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Google to invest $1B in clean energy, data center tech in Texas

money moves

U.S. Congressman Jake Ellzey made the announcement in Dallas last week. Photo courtesy of Google

Google is making a big investment in Texas to the tune of $1 billion.

According to a news release from the company, the tech giant will spend more than $1 billion to support its cloud and data center infrastructure and expand its commitment to clean energy.

The $1 billion will be spent on data center campuses in Midlothian and Red Oak to help meet growing demand for Google Cloud, AI innovations, and other digital products and services such as Search, Maps, and Workspace.

In addition to its data center investment, Google has also forged long-term power purchase agreements with Houston-based Engie, as well as Madrid-based entities Elawan, Grupo Cobra, and X-ELIO for solar energy based in Texas. Together, these new agreements are expected to provide 375 MW of carbon-free energy capacity, which will help support Google’s operations in Texas.

These agreements were facilitated through LEAP (LevelTen Energy’s Accelerated Process), which was co-developed by Google and LevelTen Energy to make sourcing and executing clean energy PPAs more efficient, and contributes to the company’s ambitious 2030 goal to run on 24/7 carbon-free energy on every grid where it operates.

The company has contracted with energy partners to bring more than 2,800 megawatts (MW) of new wind and solar projects to the state. Google’s CFE percentage in the ERCOT grid region, which powers its Texas data centers, nearly doubled from 41 percent in 2022 to 79 percent in 2023.

The initiatives were announced at a conference in Midlothian on August 15, attended by business leaders and politicians including U.S. Congressman Jake Ellzey, Google Cloud VP Yolande Piazza, Ted Cruz, and Citi CIO Shadman Zafar.

The Dallas cloud region is part of Google Cloud's global network of 40 regions that delivers services to large enterprises, startups, and public sector organizations.

In a statement, Piazza said that "expanding our cloud and data center infrastructure in Midlothian and Red Oak reflects our confidence in the state's ability to lead in the digital economy."

Data centers are the engines behind the growing digital economy. Google has helped train more than 1 million residents in digital skills through partnerships with 590 local organizations, including public libraries, chambers of commerce, and community colleges.

In addition to its cloud region and Midlothian data center, Google has offices in Austin, Dallas, and Houston. The new Google’s total investment in Texas to more than $2.7 billion.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Houston-based energy companies have again held a sizable presence on the Fortune 500 ranking. Photo via Getty Images

Houston energy companies score big on annual Fortune 500 ranking

big cos.

Fourteen businesses with global or regional headquarters in the Houston area appear on Fortune’s new list of the world’s 500 biggest companies.

Oil and gas company Saudi Aramco, whose headquarters for the Americas is in Houston, leads the Houston-area pack. With annual revenue of $494.9 billion, it lands at No. 4 on the Fortune Global 500. Ahead of Saudi Aramco are U.S. retailers Walmart and Amazon, and Chinese electric company State Grid.

To put Saudi Aramco’s annual revenue in perspective, the total is slightly above the gross domestic product for the Philippines.

For the third year in a row, Saudi Aramco stands out as the most profitable member of the Fortune Global 500. The company racked up $121 billion in profit last year.

Overall, Saudi Aramco and 32 other petroleum refiners — many of them with a significant presence in the Houston area — made the Fortune Global 500.

“The Global 500 is the ultimate scorecard for business success. The aggregate revenue of the Fortune Global 500 in 2023 reached $41 trillion, a record level. That sum represents more than a third of global GDP — a sign of how much economic power is concentrated in these companies,” Scott DeCarlo, Fortune’s vice president of research, says in a news release.

