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Houston-based female business leader named changemaker amid energy transition

leading lady

EDP Renewables North America announced its CEO Sandhya Ganapathy has been named to CNBC’s inaugural Changemakers: Women Transforming Business list.

A Houston renewable energy developer CEO has scored a prestigious spot on a list of changemakers.

EDP Renewables North America announced its CEO Sandhya Ganapathy has been named to CNBC’s inaugural Changemakers: Women Transforming Business list. Ganapathy was recognized for ESG and ED&I Initiatives while helping to advance the clean energy transition.

The new list recognizes female leaders at companies and philanthropic organizations that have achieved impactful financial and business milestones.

“Thank you to CNBC for recognizing the leadership and groundbreaking initiatives the women on this list have achieved,” the company said in a statement on LinkedIn. “As our renewable energy market sector continues to progress and expand, we will need everyone in our industry to be a #changemaker to ensure #reliable, #costeffective, #homegrown energy is accessible to all.”

EDPR NA has developed 9.9 GW of renewables projects to date and operates close to 9 GW of renewable energy across North America under Ganapathy’s leadership. EDPR NA has won various ESG and ED&I-related awards including A Word About Wind’s ED&I Award, CohnReznick’s Gamechanger in ESG Award, Ally Energy’s GRIT Awards for both Best Energy Workplace and ESG & Climate Change Champion, Top Workplace in the USA and Top Workplace in Houston Awards, the Global Energy Transition Award for Excellence as a Community Leader. EDPR NA also made the Corporate Knight’s 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World, and was also a finalist for S&P Global’s Energy Company of the Year Award for 2023.

Headquartered in Houston with 60 wind farms, 12 solar parks, and eight regional offices across North America, EDP is a top five renewable energy operator in the U.S. EDPR NA has developed more than 9,600 megawatts (MW) and operates more than 8,900 MW of onshore utility-scale renewable energy projects.

The full 2024 CNBC Changemakers list is available at cnbc.com/Changemakers.

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Amy Chronis is passing over the local leadership reins at Deloitte to Melinda Yee. Photos courtesy

Prominent Houston energy business leader to retire, successor named

news to know

Amy Chronis, a Houston business leader within the energy industry and beyond, is retiring next summer. Her replacement has been named.

Melinda Yee will be the incoming Houston managing partner at Deloitte, replacing Chronis who held the role along with the title vice chair and US energy and chemicals leader. Chronis will retire in June 2024, and Yee's new role is effective January 2.

“Melinda has been an active and valued member of Deloitte’s Houston leadership team. She brings an impressive depth of both industry and marketplace knowledge to her new role as managing partner,” Chronis says in a news release. “I am confident that she will be a great leader for our Houston professionals and in the local community.”

Yee has worked at Deloitte for over 30 years and has served as both Deloitte’s central region risk and advisory leader as well as the Houston risk and advisory leader. She also held the title of energy and chemicals leader within Deloitte’s mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring services practice. She's worked on transactions across the energy value chain, as well as waste management, manufacturing, industrials, services, retail operations and investment management, per the release.

“I am honored to have been asked to serve as the managing partner for Deloitte’s Houston practice,” Yee says in the release. “I look forward to continuing the great work Deloitte has accomplished under Amy’s leadership, delivering results for our clients and making an impact in the Houston community.”

In addition to her role at Deloitte, she serves as a board member for Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas, a member of the Energy Transition Committee for the Greater Houston Partnership, and is Audit Committee chair, director and trustee at the University of Colorado Foundation.

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Japanese company plans $357M solar manufacturing plant in Houston area

coming soon

Japanese solar manufacturing company TOYO Co. Ltd. plans to invest $357 million to bring a 1.5-gigwatt solar cell manufacturing facility to the Houston area.

TOYO’s latest state-of-the-art facility will be co-located at its existing solar module site in Humble, according to a news release from the company. It will produce heterojunction (HJT) solar cells, which are known to be more durable and efficient with a higher heat threshold.

TOYO reports that the new facility will create 400 full-time manufacturing jobs. The project is expected to be completed in 20 months, which includes an initial pilot production.

"Expanding into domestic cell manufacturing is the natural next step in our commitment to creating an integrated onshore solar supply chain from polysilicon to panels," Takahiko Onozuka, chairman and CEO of TOYO, said in the news release. "Co-locating 1.5 GW of HJT cell capacity at our Houston module site significantly optimizes our capital allocation and infrastructure spend.”

TOYO entered the Houston market in 2024 through its acquisition of a majority stake in Solar Plus Technology Texas LLC.

Earlier this year, it began producing solar modules at its 567,140-square-foot plant in Lovett Industrial’s Nexus North Logistics Park. At the time, the company said it planned to expand manufacturing capacity to 6.5 gigawatts.

"The new cell plant reflects TOYO's long-term strategy to build a fully FEOC-compliant domestic manufacturing platform focused on serving the needs of the U.S. utility-scale solar market," Rhone Resch, TOYO's chief strategy officer, added in the release. "By producing premium solar products in the United States, we will be well positioned to meet the market's evolving domestic content requirements while strengthening supply chain security and reliability. Looking ahead, we believe HJT is the optimal technology platform for integrating next-generation perovskite solar cells, which we expect will drive the next major advancement in solar conversion efficiency and support TOYO's long-term technology roadmap.”

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.

American Airlines and Google ink record-breaking deal for cleaner jet fuel

SAF DEAL

Fort Worth-based American Airlines has sealed a record-breaking deal with tech giant Google to bolster the use of cleaner jet fuel.

The deal involves Google’s purchase of sustainable aviation fuel certificates tied to fuel that American will use at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, one of the airline’s hubs. These certificates enable companies like Google to pay for the environmental benefits of sustainable jet fuel without actually using the fuel.

American and Google say this is the largest publicly announced certificate deal between an airline and a corporate customer.

Google says environmental gains from the certificates will help it cut emissions from employees’ business travel.

The agreement covers 35 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel over three years, resulting in a nearly 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. American has agreed to buy the fuel from San Antonio-based Valero.

“Our industry-leading agreement with Google is a critical step forward in reducing emissions from our operations,” Jill Blickstein, American’s chief sustainability officer, said in a news release. “By working with leaders like Google who share our commitment to innovation, we’re helping to grow demand for [cleaner jet fuel] and support the development of a stronger, more resilient market.”

Sustainable aviation fuel can reduce emissions by up to 80 percent compared with traditional jet fuel. It is made from feedstocks, like waste oil and fats, or it can be produced synthetically using captured carbon dioxide and renewable electricity.

The aviation industry accounts for about 2.5 percent of carbon dioxide emissions around the world, according to the International Energy Agency.

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