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TotalEnergies powers up its largest utility-scale solar farms in Texas

ready to shine

TotalEnergies has started up two new solar farms in Texas. Photo by Red Zeppelin/Pexels

TotalEnergies has begun the commercial operations of two utility-scale solar farms with integrated battery storage located in southeast Texas.

The two farms are located in Cottonwood and Danish Fields, which is TotalEnergies’ largest solar farm in the United States.

“The start-ups of Danish Fields and Cottonwood in the fast-growing ERCOT market showcase TotalEnergies’ ability to deliver competitive renewable electricity to support our clients’ decarbonization goals, as well as our own,” Olivier Jouny, senior vice president of renewables at TotalEnergies, says in a news release.

The new projects have a combined capacity of 1.2 gigawatts. They are part of a portfolio of renewable assets totaling 4 gigawatts in operation or under construction currently in Texas. Danish Fields holds a capacity of 720 megawatts peak and 1.4 million ground-mounted photovoltaic panels.

Cottonwood, with a capacity of 455 megawatts peak featuring over 847,000 ground-mounted photovoltaic panels, will also feature 225 megawatt hours of battery storage supplied by Saft. This is scheduled for commissioning in 2025. The electricity production is contracted under long-term PPAs indexed to “merchant prices through an upside-sharing mechanism with LyondellBasell and Saint-Gobain,” per thenews release. The deal is to help support the companies’ decarbonization efforts.

Seventy percent of Danish’s solar capacity has been contracted through long-term Corporate Power Purchase Agreements signed with Saint-Gobain, which feature an upside sharing mechanism indexed on merchant price. The other 30 percent is intended to support the decarbonization of TotalEnergies’ industrial plants in the Gulf Coast region. The projects will cover the electricity consumption of TotalEnergies’ industrial sites in Port Arthur and La Porte in Texas, and Carville in Louisiana, which include Myrtle Solar that was commissioned in 2023 and the under-construction Hill 1 solar farm.

In addition to the solar farms, TotalEnergies has also added 1.5 gigawatt of flexible power production capacity with three gas-fired power plants they acquired in Texas.

“Thanks to these projects, we are delighted to take another step in delivering our strategy across the entire value chain, from power generation to customer delivery, in order to achieve our profitability target of 12 (percent return on average capital employed) in our Integrated Power business,” Jouny adds in the release.

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Houston energy tech company breaks ground on low-cost green hydrogen pilot plant

coming soon

Houston’s Lummus Technology and Advanced Ionics have broken ground on their hydrogen pilot plant at Lummus’ R&D facility in Pasadena.

The plant will support Advanced Ionics’ cutting-edge electrolyzer technology, which aims to deliver high-efficiency hydrogen production with reduced energy requirements.

“By demonstrating Advanced Ionics’ technology at our state-of-the-art R&D facility, we are leveraging the expertise of our scientists and R&D team, plus our proven track record of developing breakthrough technologies,” Leon de Bruyn, president and CEO of Lummus, said in a news release. “This will help us accelerate commercialization of the technology and deliver scalable, cost-effective and sustainable green hydrogen solutions to our customers.”

Advanced Ionics is a Milwaukee-based low-cost green hydrogen technology provider. Its electrolyzer converts process and waste heat into green hydrogen for less than a dollar per kilogram, according to the company. The platform's users include industrial hydrogen producers looking to optimize sustainability at an affordable cost.

Lummus, a global energy technology company, will operate the Advanced Ionics electrolyzer and manage the balance of plant systems.

In 2024, Lummus and Advanced Ionics established their partnership to help advance the production of cost-effective and sustainable hydrogen technology. Lummus Venture Capital also invested an undisclosed amount into Advanced Ionics at the time.

“Our collaboration with Lummus demonstrates the power of partnerships in driving the energy transition forward,” Ignacio Bincaz, CEO of Advanced Ionics, added in the news release. “Lummus serves as a launchpad for technologies like ours, enabling us to validate performance and integration under real-world conditions. This milestone proves that green hydrogen can be practical and economically viable, and it marks another key step toward commercial deployment.”

Houston Energy Transition Initiative releases 2025 year in review

The View From HETI

The Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) concludes another impactful year by reaffirming our commitment to positioning Houston as the global leader in the energy transition – delivering more energy with fewer emissions. HETI continues to be focused on advancing key regional priorities, driving economic development and talent recruitment.