Here’s the rundown of Fortune Global 500 companies with global or regional headquarters in the Houston area, including the ranking and annual revenue for each:

  • Saudi Aramco, No. 4, $494.9 billion, Americas headquarters in Houston
  • ExxonMobil, No. 12, $344.6 billion, global headquarters in Spring
  • Shell, No. 13, $323.2 billion; U.S. headquarters in Houston
  • TotalEnergies, No. 23, $218.9 billion, U.S. headquarters in Houston
  • BP, No. 25, $213 billion, U.S. headquarters in Houston
  • Chevron, No. 29, $200.9 billion, global headquarters relocating to Houston in 2024
  • Phillips 66, No. 52, $149.9 billion, global headquarters in Houston
  • Engie, No. 130, $89.3 billion, North American headquarters in Houston
  • Sysco, No. 163, $76.3 billion, global headquarters in Houston
  • ConocoPhillips, No. 235, $58.6 billion, global headquarters in Houston
  • Enterprise Products Partners, No. 303, $49.7 billion, global headquarters in Houston
  • Plains GP Holdings, No. 311, $48.7 billion, global headquarters in Houston
  • LyondellBasell, No. 368, $41.1 billion, global headquarters in Houston
  • SLB (formerly Schlumberger), No. 479, $33.1 billion, global headquarters in Houston

Fortune uses revenue figures for budget years ending on or before March 31, 2024, to rank the world’s largest companies.

Seven energy companies are partnering to produce electric natural gas, a synthetic natural gas produced by combining renewable hydrogen and recycled CO2. Photo via Getty Images

Houston-area energy companies team up for initiative to produce electric natural gas

eyes on e-ng

More than half-a-dozen energy companies — most with a significant presence in Houston — have signed up as founding members of a coalition focusing on the production of electric natural gas.

Founders of the e-NG Coalition are:

  • Engie, whose North American headquarters is in Houston
  • Mitsubishi, which operates a branch office in Houston
  • Osaka Gas, whose U.S. headquarters is in Houston
  • Sempra Infrastructure, which operates its Center of Excellence in Houston
  • TES (Tree Energy Solutions), whose U.S. headquarters is in Houston
  • Tokyo Gas, whose U.S. headquarters is in Houston
  • Toho Gas, a Japanese utility
  • TotalEnergies, whose U.S. headquarters is in Houston

Electric natural gas, also known as e-NG or e-natural gas, is a synthetic natural gas produced by combining renewable hydrogen and recycled CO2.

“The founding members of the coalition believe e-NG can provide a meaningful contribution to the energy transition by accelerating the development of renewable hydrogen,” the coalition says in a news release. “With large industrial capabilities and investment potential, the founding members are committed to the development of e-natural gas projects globally.”

TES spearheaded establishment of the e-NG Coalition.

“Collaboration is paramount to scaling up sustainable energy solutions and driving the energy transition forward. TES took the initiative to sponsor the creation of the e-NG Coalition and work together with leading industrial players to accelerate the development of e-NG,” says Marco Alverà, co-founder and CEO of TES.

Last September, Sempra Industries announced it had teamed up with four Japanese companies — Mitsubishi, Osaka Gas, Toho Gas, and Tokyo Gas — to explore building an e-natural gas project along the Gulf Coast.

The proposed project would generate 130,000 metric tons of e-natural gas per year. The gas would liquified at a terminal in Louisiana and then exported to Japan.

In a news release, the Japanese partners said they envisioned developing “the world’s first large-scale production and international supply chain of e-natural gas.”

Located in Callahan County, Texas, outside of Abilene, ENGIE's Century Oak Wind Project is nearing completion. Photo courtesy of Engie

Low-carbon energy company with U.S. HQ in Houston to launch Texas wind energy plant later this year

wind in the west

A wind energy project being built just east of Abilene by Houston-based ENGIE North America will annually supply 65 megawatts of power to Ferguson, a distributor of hardware, tools, plumbing supplies, and other industrial items.

Under a newly signed agreement, ENGIE’s 153-megawatt Century Oak project is expected to generate enough wind energy to meet most of Ferguson’s electrical needs in the U.S. and Canada. This energy would power the equivalent of 34,000 typical homes in the U.S. The project features 45 wind turbines.

The Century Oak project is creating about 300 to 400 construction jobs. It’s scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023.

