respond to the climate change risks that we already know are increasing every year,” Dee said in the release.

The funding will go toward a variety of new initiatives and centers.

At Rice, the funding will help launch the new Center for Climate and Environmental Health, as well as cross-campus multidisciplinary collaborations, seed grants, postdoctoral and graduate positions, and more, according to the university.

The grant will also support the statewide “Middle to Medical” climate-health educational program for youth. The program will focus on teaching how pathogens spread and how climate change plays a role in the process.

“FORECAST will prepare youth across Texas to make informed health decisions that protect themselves and their families and communities from extreme weather and disease-related risks,” Nancy Moreno, a professor of education, innovation and technology at Baylor College of Medicine and co-investigator on this grant, added in the release.

Anthony Maresso, professor of molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, will share expertise in viral pathogen sewage detection that was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic; while Eric Boerwinkle, dean of the UT School of Public Health, will share insights from the Texas Wastewater Environmental Biomonitoring Network, which tracks disease-causing viruses and bacteria by testing wastewater weekly at Texas sites.

“Hotter days, bigger storms, new disease threats — Texas’s future demands preparation,” Boerwinkle added in the release. “With support from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the FORECAST team is helping Texas detect threats earlier and respond faster, saving lives and strengthening our economy.”

EV surge could shutter 40 refineries by 2040, Wood Mackenzie report warns

ev outlook

The rise of electric vehicles could spell trouble for Houston’s oil and gas sector, a new report suggests. But the oil and gas industry stands to benefit from potential sluggishness in U.S. adoption of EVs.

If worldwide EV adoption rises as expected, global oil demand could fall by five million barrels per day by 2040, accelerating the closure of about 40 oil refineries, says the report, published by energy research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. The firm’s North American hub is in Houston.

Those closures might spell trouble for refinery operators with a sizable Houston-area presence, including BP, ExxonMobil, Marathon, Saudi Aramco, and Valero. In 2025, the five companies collectively earned roughly $33 billion from downstream operations, including refineries. One caveat: Each company assigns a different definition to “downstream.”

Refineries in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, including the U.S. but excluding Middle Eastern heavyweights, “are most at risk due to their high energy costs and carbon prices,” the Wood Mackenzie report says.

On the flip side, an abundant U.S. oil supply means American drivers have less of an incentive to switch from traditional cars to electric vehicles, despite stubbornly high fuel prices, according to the report.

Wood Mackenzie predicts EVs will account for 20 percent of the U.S. personal and commercial vehicle fleet in 2040, up from three percent in 2025. That compares with a global forecast of 25 percent in 2040, up from 4 percent last year.

Another U.S. roadblock to EV adoption cited in the report: the country’s relative lack of advanced battery manufacturing.

“Without advanced battery technologies, the U.S. auto sector is at risk of ceding its home market to non-Chinese EVs and falling behind competitors internationally,” the report says.

Furthermore, according to the report, Chinese investment in EV manufacturing in the U.S. probably will remain a no-go and tariffs on Chinese EV imports likely won’t be lifted, even if Democrats resurrected EV incentives following a White House win in 2028.

“Competition among EV manufacturers in international markets will only intensify,” the report notes. “Companies that can offer competitive products in high-growth markets will be best positioned for long-term success.”

Houston’s data center capacity set to grow 80%, report says

data findings

Houston stands to benefit from constraints dogging data center markets elsewhere in Texas, a new report indicates. This comes against the backdrop of Texas surpassing Virginia as the country’s top state for data centers — and amid deepening opposition to these facilities.

The report, published by commercial real estate services provider JLL, foresees Houston continuing to gain traction in data center development as occupants seek “scalable alternatives” to Texas markets experiencing supply-and-demand imbalances.

The Houston area currently hosts data centers with 287 megawatts of capacity, well below capacity levels in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin-San Antonio and West Texas markets.

However, the region is witnessing a spike in capacity, with 390 megawatts of capacity under construction, according to the report. Counting newly built data centers, Houston would be home to 677 megawatts of data center capacity, an 80 percent increase from the current inventory, the report says.

Developers target West Houston for large-scale data centers

Developers increasingly are evaluating West Houston and surrounding areas for large-scale campuses capable of supporting behind-the-meter power, according to the report. Data center development in the region is likely to remain concentrated in those areas, where power is readily accessible and flood risks are lower, the report adds.

The report notes that Houston is evolving from a traditionally enterprise-focused co-location market for data centers into a “credible large-scale growth market,” buoyed by rising interest in hyperscale facilities and increased development activity.

Corporate, energy and healthcare users are still active in Houston’s data center market, the report says, with cloud computing and technology tenants making inroads. The Houston market absorbed 25 megawatts of data center capacity in the first half of this year.

Texas crowned No. 1 state market for data center capacity

The growth of Houston’s data center sector is occurring in tandem with Texas’ ascent as a data center market. The report shows Texas now boasts 26 gigawatts of existing and under-construction capacity, followed by Virginia at 13 gigawatts.

JLL declares that “Texas has cemented its position as the state for data centers.”

The “frontier” markets of West Texas, the Carolinas, Louisiana, and Ohio account for 77 percent of all capacity being developed nationwide, according to the report.

As evidence of Texas’ heightened stature in the data center sector, commercial real estate services provider Cushman & Wakefield recently ranked Dallas as the world’s No. 1 primary data center market, while Austin-San Antonio led the list of second-tier markets and West Texas topped the third-tier ranking.

These rankings underscore “Texas’ growing importance as a large-scale AI infrastructure hub,” Cushman & Wakefield says.

Opposition to new data centers in Texas grows

While businesses see the value of adding data centers in Texas, the state’s data center boom is rattling residents and politicians alike.

A recent University of Houston survey finds that although 85 percent of Houston-area residents use AI—a key driver of data center growth—nearly 63 percent oppose construction of a data center within a mile of their home. Experts estimate 6.5 gigawatts of capacity, or roughly one-fifth of the total U.S. pipeline, will join the Texas power grid by 2030, with Houston serving as a main hub.

A poll taken recently by the University of Texas/Texas Politics Project yielded similar results: 56 percent of Texans oppose development of data centers in their community.

“Texas’ grid is already facing pressure from population growth, extreme weather and rising industrial demand,” UH researcher Soran Mohtadi says. “When residents say they are concerned about data centers, they’re mostly referring to grid reliability and affordability.”

Data center backlash prompts action by politicians

Responding to Texans’ concerns over power and water consumption, Gov. Greg Abbott recently imposed a moratorium on new data centers in the state to allow time for regulatory agencies to assess the projects’ impact. Meanwhile, some state lawmakers are calling for a crackdown on data center development.

Last month, a state legislative committee chaired by Sen. Joan Huffman, a Houston Republican, held a hearing on the effects of state sales tax exemptions given to data centers. The cost of these exemptions has climbed from an estimated $14.6 million in 2014-15 to a projected $3.3 billion in 2028-29, according to law firm Holland & Knight.

Two backers of massive data centers in Texas, social media giant Meta Platforms and AI powerhouse OpenAI, agreed this week to comply with Abbott’s recently issued standards regarding data center projects—and more have followed suit.

Dan Diorio, executive vice president of state policy and government affairs for the industry-backed Data Center Coalition, fears backlash against data centers may curb economic growth in Texas.

“I worry that communities that put moratoriums ultimately create too much uncertainty and unpredictability, and what that ultimately means is that those communities may shut themselves off to data center development but also may shut themselves off to broader economic development,” Diorio told Fox 7 News in Austin.

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