Houston-area researchers score $1.5M grant to develop storm response tech platform

fresh funding

OpenSafe.AI, a new platform that utilizes AI, data, and hazard and resilience models to support storm response decision makers, has secured an NSF grant. Photo via Getty Images

Researchers from Rice University have secured a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to continue their work on improving safety and resiliency of coastal communities plagued by flooding and hazardous weather.

The Rice team of engineers and collaborators includes Jamie Padgett, Ben Hu, and Avantika Gori along with David Retchless at Texas A&M University at Galveston. The researchers are working in collaboration with the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center and the Ken Kennedy Institute at Rice and A&M-Galveston’s Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas.

Together, the team is developing and hopes to deploy “Open-Source Situational Awareness Framework for Equitable Multi-Hazard Impact Sensing using Responsible AI,” or OpenSafe.AI, a new platform that utilizes AI, data, and hazard and resilience models "to provide timely, reliable and equitable insights to emergency response organizations and communities before, during and after tropical cyclones and coastal storm events," reads a news release from Rice.

“Our goal with this project is to enable communities to better prepare for and navigate severe weather by providing better estimates of what is actually happening or might happen within the next hours or days,” Padgett, Rice’s Stanley C. Moore Professor in Engineering and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, says in the release. “OpenSafe.AI will take into account multiple hazards such as high-speed winds, storm surge and compound flooding and forecast their potential impact on the built environment such as transportation infrastructure performance or hazardous material spills triggered by severe storms.”

OpenSafe.AI platform will be developed to support decision makers before, during, and after a storm.

“By combining cutting-edge AI with a deep understanding of the needs of emergency responders, we aim to provide accurate, real-time information that will enable better decision-making in the face of disasters,” adds Hu, associate professor of computer science at Rice.

In the long term, OpenSafe.AI hopes to explore how the system can be applied to and scaled in other regions in need of equitable resilience to climate-driven hazards.

“Our goal is not only to develop a powerful tool for emergency response agencies along the coast but to ensure that all communities ⎯ especially the ones most vulnerable to storm-induced damage ⎯ can rely on this technology to better respond to and recover from the devastating effects of coastal storms,” adds Gori, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice.

Two Houston communities have received funding for programming and workforce development within climate resilience. Photo via Getty Images

Houston Health Department scores $20M grant funding for climate, energy resilience

H-town strong

The city of Houston has secured a $20 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to be used to build climate and energy resilience in two local underserved communities.

The Houston Health Department's funding comes from the EPA's Community Change program and will benefit the Greater Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens, regions that have faced contamination from the neighboring Union Pacific Railroad site. This grant follows two prior EPA grants from the Vulnerable to Vibrant series that were awarded in 2023.

"Through this grant, we will also aim to enhance a state-of-the-art flood alert system that provides advance warning," Loren Hopkins, HHD's chief environmental science officer, says in a news release. "We will promote and provide education regarding an air permit application warning system, plant fruit trees for flood, heat, and pollution mitigation, develop a hyper-local neighborhood resilience plan, and establish a Houston Environmental Justice Advisory Committee."

The initial $1 million grant will span three years and includes several local partners: HHD, Black United Fund of Texas, Houston Community College, My Brother's Keeper - Houston, City of Houston Solid Waste Management Department, and Environmental Defense Fund. It will fund the creation of free solar workforce development program with the hopes of installing and operating a community solar farm.

A second $500,000 grant will find paid internships to residents for solar deployment in the community and will be led by HHD in partnership with BUFTX, University of Houston Center for Sustainability and Resilience, Air Alliance, Houston Wilderness, and Rice University SSPEED Center/Fang Research Group.

The ultimate goal of these freshly funded initiatives, according to the city, is to strengthen HHD and its partners' efforts in establishing a solar energy system for the community in order to advance the neighborhood’s resilience.

Both projects will seek to develop “tracking and evaluation systems for the emerging nature-based carbon credit market.” Photo via Getty Images

Houston researchers launch 2 nature-based carbon credit projects

seeing green

A team at Rice University has announced plans for two research projects that will focus on nature-based carbon credits.

The George R. Brown School of Engineering and the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center reported that the projects will be funded through a gift from Emissions Reduction Corp. with the goal of advancing global decarbonization through a series of carbon sequestration, avoidance and reduction projects.

Both projects will seek to develop “tracking and evaluation systems for the emerging nature-based carbon credit market” according to a news release.

“The Rice School of Engineering is very interested in research into nature-based engineering solutions,” Luay Nakhleh, the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering and a professor of computer science and biosciences at Rice, says in the release. “For too long, we have used nature as a platform but not as a partner. This research will hopefully open the door on a new era of nature-based engineering. Moreover, this is a very timely initiative as bringing science to bear on the emergent carbon credit economy is of critical importance to meeting the challenges of a changing climate.”

For the first project, which is expected to take six months, the SSPEED Center will be commissioning the design of a digital monitoring, reporting and verification (dMRV) system for tracking nature-based carbon credits using satellite and drone imagery to monitor coastal blue carbon projects, soil, and forest projects.

The direct input of this data into blockchain and other record-keeping technologies will be the main part of the system. .A Houston-based local nonprofit carbon registry BC Carbon, and blockchain provider Change Code will also take part in the research.

The second project will see the SSPEED Center undertake hydrologic computer modeling, and take 12 to 18 months to complete. This will help determine the effectiveness of restoring native prairie grasslands as a flood control technique where a portion of the Brazos River will be modeled relative to predict increases in the frequency of “100-year floods” via climate change. Overall, it will evaluate whether prairie restoration funded via soil carbon credits could mitigate flooding risk, which could eliminate the need to raise the 30 miles of levees in Fort Bend County downstream of the carbon project. The George Foundation,BCarbon, and Fort Bend County Flood Control District will work together on this project.