Paperwork submitted in 2021 to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts indicates ENGIE North America, a subsidiary of French utility company ENGIE, is investing more than $140 million in the project.

Across North America, ENGIE is building or operating nearly seven gigawatts’ worth of wind, solar, and storage capacity.

“We have activities in more than 100 counties across the U.S. and Canada — the energy transition is really one that will be powered by communities across the continent,” says Dave Carroll, chief renewables officer at ENGIE North America.

ENGIE’s other wind energy customers in Texas include Akamai, Allianz, GetBlok Farms, Ingersoll Rand, Microsoft, and Walmart.

Last year, ENGIE North America wrapped up $800 million in financing for three renewable energy projects in the U.S., including a wind farm in Texas, that are capable of generating 665 megawatts of renewable energy.

Who will be presenting at the 20th annual Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum — and more trending news from the week. Photo via rice.edu

Equinor buys into CCS project, Rice Alliance names energy startup participants, and more trending news

top stories

Editor's note: It's been a busy news week for energy transition in Houston, and some of this week's headlines resonated with EnergyCapital readers on social media and daily newsletter. Trending news included Rice Alliance naming its Energy Tech Venture Day participants, Equinor opting in to a CCS project on the Gulf Coast, and more.

Exclusive: Rice Alliance announces participants ahead of 20th annual energy symposium

Next month, 96 startups will pitch at an annual event focused on the future of energy. Here's who will be there. Photo via rice.edu

Dozens of companies will be a part of an upcoming energy-focused conference at Rice University — from climate tech startups to must-see keynote speakers.

The 20th annual Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum will take place on September 21 at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business. Anyone who's interested in learning more about the major players in the low-carbon future in Houston and beyond should join the industry leaders, investors, and promising energy and cleantech startups in attendance.

This year's keynote speakers include Christina Karapataki, partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the venture capital fund backed by Bill Gates; Scott Nyquist, vice chairman at Houston Energy Transition Initiative, founded by the Greater Houston Partnership; and Jeff Tillery, COO at Veriten. Read more.

Equinor buys into massive CCS joint venture project near Houston

Through an acquisition, Equinor has joined a joint venture carbon capture and storage project in southeast Texas. Image via Getty Images

A Norwegian energy company with its United States headquarters in Houston has announced it has acquired a significant chunk of a carbon capture and storage joint venture.

Equinor now owns a 25 percent interest in Bayou Bend CCS LLC, which is reported to be one of the largest domestic carbon capture and storage projects. The project — a JV between Chevron, Talos Energy Inc., and now Equinor, is located along the Gulf Coast in southeast Texas. The terms of the deal were not disclosed

“Commercial CCS solutions are critical for hard-to-abate industries to meet their climate ambitions while maintaining their activity," Grete Tveit, senior vice president for Low Carbon Solutions in Equinor, says in a news release. "Entering Bayou Bend strengthens our low carbon solutions portfolio and supports our ambition to mature and develop 15-30 million tonnes of equity CO2 transport and storage capacity per year by 2035. Our experience from developing carbon storage projects can help advance decarbonization efforts in one of the largest industrial corridors in the US." Read more.

New Houston company launches to turn recycled materials into fuel

Tired of slow tire decomposition? This Houston company has a solution. Photo via InnoVentRenewables.com

Every year, over a billion tires are disposed of globally, and, while in use, tires are used to reach maximum speed on the road, their decomposition times are inordinately slow.

Houston-based InnoVent Renewables has a solution. The company launched this week to drive renewable energy forward with its proprietary continuous pyrolysis technology that is able to convert waste tires, plastics, and biomass into fuels and chemicals.

“We are thrilled to formally launch InnoVent Renewables and plan to ramp-up operations into early 2024," InnoVent Renewables CEO Vibhu Sharma says in a news release. “Our investors, strategic advisors, and management team are all fully committed to our success as we address the global challenge of waste tires. We firmly believe our proven process, deployed at scale globally, will have a huge positive impact on our climate and fill a clear environment need.” Read more.

