New film series brings conservation around Texas to life

H-E-B's impact

The Our Texas, Our Future film series illustrates the importance of native wildlife. ourtexasourfuture.com

A new five-part documentary shorts series by Texas' favorite grocery store, H-E-B, takes an in-depth exploration into the state's wildlife and parks, in the hopes of raising awareness for native conservation.

Each film in the Our Texas, Our Future series is set in a different area of Texas, from the Gulf Coast of Houston to the deserts of West Texas. Viewers will learn about Texas' misunderstood animals, witness conservation triumphs of important marine life, and celebrate in the longevity of the state's public park system.

The series was created in partnership with Fin & Fur Films, and each of the five films are narrated by Austin-based singer Shane Smith. His band, Shane Smith and the Saints, also created original music for the series.

"H-E-B has a deep commitment to support all Texans, and that includes helping to protect, conserve, and beautify our great state for people to enjoy now and for generations to come," said Leslie Sweet, H-E-B's Managing Director of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs in a release. "We’re excited to support these passionate filmmakers and their mission to tell important stories that we hope will inspire people to celebrate and protect the diverse habitats, unique wildlife, and beautiful landscapes across Texas."

A Century Celebration: Texas State Parks
Director: Ben Masters; Runtime: 9 minutes
This film celebrates the 100th anniversary of Texas State Parks through a retelling of how the public park system came to be. 1.5 million acres of public land stretches from the West Texas mountains to Piney Woods in East Texas, where about 10 million visitors trek Texas state parks every year. Watch the trailer for A Century Celebration: Texas State Parkshere.

Batsies
Director: Elizabeth Unger; Runtime: 15 minutes
San Antonio locals know all too well the history of Bracken Cave, which is home to the world's largest bat colony, comprising more than 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats. A group of Texas State University wildlife biologiststake viewers on a trip to unearth little-known facts about one of Texas' most precious creatures. Batsies details the group's fight to protect the state's bat population and explains why the mammals are so crucial to Texas' ecosystem and agriculture. Watch the trailer here.

Redfish Revival
Director: Shannon Vandivier; Runtime: 16 minutes
Redfish Revival is a deep dive into the history of Texas' redfish population, and how a group of Houston fishermen saved them from overfishing in the 1970s. The group's dedication to conservation helped bring about important legislation protecting against overfishing in the 1980s, and even led to redfish being deemed the official saltwater fish of Texas. Watch the trailer here.

Second Chance
Director: Austin Alvarado; Runtime: 22 minutes
Second Chance showcases the ongoing recovery of Texas' black bear population, which has slowly been on the rise over the last 30 years. Researchers from the Borderlands Research Institute in Alpine journey to understand how the bears are surviving in the West Texas desserts in the wake of Texas' human population expansion. Watch the trailer for Second Chance here.

Ranching with Ocelots
Director: Shannon Vandivier; Runtime: 12 minutes
Ocelots are the most endangered cat in the nation, with less than 120 in the wild today. Ranching with Ocelots investigates the relationship between the animals and two traditional Texas vaqueros – Timoteo and Miguel Rodriguez, who also appear in the film Easteños – who seek to protect them. Their ranch is home to the largest documented ocelot population in North America. Watch the trailer here.

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This article originally ran on CultureMap.

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Solar manufacturer expands Houston footprint with new 4 GW factory

coming soon

Houston-based SEG Solar plans to open a new 4-gigawatt solar module manufacturing facility in Cypress.

The facility represents more than a $200 million investment and will raise SEG's total annual U.S. module production capacity to approximately 6 gigawatts, according to a new release. The expansion is part of SEG’s long-term goal of becoming one of the largest 100 percent U.S.-owned module manufacturers.

The new 500,000-square-foot facility will be located on Telge Road and is expected to create 800 new jobs, according to reports.

