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Houston-area solar farm to light up Texas with clean power for 15,000 homes

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Recurrent Energy's Liberty Solar project near Houston is now operational, adding 134 megawatts of clean energy capacity to power 15,000 homes annually in the MISO market. Photo via recurrentenergy.com

A clean energy developer and operator of solar and energy storage assets has announced the completion and commercial operation of a Houston-area farm that will power 15,000 homes a year.

Recurrent Energy's Liberty Solar project outside of Houston has powered on and will expand solar energy capacity in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator market. Recurrent Energy is an Austin-based a subsidiary of Canadian Solar.

“Projects like Liberty Solar are instrumental to meeting the soaring demand for electricity in Texas,” Executive Director of Texas Solar Power Association Mark Stover says in a news release. "We commend Recurrent Energy for pushing through the development process and working with corporate buyers to deliver new, predictable, clean power to the MISO region of Texas.”

Liberty Solar is in Liberty County, which is about 50 miles northeast of Houston and will be a 134 megawatt solar project. Customers include Autodesk Inc., Biogen Inc., EMD Electronics (the U.S. and Canada electronics business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany), and Wayfair Inc.

“Investment in additional renewable capacity on the grid is essential to delivering more sustainable outcomes, and we believe that the Liberty Solar project will help make renewable energy more accessible in North America,” Joe Speicher, chief sustainability officer at Autodesk, adds in tje release. “Autodesk is committed to 100% renewable energy sourcing for our facilities, cloud services and hybrid workforce, and we are committed to leveraging our climate commitments to drive transformational change in our energy generation and deployment.”

Recurrent Energy celebrated the project by welcoming customers at Liberty Solar on October 23 for a guided tour and ribbon cutting ceremony.

“Liberty Solar is a fantastic project that expands Recurrent Energy’s project ownership in MISO,” Ismael Guerrero, CEO of Recurrent Energy, says in the release. “We are thrilled to complete this project on time and on budget in support of the renewable energy goals of our customers.”

Last year, Recurrent Energy scored $200 million in financing for the project, including $120 million in financing through Rabobank, Nord LB, and U.S. Bank in the form of construction debt, a letter-of-credit facility, and a term facility. In addition, U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank, is providing $80 million in tax equity.

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The project will take over more than 1,000 acres of former farmland about an hour outside of Houston. Photo via Getty Images

Texas company secures $200M for solar project near Houston

coming soon to HOU

An Austin-based company has scored $200 million in financing for a solar energy project it’s building in Liberty County.

Recurrent Energy’s 134-megawatt Liberty Solar project, about 50 miles northeast of Houston, is scheduled to start operating in 2024. The facility will occupy more than 1,000 acres of former farmland about six miles south of Dayton.

Last year, Recurrent Energy indicated the project represented an investment of $155 million, according to paperwork filed with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

The company lined up $120 million in financing through Rabobank, Nord LB, and U.S. Bank in the form of construction debt, a letter-of-credit facility, and a term facility. In addition, U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance, a subsidiary of U.S. Bank, is providing $80 million in tax equity.

“Liberty Solar is the second project financing that Recurrent Energy has closed in North America this summer, indicating execution on our strategy to retain greater ownership of projects in select markets,” Ismael Guerrero, CEO of Recurrent Energy, says in a news release.

Recurrent Energy announced in May 2023 that it had signed purchase agreements for all of the Liberty County site’s solar power capacity. The Austin company, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, says Liberty Solar will generate enough energy to power an estimated 15,000 homes per year.

The five companies that agreed to buy the solar power are:

  • San Francisco-based software company Autodesk
  • Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech company Biogen
  • Semiconductor manufacturer EMD Electronics, the North American electronics business of Germany-based pharmaceutical giant Merck
  • Boston-based home goods retailer Wayfair
  • An unidentified healthcare company

The Recurrent Energy project will expand solar capacity in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region, which includes most of Liberty County. The nonprofit organization manages electricity in 15 states and Canada’s Manitoba province.

The solar project is outside the territory of the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which oversees the power grid for about 90 percent of Texas.

Recurrent Energy already operates solar projects in California and Mississippi as well as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

The Liberty Solar project isn’t the only solar facility being developed in Liberty County.

Spanish renewable energy company X-ELIO said in February 2023 that it had begun construction on a 60-megawatt battery energy storage system in Liberty County that it’s pairing with a 72-megawatt solar energy facility. The two projects are being built on the same site.

The solar energy project, set to start operating in early 2024, will support ERCOT’s energy needs in the Houston area. X-ELIO says the project represents an investment of more than $130 million.

Power generated by the facility will be sold to BASF, a chemical conglomerate based in Florham Park, New Jersey. Any surplus energy will be stored by the battery system. BASF maintains its regional petrochemical headquarters in Houston and a chemical manufacturing plant in Pasadena.

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New 160MW battery storage project comes online in Houston

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Colorado-based energy storage company SMT Energy and North Carolina-based software company FlexGen have begun operations of Houston IV, a 160-megawatt utility-scale battery storage facility that aims to support the ERCOT grid.