French company to acquire Houston-based battery storage startup in $1B deal

Broad Reach Power's battery storage assets piqued a French company's interest. Photo via broadreachpower.com

A French utility company is buying the bulk of Houston-based Broad Reach Power’s battery energy storage business in a deal carrying an equity value of more than $1 billion.

Engie, has agreed to purchase the majority of the startup’s battery storage business from EnCap Energy Transition Fund I and three investment partners — New York City-based Yorktown Partners, Switzerland-based Mercuria Energy, and New York City-based Apollo Infrastructure Funds.

“This acquisition is fully in line with Engie’s strategy: It will contribute to the development of a low-carbon, affordable, and resilient energy system where flexible assets will play a critical role alongside renewables,” says Catherine MacGregor, the utility’s CEO. Read more.

How this 78-year-old Houston chemical company is evolving as an energy tech leader

“When we were founded, we were a chemical company. Today, we have morphed into a technology company,” says Kendra Lee, CEO of Merichem. Photo via LinkedIn

Kendra Lee had no designs on running the family business.

“In fact, I never planned on being a part of Merichem,” Lee recalls.

In 1945, Lee’s grandfather, John T. Files, and a pair of business partners founded the company in Houston. Their goal was to take a potential waste product and turn it into something that would benefit the oil and gas industry — an early attempt at sustainability.

What started as a soap and industrial cleaning company began procuring cresylate, which is a waste from the refineries treating gasoline, to recover spent cresylic acids, which are highly caustic, and refine them so they could be sold into the industrial chemicals market. Read more.

Broad Reach Power's battery storage assets piqued a French company's interest. Photo via broadreachpower.com

French company to acquire Houston-based battery storage startup in $1B deal

M&A Moves

A French utility company is buying the bulk of Houston-based Broad Reach Power’s battery energy storage business in a deal carrying an equity value of more than $1 billion.

Engie, has agreed to purchase the majority of the startup’s battery storage business from EnCap Energy Transition Fund I and three investment partners — New York City-based Yorktown Partners, Switzerland-based Mercuria Energy, and New York City-based Apollo Infrastructure Funds.

“This acquisition is fully in line with Engie’s strategy: It will contribute to the development of a low-carbon, affordable, and resilient energy system where flexible assets will play a critical role alongside renewables,” says Catherine MacGregor, the utility’s CEO.

Broad Reach launched in 2019 with backing from EnCap Energy Transition, an arm of Houston-based private equity firm EnCap Investments. Apollo Global Management, an asset manager that controls Apollo Infrastructure Funds, bought a 50 percent stake in Broad Reach in 2021.

The deal includes 350 megawatts of grid-scale battery assets that already are operating and 880 megawatts of assets under construction, primarily in the territory served by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). It also includes a 1.7-gigawatt pipeline of battery storage projects that are in the advanced stage of development and a significant pipeline of early-stage projects.

In July, Broad Reach said it had lined up $435 million in credit facilities to support the 880 megawatts’ worth of systems under construction in Texas and California.

The Broad Reach acquisition does not include the company’s 1.8-gigawatt portfolio of solar and wind power projects, or its four gigawatt-hours’ worth of battery storage in the Mountain West.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed, but the Bloomberg news service reports the deal will cause Engie to “take a $1.6 billion hit” to it net debt.

Shawn Cumberland, managing partner of EnCap and chairman of Broad Reach, calls Broad Reach “the top battery storage player in the U.S. market.” And Corinne Still, an infrastructure partner at Apollo, refers to Broad Reach as “the leading and most innovative” battery energy storage operator in North America.

“It has been a terrific honor and pleasure to be part of the rapid growth of the U.S. energy storage sector from the very beginning and see our company grow into one of the top developers,” says Doug Moorehead, founder and COO of Broad Reach.