“This new facility marks an important milestone for SEG,” Timothy Johnson, VP of operations, said in the release. “It will further strengthen our U.S. manufacturing capabilities while supporting ongoing technology innovation. The plant is designed with the flexibility to integrate next-generation technologies, including (heterojunction solar technology) as the industry evolves.”

Commercial operations at the new facility are expected to commence in Q3 2026.

SEG is also developing a 5-gigawatt ingot and wafer manufacturing facility in Indonesia. Construction on the facility is expected to begin in Q2 2026.

In 2024, SEG Solar opened a new $60 million, 250,000-square-foot facility in Houston to house its production workshops, raw material warehouses, administrative offices, finished goods warehouses and supporting infrastructure. Read more here.

Fervo Energy bumps up IPO target to $1.82B

IPO update

Houston-based geothermal power company Fervo Energy is now eyeing an IPO that would raise $1.75 billion to $1.82 billion, up from the previous target of $1.33 billion.

In paperwork filed Monday, May 11 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Fervo says it plans to sell 70 million shares of Class A common stock at $25 to $26 per share.

In addition, Fervo expects to grant underwriters 30-day options to buy up to 8.33 million additional shares of Class A common stock. This could raise nearly $200 million.

When it announced the IPO on May 4, Fervo aimed to sell 55.56 million shares at $21 to $24 per share, which would have raised $1.17 billion to $1.33 billion. The initial valuation target was $6.5 billion.

A date for the IPO hasn’t been scheduled. Fervo’s stock will be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FRVO.

Fervo, founded in 2017, has attracted about $1.5 billion in funding from investors such as Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Google, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Devon Energy (which is moving its headquarters to Houston), Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, CalSTRS, Liberty Mutual Investments, AllianceBernstein, JPMorgan, Bank of America and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.

Fervo’s marquee project is Cape Station in Beaver County, Utah, the world’s largest EGS (enhanced geothermal system) project. The first phase will deliver 100 megawatts of baseload clean power, with the second phase adding another 400 megawatts. The site can accommodate 2 gigawatts of geothermal energy. Fervo holds more than 595,000 leased acres for potential expansion.

Cape Station has secured power purchase agreements for the entire 500-megawatt capacity. Customers include Houston-based Shell Energy North America and Southern California Edison.

Modular nuclear reactor company opens office in Houston

new to hou

The nuclear energy renaissance continues in Texas with an announcement by NuScale Power. The Oregon-based provider of proprietary and innovative advanced small modular reactor (SMR) nuclear technology announced in April it would be opening office space in Houston’s CityCentre.

“Opening this space in Houston underscores our commitment to meeting rising energy demand with safe, scalable nuclear technology,” John Hopkins, NuScale president and CEO, said in a news release. “This move expands our presence in a key market for partners, prospective customers, and stakeholders in addition to positioning us for the future as we focus on the near-term deployment of our industry-leading technology. Texas is leading the way in embracing advanced nuclear for grid resilience and industrial decarbonization, and we’re proud to expand our footprint and capabilities in this important region.”

Interest in nuclear power has been growing in recent years thanks to tensions with oil-rich nations, concerns about man-made climate change from fossil fuels, and the rapidly increasing power needs of data centers. Both Dow and Texas A&M University have announced expanded nuclear power projects in the last year, with an eye of changing the face of Texas’s energy industry through smaller, safer fission reactors.

Enter NuScale, founded in 2007 from technology developed at the University of Oregon. Their modular SMR technology generates 77 megawatts and is one of the only small modular reactors (SMR) to receive design approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). These advances have led to runaway success for NuScale, whose stock has risen by more than 1,670 percent since the start of 2024.

The new operations campus in CityCentre is expected to facilitate the movement, installation and coordination of NuScale technology into the various energy systems. Typically, SMRs are used for off-grid installations, desalination operations, mining facilities and similar areas that lack infrastructure. However, the modularity means that they can be easily deployed to a variety of areas.

It comes none too soon. ERCOT projects that Texas data centers alone will require 77,965 megawatts by 2030.

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