The companies delivered the project in just six weeks, according to a news release. Mississippi-based Irby Construction Company served as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) partner, and CenterPoint Energy will serve as the interconnecting utility.

“FlexGen’s distinctive combination of software automation, our remote operations center, and on-the-ground field expertise all work together to accelerate battery deployment,” Jason Rislov, SVP of operations at FlexGen, said in the release. “What used to take 25-plus weeks took us six. That time saved translates directly into giving the grid and consumers what they need most right now: a more reliable, resilient energy system.”

Houston IV is one of more than 12 projects that SMT and FlexGen have built to connect to ERCOT, according to Energy Storage News.

“Bringing a 160-MW battery storage facility online in just six weeks required disciplined planning, seamless coordination, and an unwavering focus on safety and quality,” Shaun Coleman, project manager at Irby Construction, said in a news release. “The SMT Energy, FlexGen, and Irby Construction teams coordinated engineering, procurement, and construction to keep every workstream aligned, identify challenges early, and maintain safety and quality at an accelerated pace. That integration is critical, not only to delivering projects quickly, but also to ensuring battery storage facilities perform reliably over the long term.”

Houston IV is expected to store and provide enough electricity to power 8,800 homes in Texas annually. In March, SMT Energy secured $135 million in funding for the project from Macquarie and KeyBanc Capital Markets as joint lead arrangers. SMT and FlexGen broke ground to signal the start of the process in May.

In 2023, SMT Energy and joint venture partner SUSI Partners also announced plans to add 10 battery storage projects to Texas, which would double capacity from 100 megawatts to 200 megawatts in the Houston and Dallas areas.

Meet the 80+ startups pitching at Houston Energy and Climate Week

Pitch Lineup

One of the highlights from Houston Energy and Climate Week is hearing directly from the up-and-coming founders working to reshape the energy landscape.

This year, dozens of startups from Brazil to Berkeley and from right here in the Bayou City will compete for cash prizes and bragging rights while showcasing their concepts at HECW pitch events. Here's who's pitching at some of the week's signature competitions. Check back after the week wraps to see who takes home the top prizes.

Cypher Pilotathon and Startup Showcase — Sept. 15 at POST Houston

At the Cypher Pilotathon, founders will give their best 7-minute pilot pitches to industry experts and a live audience, followed by Q&A. This year's event will center around the theme, "The NEW Energy Industrial Revolution." Here's who's pitching:

  • Houston-based Aeromine Technologies, a distributed wind turbine company
  • San Francisco-based Ammobia, which develops low-carbon, energy source-agnostic ammonia
  • Birmingham, Alabama-based Ashipa Electric, a renewable energy semiconductor and microgrid manufacturer
  • Houston-based BigMachine AI, an AI engineer for industrial projects
  • Houston-based Corrolytics, which has developed corrosion detection technology
  • São Paulo, Brazil-based GLR Tech, which has developed a compact, scalable, low-cost platform for industrial emissions control
  • Monreal-based Green Graphite Technologies, which produces battery-grade graphite in a cost-effective and sustainable manner
  • Boston-based KIRA, which converts industrial wastewater into ultrapure water and solids
  • Edinburgh-based Mocean Energy, which works to deliver renewable ocean energy to power offshore industry
  • Los Angeles-based Mote, which works to convert agricultural and forestry waste into clean energy
  • Berkeley-based Oleo, which is developing a biomanufacturing platform to transform biomass waste into carbon-negative, cost-competitive oil feedstocks for advanced fuels
  • Oslo, Norway-based OTee, an automation machinery manufacturer
  • Houston-based Resollant, which is working to produce battery-grade graphite and ultra-low-cost hydrogen
  • Tulsa-based RyuGen Energy Solutions Inc., which works to turn underused commercial power into distributed AI infrastructure
  • Berkeley-based Sunchem, which provides precision separation of critical metals from sources including e-waste, evaporator scrap, solar panels, and mining ores and concentrates

Twenty-two other startups will participate in the startup showcase. See the full list here.

Greentown Climatetech Summit — Sept. 16 at the Continental Club

Ten Greentown startups will compete for $25,000 in prizes at Greentown Climatetech Summit's signature pitch event. Judges include Dave Dreessen, of Chevron Technology Ventures’ Future Energy Fund, and Jon Greene, of New Climate Ventures. Here's who's pitching:

  • Houston-based AMPeers, which manufactures high-temperature superconducting wire for high-power electrification infrastructure
  • Detroit-based AmHyTech, which enables ambient-condition liquid ammonia handling for fertilizer and fuel applications
  • Houston- and Zurich-based Biosimo, which converts biomass-based ethanol into lower-carbon acetic acid and acetyls
  • Houston-based Capwell Services Inc., which captures methane from low-flow oil and gas vents and returns it to market
  • Cleveland- and Ghana-based Cocoa Potash, which extracts potassium carbonate and fertilizer from cocoa, coconut, and palm-nut waste
  • Houston-based Solidec, which electrolyzes air, water, and electricity into onsite hydrogen peroxide.
  • Houston-based Focis AI, which converts industrial laser scans into a queryable digital twin of refineries and plants
  • Calgary-based Kanin Energy, which develops and finances waste heat to power projects for industrial clients
  • San Francisco-based FelixFusion, which models grid connection points so developers can validate interconnection in minutes
  • Houston-based Pike Robotics, which deploys its Wall-Eye robot to inspect hazardous tanks without taking assets offline

TEX-E Student Innovators will also pitch earlier in the day-long event, and an additional five Greentown startups will compete for $1,000 during the Lightning Pitch Competition. Find more information here.

Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum — Sept. 17 at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business

Houston-based companies Aquanta Vision, Capwell Services and Deep Anchor Solutions will be joined by startups from around the world to compete to be named one of the 10 Most Promising Companies at the 23rd Energy Tech Venture Forum. Additional companies will participate in office hours.

See the full list of nearly 50 companies pitching here.

Halliburton Labs Pitch Day — Sept. 18 at the Ion

Halliburton Labs Pitch Day brings together a curated group of early‑stage energy technology investors and 16 participating companies. The event is invitation‑only. Here's who's pitching:

  • Australia-based Aquafortus, which has developed a non-thermal liquid to liquid desalination technology for resource recovery from wastewater brine
  • Calgary-based Ayrton Energy, which has developed a proprietary technology that enables hydrogen to be stored within an organic liquid, which can be handled and transported like gasoline
  • Illinois-based Cache Energy, which is developing electrified heat and long-term energy storage
  • New York-based Cella, which is working to advance subsurface mineralization of CO2
  • Miami-based Chemergy, which has developed a patented process to convert wet organic and plastic wastes into green hydrogen
  • Tennessee-based Enexor BioEnergy, which is developing on-site waste-to-bioenergy conversion systems
  • Reno-based Espiku, which focuses on water and minerals recovery from industrially produced water
  • UK-based LiNa Energy, which is developing low-cost, solid-state sodium battery technology
  • Michigan-based Marel Power Solutions, which is developing advanced cooling technology to redefine power-stacks
  • California-based Mitico, which is developing technology to collect and purify carbon dioxide at the source, post-combustion, before it enters the atmosphere
  • Singapore-based Nandina REM, which turns end-of-life assets into new, reliable, high-performance carbon fiber materials for the aviation, aerospace and defense industries
  • California-based Noon Energy, which is developing a 100-plus-hour ultra-long-duration battery storage
  • Silicon Valley-based Proof Energy, which is commercializing next-generation metallic solid oxide fuel cell (M-SOFC) technology.
  • Berkeley-based Sunchem, which provides precision separation of critical metals from sources including e-waste, evaporator scrap, solar panels, and mining ores and concentrates
  • Singapore-based Sungreen, an advanced materials company pioneering nanotechnology-based coatings for high-efficiency, low-cost electrodes
  • Minneapolis-based Syncris, which is developing next-generation modular power systems designed for the most demanding environments
Read more about Houston Energy and Climate Week and its programming in Energy Capital's event preview.

KBR's Mission Technology Solutions spinoff awarded $1.1B NOAA contract

A Big Deal

Amid a major spinoff, Houston-based KBR's Mission Technology Solutions business has been awarded a five-year contract for up to $1.1 billion from NOAA’s National Weather Service to help predict and combat extreme weather conditions.

Under the follow-on Commercial Data Program National Mesonet Program (CDP NMP) contract, KBR will provide weather and observational data from commercial stations, university and research campuses, and other non-federal providers nationwide. The information collected will assist in predicting severe temperatures and high-impact weather conditions like extreme storms.

"This award underscores KBR's proven track record of delivering vital data that strengthens national forecasting capabilities," Todd May, KBR’s senior vice president of Mission Technology Solutions, said in a news release.

According to a separate release from NOAA, the contract expands upon KBR's existing relationship with the agency. KBR will work with about 70 private industry partners on services such as data recording, collection, aggregation and processing, and will lead the CDP NMP's "network of networks."

“NOAA gathers environmental information from a wide variety of sources, and a growing list of private industry partners have joined our agency to collect this vital data,” Ken Graham, director of NOAA’s National Weather Service, said in the release. “This agreement streamlines the process that turns raw data into the gold-standard forecasts that Americans depend on.”

KBR will utilize its Speed to Mission ImpactSM technology for the project to supply data from across regions, measurement types, and system configurations. Both KBR and NOAA say the expanded data collection contract will help the agency create more accurate and timely forecasts, particularly for severe weather and extreme events, while also creating a path for new weather-observation technologies.

KBR has supported the CDP NMP for more than nine years. The program will be managed in Greenbelt, Maryland.

"We're driving expanded integration of commercial sensor and data sources into this platform and are honored to know our work helps forecasters give their communities earlier warnings and more time to prepare for dangerous weather,” May added in a release.

KBR’s Mission Technology Solutions business will be rebranded as Trinzic after its planned spin-off, the company announced last month. The spin-off is expected to close in January 2027.

Trinzic will work as an independent, publicly traded company focused on technology and engineering services for the space and national security sector. KBR will remain a separate publicly traded company that will focus on sustainable technology and services to support the energy transition.

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This article originally appeared on InnovationMap.com.

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