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Houston companies scoop up $31 million in funds from DOE, EPA methane emissions program

fresh funds

The U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the selection of seven projects from Houston companies to receive funding through the Methane Emissions Reduction Program.

The projects are among 43 others nationwide, including 12 from Texas, that reduce, monitor, measure, and quantify methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. The DOE and EPA awarded $850 million in total through the program.

The Houston companies picked up $31.7 million in federal funding through the program in addition to more than $9.5 million in non-federal dollars.

“I’m excited about the opportunities these will create internally but even more so the creation of jobs and training opportunities for the communities in which we work,” Scott McCurdy, Encino Environmental Services CEO, said in a news release. His company received awards for two projects.

“These projects will allow us to further support and strengthen the U.S. Energy industry’s ability to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy globally,” he added.

The Houston-area awards included:

DaphneTech USA LLC

Total funding: $5.8 million (approximately $4.5 million in federal, $1.3 million in non-federal)

The award was granted for the company’s Daphne and Williams Methane Slip Abatement Plasma-Catalyst Scale-Up project. Daphne will study how its SlipPure technology, a novel exhaust gas cleaning system that abates methane and exhaust gas pollution from natural gas-fueled engines, can be economically viable across multiple engine types and operating conditions.

Baker Hughes Energy Transition LLC 

Total funding: $7.47 million (approximately $6 million in federal, $1.5 million in non-federal)

The award was granted for the company’s Advancing Low Cost CH4 Emissions Reduction from Flares through Large Scale Deployment of Retrofittable and Adaptive Technology project. The project aims to develop a scalable, integrated methane emissions reduction system for flares based on optical gas imaging and estimation algorithms.

Encino Environmental Services

Total funding: $15.17 million (approximately $11 million in federal, $4.17 million in non-federal)

The award was granted for two projects. The Advanced Methane Reduction System: Integrating Infrared and Visual Imaging to Assess Net Heating Value at the Combustion Zone and Determine Combustion Efficiency to Enhance Flaring Performance project aims to develop and deploy an advanced continuous emissions monitoring system. It’s Advancing Methane Emissions Reduction through Innovative Technology project will develop and deploy a technology using sensors and composite materials to address emissions originating in storage tanks.

Envana Software Solutions

Total funding: $5.26 million (approximately $4.2 million in federal, $1 million in non-federal)

The award was granted for the company’s Leak Detection and Reduction Software to Identify Methane Emissions and Trigger Mitigation at Oil and Gas Production Facilities Based on SCADA Data project. It aims to improve its Recon software for monitoring methane emissions and develop partnerships with local universities and organizations.

Capwell Services Inc.

Total funding: $4.19 million (approximately $3.3 million in federal, $837,000 in non-federal)

The award was granted for its Methane Emissions Abatement Technology for Low-Flow and Intermittent Emission Sources project. It aims to to deploy and field-test a methane abatement unit and improve air quality and health outcomes for communities near production facilities and establish field technician internships for local residents.

Blue Sky Measurements 

Total funding: $3.41 million (approximately $2.7 million in federal, $683,000 in non-federal)

The award was granted for its Field Validation of Novel Fixed Position Optical Sensor for Fugitive Methane Emission Detection Quantification and Location with Real-Time Notification for Rapid Mitigation project. It aims to field test an optical sensing technology at six well sites in the Permian Basin.

Southern Methodist University, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station and Hyliion Inc. were other Texas-based organizations to earn awards. See the full list of projects here.

Texas university's 'WaterHub' will dramatically reduce water usage by 40%

Sustainable Move

A major advancement in sustainability is coming to one Texas university. A new UT WaterHub at the University of Texas at Austin will be the largest facility of its kind in the U.S. and will transform how the university manages its water resources.

It's designed to work with natural processes instead of against them for water savings of an estimated 40 percent. It's slated for completion in late 2027.

The university has had an active water recovery program since the 1980s. Still, water is becoming an increasing concern in Austin. According to Texas Living Waters, a coalition of conservation groups, Texas loses enough water annually to fill Lady Bird Lake roughly 89 times over.

