Texas thrives as No. 1 best state for homesteading and gardening

lone star state

Texas is an ideal place to start a homestead, the study found. Photo via Getty Images

If social media is any indicator, homesteading has been one of the hottest trends of 2024. And Texas is leading the charge as the No. 1 best state for homesteading and gardening, according to a new report by First Saturday Lime.

Analysts at First Saturday Lime, an insect repellant company featured on Shark Tank, evaluated the "suitability for sustainable living" across all 50 states based on six factors: Climate, community interest (a.k.a online search trends), gardening resources, farmland costs, and others.

The Lone Star State led the nation with the most farms and ranches on the market and the highest total acreage for sale. As of the study's publication, there were 7,520 total properties for sale, spanning more than 2.19 million acres of land.

Texas also ranked favorably for its farmland affordability. The state came in at No. 9 nationally with its average farmland price coming out to $2,800 per acre, the report said.

For comparison, New Mexico (which ranked No. 11 overall) had the most affordable average price per acre of farmland at just $700 per acre. Massachusetts (No. 48) and Connecticut (No. 42), however, tied for the most expensive price per acre, at $14,300.

Among the three remaining categories in the study, Texas performed the worst for its "gardens on Yelp per capita" rank. The study calculated Texas has 0.30 gardening and community garden establishments on Yelp per capita, placing Texas at No. 49.

Meanwhile, Texas' historically hot weather meant it ranked No. 43 out of all 50 states in the "favorable climate" rank, and the state earned a middle-of-the-road No. 35 rank in the "search interest per capita" category.

"Homesteading and gardening are growing in popularity, but some states provide better opportunities than others," the report's author wrote. "Whether you're after fresh produce or the freedom of self-sufficiency, choosing the right state can make all the difference."

Following behind Texas to complete the top three best states for homesteading and gardening are Oregon (No. 2) and Washington (No. 3), two notoriously rainy West Coast states.

Meanwhile, three East Coast states ranked at the bottom of the list as the worst states for homesteading and gardening: Rhode Island (No. 50), New Jersey (No. 49), and Massachusetts (No. 48).

The top 10 best states for homesteading and gardening are:

No. 1 – Texas
No. 2 – Oregon
No. 3 – Washington
No. 4 – Vermont
No. 5 – Delaware
No. 6 – Arizona
No. 7 – Wyoming
No. 8 – Montana
No. 9 – Hawaii
No. 10 – Colorado

The study sourced its data from Yelp, Google Trends, and the UDSA to determine each state's ranking.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Solar manufacturer announces massive new facility in Houston area

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SEG Solar has announced plans to open a new 1.15 million-square-foot solar module facility in Tomball—its third in the Houston area.

The news comes just weeks after the Houston-based solar manufacturer announced its second facility, which will be located in Cypress. It’s expected to open in August.

The latest 4.6-gigawatt facility in Tomball will include an assembly factory and a warehouse. Construction is slated to wrap in March 2027, with commercial panel production planned to begin in May 2027. Once completed, the facility will bring SEG’s annual U.S. module manufacturing capacity to 10.6 gigawatts, according to a news release from the company, one of the largest totals in the country.

The facility will produce heterojunction technology (HJT) modules, which the company says will add to the number of n-type solar panels made in the U.S. HJT modules are known to be more durable and are well suited for hotter climates.

“Designed to support next-generation HJT technology and FEOC-compliant production, the facility ensures reliable, high-efficiency solar solutions,” Raymond Bailey, sales manager at SEG Solar, said in a LinkedIn post. “ Alongside upstream integration in Indonesia and potential U.S. cell manufacturing, we are strengthening supply chain resilience amid evolving trade policies.”

SEG opened its $60 million, 250,000-square-foot facility in Houston in 2024 to house its production workshops, raw material warehouses, administrative offices, finished goods warehouses, and supporting infrastructure. The continued expansion is part of SEG’s long-term goal of becoming one of the largest 100 percent U.S.-owned module manufacturers.

Houston chemical co. completes successful field trial of cleaner natural gas processing tech

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Houston-based Merichem Technologies has announced successful results from the field trial of its new hydrogen sulfide (H2S) removal technology in the Permian Basin.

The technology, known as ECOTREAT, removed more than 99 percent of hydrogen sulfide gas from natural gas streams, or “sour gas,” without producing solid waste during the month-long trial. It also showed sustained performance even when operating above the unit’s design capacity, according to a news release.

“The industry is continually seeking to reduce both the price and complexity of removing hydrogen sulfide from gas production, especially since oil production has shifted to increasingly sour sources, higher gas ratios, and higher water ratios,” Jeff Gomach, SVP, Merichem Technologies, said in a news release. “ECOTREAT met all its field trial objectives and provides a highly effective method for removing hydrogen sulfide to prevent equipment corrosion, ensure worker safety, meet environmental regulations, and maintain product quality for transport.

H2S found in natural gas can turn the gas toxic or hazardous and lead to corrosion in pipelines and processing equipment. However, standard H2S removal technologies create high levels of solid waste. ECOTREAT resolves many of those issues by using an aqueous-phase proprietary catalytic process that converts H2S into dissolved thiosulfate.

Next, Merichem says it plans to move the technology out of the pilot stage to full-scale commercialization.

Merichem, an 80-plus-year-old company, initially launched as a soap and industrial cleaning company. It eventually transitioned to focus on energy technology.

In 2024, Black Bay Energy acquired a portion of Merichem Process Technologies and Merichem Catalyst Products, which would become Merichem Technologies.

Cemvita reaches breakthrough in sustainable fuel feedstock production

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Houston-based biotech company Cemvita announced that it recently reached a critical milestone in the development of its FermOil product, which can be used to create Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and other renewable fuels at industrial scale.

The company shared in a news release that it completed a 75,000-liter industrial fermentation run at Belgium's Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant.

The campaign achieved target technical metrics for the production of FermOil, Cemvita’s renewable natural oil (RNO). FermOil is produced from industrial crude glycerin, an industrial byproduct, as opposed to traditional sugar-based feedstocks used in many bio-oil fermentation processes. It's designed to be a drop-in feedstock for creating SAFs.

Cemvita had previously advanced its FermOil production process through multiple scale-up stages before successfully reaching the 75,000-liter demonstration campaign, according to the company.

“This is not just a fermentation milestone,” Moji Karimi, CEO at Cemvita, said in the release. “It is a blueprint for how existing industrial infrastructure can evolve into circular bioeconomy infrastructure. Every biodiesel plant generating crude glycerin is a potential platform for renewable natural oil production.”

The milestone also supports the deployment of Cemvita’s industrial biomanufacturing platform, FermWorks, which integrates with existing energy and industrial infrastructure to turn waste carbon streams into SAFs and other materials. According to the release, Cemvita plans to move forward with commercial deployment discussions with partners in Brazil, Europe and in the UK. Cemvita already has a partnership with the Brazilian sustainable research institution REMA.

“We are proud to support innovative companies like Cemvita in scaling breakthrough industrial biotechnology solutions,” Hendrik Waegeman, head of business operations at Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, added in the release. “Successfully operating at the 75,000-liter scale using a feedstock such as crude glycerin highlights both the maturity of the technology and the quality of the scale-up execution achieved by the Cemvita team.”

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