“Using nature to solve flooding problems has been discussed but seldom executed at the level of a major river system,” Herman Brown Professor of Engineering and SSPEED Center director at Rice Phillip Bedient adds. “We are excited that carbon credits and prairie restoration might break open this nature-based flood engineering area.”

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Woodlands company licenses free patents to ERCOT to boost grid reliability

grid deal

Lancium, a company based in The Woodlands that specializes in infrastructure for connecting large-scale data centers to power grids, is licensing a portfolio of patents to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) at no cost.

In a news release, Lancium says the intellectual property agreement “ensures ERCOT can sublicense these patents freely, thereby expanding market participation opportunities without risk of patent infringement disputes.”

“This agreement exemplifies Lancium’s dedication to supporting grid stability and innovation across the ERCOT region,” Michael McNamara, CEO of Lancium, said in a news release. “While these patents represent significant technological advancements, we believe that enabling ERCOT and its market participants to operate freely is more valuable for the long-term reliability and resilience of the Texas grid.”

The licensed patents encompass Lancium technologies that support load resources in ERCOT’s market, which covers about 90 percent of Texas. Specifically, the patents deal with controllable load resources. A controlled load resource allows ERCOT and other grids to increase or decrease power consumption during peak periods or emergencies.

ERCOT predicts power demand in Texas will nearly double by 2030, “in part due to more requests to plug into the grid from large users like data centers, crypto mining facilities, hydrogen production plants, and oil and gas companies,” The Texas Tribune reported.

Harris County looks to future with new Climate Justice Plan

progress plan

Harris County commissioners approved a five-point Climate Justice Plan last month with a 3-1 vote by Harris County commissioners. The plan was created by the Office of County Administration’s Office of Sustainability and the nonprofit Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience.

“Climate action planning that centers on justice has the potential to spark innovative thinking and transformative actions that will lead to meaningful and just transitions in communities, policies, funding mechanisms, and implementation strategies,” the 59-page report reads.

The plan seeks to address issues relating to ecology, infrastructure, economy, community and culture. Here’s a breakdown:

Ecology

The plan will work towards clean air, water, and soil efforts that support the health of the environment, renewable energy that reduces greenhouse gases and pollution, and conservation and protection of our natural resources. Some action items include:

Increasing resources for local government agencies
Developing a free native seed bank at all libraries
Identifying partners and funding streams to reduce the costs of solar power for area households
Producing renewable energy on large tracts of land
Expanding tree planting by 20 percent
Providing tree maintenance and restoration efforts
Incentivizing gray water systems and filtration to conserve fresh water

Economy

In terms of the economy, the Climate Justice Plan wants the basic needs of the community met and wants to also incentivize resilience, sustainability, and climate solutions, and recycling and reuse methods. Specific actions include:

Quantifying the rising costs associated with climate change
Expanding resources and partnering with organizations to support programs that provide food, utility, housing, and direct cash assistance
Supporting a coalition of area non-profit organizations and county offices to strengthen social service support infrastructure
Supporting home repair, solar installation, and weatherization programs
Identify methods to expand free and efficient recycling and composting services
Creating a climate tax levied on greenhouse gas emissions to develop a climate fund to offset the impacts of pollution

Infrastructure

As Houston has been prone to hurricanes and flooding damage, the infrastructure portion of the plan aims to protect the region from risks through preventative floodplain and watershed management. Highlights include:

Investing in generators and solar power, plus battery backup and bidirectional EV charging for all county libraries
Providing more heating and cooling centers with charging stations
Coordinating and deploying community microgrids, especially in neighborhoods prone to losing power
Seeking partnerships and funding for low- or no-cost water purifiers for areas with the highest needs
Protecting the electric grid through regular maintenance and upgrading, and advocating for greater accountability and responsiveness among appointed officials
Developing regulations to require resilient power line infrastructure to prevent outages and failures in new developments

Community and Culture

Housing, a strong economy and access to affordable and healthy food will be achieved under the community aspect of the plan. Under culture, the plan seeks to share knowledge and build trust. Key goals include:

Developing a campaign to promote the use of the Harris County 311 system to identify critical community concerns
Supporting the development of a Community Housing Plan that ensures stable and safe housing
Advocating for revisions to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster funding to account for renters’ losses and unmet housing needs
Developing and funding a whole-home program for repairs, weatherization, and solar energy
Developing culturally relevant public relations campaigns to increase knowledge of health, environment and biodiversity across generations

Read the full plan here.

Houston company completes orphan well decommission project in the Gulf

temporary abandonment

Houston-based Promethean Energy announced this month that it has successfully decommissioned offshore orphaned wells in the Matagorda Island lease area.

Around this time last year, the company shared that it would work on the temporary abandonment of nine orphan wells on behalf of the Department of Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, in the area. Promethean is known for decommissioning mature assets in a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable manner.

“Our team is incredibly proud to have completed this critical work efficiently, safely, and ahead of budget,” Steve Louis, SVP of decommissioning at Promethean Energy, said in a news release. “By integrating our expertise, technologies and strategic partnerships, we have demonstrated that decommissioning can be both cost-effective and environmentally responsible.”

The company plans to use the Matagora Island project as a replicable model to guide similar projects worldwide. The project used comprehensive drone inspections, visual intelligence tools for safety preparations and detailed well diagnostics to plug the wells.

Next up, Promethean is looking to decommission more of the estimated 14,000 unplugged wells in the Gulf.

"Building on our strong execution performance, our strategy is to continue identifying synergies with other asset owners, fostering collaboration, and developing sustainable decommissioning campaigns that drive efficiency across the industry," Ernest Hui, chief strategy officer of Promethean Energy, added in the release.

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