As Austin continues to expand and face water shortages, the region's water supply faces increased pressure. The UT WaterHub plans to address this challenge by recycling water for campus energy operations, helping preserve water resources for both the university and local communities.

The 9,600-square-foot water treatment facility will use an innovative filtration approach. To reduce reliance on expensive machinery and chemicals, the system uses plants to naturally filter water and gravity to pull it in the direction it needs to go. Used water will be gathered from a new collection point near the Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium and transported to the WaterHub, located in the heart of the engineering district. The facility's design includes a greenhouse viewable to the public, serving as an interactive learning space.

Beyond water conservation, the facility is designed to protect the university against extreme weather events like winter storms. This new initiative will create a reliable backup water supply while decreasing university water usage, and will even reduce wastewater sent to the city by up to 70 percent.

H2O Innovation, UT’s collaborator in this project, specializes in water solutions, helping organizations manage their water efficiently.

"By combining cutting-edge technology with our innovative financing approach, we’re making it easier for organizations to adopt sustainable water practices that benefit both their bottom line and the environment, paving a step forward in water positivity,” said H2O Innovation president and CEO Frédéric Dugré in a press release.

The university expects significant cost savings with this project, since it won't have to spend as much on buying water from the city or paying fees to dispose of used water. Over the next several years, this could add up to millions of dollars.

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A version of this story originally appeared on our sister site, CultureMap Austin.

Report: Texas solar power, battery storage helped stabilize grid in summer 2024, but challenges remain

by the numbers

Research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas shows that solar power and battery storage capacity helped stabilize Texas’ electric grid last summer.

Between June 1 and Aug. 31, solar power met nearly 25 percent of midday electricity demand within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power grid. Rising solar and battery output in ERCOT assisted Texans during a summer of triple-digit heat and record load demands, but the report fears that the state’s power load will be “pushed to its limits” soon.

The report examined how the grid performed during more demanding hours. At peak times, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the summer of 2024, solar output averaged nearly 17,000 megawatts compared with 12,000 megawatts during those hours in the previous year. Between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., discharge from battery facilities averaged 714 megawatts in 2024 after averaging 238 megawatts for those hours in 2023. Solar and battery output have continued to grow since then, according to the report.

“Batteries made a meaningful contribution to what those shoulder periods look like and how much scarcity we get into during these peak events,” ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said at a board of directors conference call.

Increases in capacity from solar and battery-storage power in 2024 also eclipsed those of 2023. In 2023 ECOT added 4,570 megawatts of solar, compared to adding nearly 9,700 megawatts in 2024. Growth in battery storage capacity also increased from about 1,500 megawatts added in 2023 to more than 4,000 megawatts added in 2024. Natural gas capacity also saw increases while wind capacity dropped by about 50 percent.

Texas’ installation of utility-scale solar surpassed California’s in the spring of last year, and jumped from 1,900 megawatts in 2019 to over 20,000 megawatts in 2024 with solar meeting about 50 percent of Texas' peak power demand during some days.

While the numbers are encouraging, the report states that there could be future challenges, as more generating capacity will be required due to data center construction and broader electrification trends. The development of generating more capacity will rely on multiple factors like price signals and market conditions that invite more baseload and dispatchable generating capacity, which includes longer-duration batteries, and investment in power purchase agreements and other power arrangements by large-scale consumers, according to the report.

Additionally, peak demand during winter freezes presents challenges not seen in the summer. For example, in colder months, peak electricity demand often occurs in the early morning before solar energy is available, and it predicts that current battery storage may be insufficient to meet the demand. The analysis indicated a 50% chance of rolling outages during a cold snap similar to December 2022 and an 80% chance if conditions mirror the February 2021 deep freeze at the grid’s current state.

The report also claimed that ERCOT’s energy-only market design and new incentive structures, such as the Texas Energy Fund, do not appear to be enough to meet the predicted future magnitude and speed of load growth.

Read the full report here.

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