It was a year of changes across the energy landscape, yet HETI continued to collaborate, convene, and deliver measurable progress. Below are some of the year’s key highlights:

Sharing Members’ Impact on Decarbonization and Emissions Reductions

HETI released a report detailing members’ low-carbon initiatives and commitments, showcasing industry momentum and long-term pathways to achieving the dual challenge of meeting growing global energy demand while reducing emissions. Major findings include more than $95 billion in low-carbon investments and 20% reduction in Scope 1 emissions since 2017 by HETI-affiliated companies. The report also recommends strategic pathways for continued emissions reductions.

Advancing CCUS at Commercial Scale

HETI publicly supported efforts to accelerate carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) efforts to commercial scale. Early in the year, HETI and the Houston CCS Alliance commissioned Texas A&M University’s Energy Institute and Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center to research the operational history and safety record of CCUS in the United States. In November, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted Texas authority to permit CCUS—a significant win that increases the region’s competitiveness in the global energy ecosystem.

Leadership in Resilient Power for Houston’s Growth

In June, HETI hosted its first Resilient Power: Fueling Houston’s Growing Economy summit, bringing together more than 100 business and civic leaders to discuss the role of resilient, reliable power in Houston’s economic development. Cross-sector leaders explored the impacts of rising power demand driven by industrial decarbonization and digitalization, and discussed the essential collaboration between the energy and tech sectors to strengthen long-term resilience through an “all of the above” approach. HETI also published a fact sheet on Houston’s resilient power access, affordability, and reliability as a resource for partners.

Showcasing Houston’s Leadership at CERAWeek 2025

HETI participated in CERAWeek 2025, elevating Houston’s energy leadership on the world stage. The HETI House activation in the Innovation Agora attracted more than 1,000 visitors and generated over 80 economic development leads. In addition, HETI partnered with Rice Alliance and TEX-E for the fourth annual Energy Ventures Pitch Competition at CERAWeek, bringing together students, startups and energy leaders to advance innovation and investment.

Scaling Houston’s Innovation Ecosystem

As Houston’s energy innovation ecosystem continues to grow, HETI plays an important role in shaping its future. During its second year, Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week attracted more than 3,900 attendees from local and global startups, industry leaders, and investors—further solidifying Houston’s status as the world’s leading energy innovation hub.

Strengthening Regional Competitiveness

To advance technology commercialization and support the Gulf Coast’s continued energy competitiveness, HETI hosted its second annual Gulf Coast National Labs Workshop. This year’s event convened more than 120 leaders representing six national laboratories, industry partners, academia, and government stakeholders to accelerate collaboration around the region’s greatest energy and chemical challenges.

HETI’s progress this year is significant, but the work ahead is even more critical. As we move into the new year, HETI remains steadfast in its commitment to convening industry leaders, informing policy, supporting innovation, and driving economic growth across the region. This work strengthens Houston’s core energy economy and accelerates the emerging sectors that will ensure Houston continues to lead the world in energy.

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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.

Chevron CEO touts biofuels as part of its renewable energy efforts

Betting on biofuels

As Chevron Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth surveys the renewable energy landscape, he sees the most potential in biofuels.

At a recent WSJ CEO Council event, Wirth put a particular emphasis on biofuels—the most established form of renewable energy—among the mix of low-carbon energy sources. According to Biofuels International, Chevron operates nine biorefineries around the world.

Biofuels are made from fats and oils, such as canola oil, soybean oil and used cooking oil.

At Chevron’s renewable diesel plant in Geismar, Louisiana, a recent expansion boosted annual production by 278 percent — from 90 million gallons to 340 million gallons. To drive innovation in the low-carbon-fuels sector, Chevron opened a technology center this summer at its renewable energy campus in Ames, Iowa.

Across the board, Chevron has earmarked $8 billion to advance its low-carbon business by 2028.

In addition to biofuels, Chevron’s low-carbon strategy includes hydrogen, although Wirth said hydrogen “is proving to be very difficult” because “you’re fighting the laws of thermodynamics.”

Nonetheless, Chevron is heavily invested in the hydrogen market:

As for geothermal energy, Wirth said it shows “some real promise.” Chevron’s plans for this segment of the renewable energy industry include a 20-megawatt geothermal pilot project in Northern California, according to the California Community Choice Association. The project is part of an initiative that aims to eventually produce 600 megawatts of geothermal energy.

What about solar and wind power?

“We start with things where we have some reason to believe we can create shareholder value, where we’ve got skills and competency, so we didn’t go into wind or solar because we’re not a turbine manufacturer installing wind and solar,” he said in remarks reported by The Wall Street Journal.

In a September interview with The New York Times, Wirth touched on Chevron’s green energy capabilities.

“We are investing in new technologies, like hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, lithium and renewable fuels,” Wirth said. “They are growing fast but off a very small base. We need to do things that meet demand as it exists and then evolve as demand evolves.”

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