Harris County looks to future with new Climate Justice Plan

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Harris County commissioners approved a plan that seeks to address issues of ecology, infrastructure, economy, community and culture. Photo via Getty Images.

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.

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Greentown Labs and Evonik have launched the Greentown Go Make 2025 accelerator to support startups developing sustainable technologies for the personal care industry. Photo via Evonik.us

Greentown Labs, Evonik launch accelerator to boost sustainability in personal care products

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Greentown Labs and its corporate partner, Germany-based chemicals company Evonik, are calling for submissions to a new program geared at accelerating more sustainable personal care products.

The Greentown Go Make 2025 accelerator, which is based in both Greentown's Houston and Boston-area locations and open to companies from around the world, as launched applications now through January 23.

"Designed to accelerate startup-corporate partnerships to advance climatetech, this Greentown Go program is focused on increasing sustainability within the personal-care industry through the development, introduction, and commercialization of technologies that reduce products’ manufacturing-related emissions and end-of-life environmental impact," reads a news release from Greentown.

"More specifically, Go Make 2025 is interested in biodegradable polymers and sustainable specialty chemicals for personal care. Further details on the technology areas of interest can be found in the request for applications."

The selected companies will have access to Greentown's facilities and receive mentorship, networking opportunities, educational workshops, and structured programming. The startups will also have partnership opportunities with the program's corporate partner Evonik.

“The Greentown Go program represents an exciting opportunity for startups to showcase their groundbreaking solutions in sustainable chemistry,” Anil Saxena, vice president of RD&I at Evonik, says in the release. “At Evonik, innovation and sustainability are not just buzzwords; they are fundamental to our strategic growth. We are eager to identify and collaborate with companies that share our commitment to creating a more sustainable future.”

The global personal care market — which includes products across hygiene, cosmetics and beautification, cleaning, and grooming — represents 0.5 to 1.5 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, per Greentown's release. Evonik announced its sustainability-focused game plan in September, focusing on bio-based solutions, the energy transition, and the circular economy.

“The building blocks of the personal-care industry are ripe for climatetech innovation, and there’s no better partner for harnessing this opportunity than Evonik, a global leader in specialty chemicals,” adds Aisling Carlson, senior vice president of partnerships at Greentown. “Greentown Go has a strong track record of fostering meaningful startup-corporate partnerships, and we look forward to working with Evonik and a set of groundbreaking entrepreneurs in this program.”

Fervo Energy received $100 million loan for its Utah Cape Station project. Photo via fervoenergy.com

Houston company secures $100M for 'world’s largest geothermal energy plant'

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Houston-based geothermal energy company Fervo Energy has secured a $100 million bridge loan for the first phase of its ongoing project in Utah.

The loan came from an affiliate of Irvington, New York-based X-Caliber Rural Capital. Proceeds will support construction of Fervo’s Cape Station project, which is being touted as the world’s largest geothermal energy plant.

The first phase of Cape Station, which is on track to generate 90 megawatts of renewable energy, is expected to be completed in June 2026. Ultimately, the plant is supposed to supply 400 megawatts of clean energy by 2028 for customers in California.

“Helping this significant project advance and grow in rural America is a true testament to how investing in communities and businesses not only has local influence, but can have a global, long-lasting impact by promoting sustainability and stimulating rural economies,” Jordan Blanchard, co-founder of X-Caliber Rural Capital, says in a news release.

X-Caliber Rural Capital is an affiliate of commercial real estate financing company X-Caliber Capital Holdings.

Fervo says its drilling operations Utah’s Cape Station show a 70 percent reduction in drilling times, paving the way for advancement of its geothermal energy system.

Tim Latimer, co-founder and CEO of Fervo, says his company’s drilling advancements, purchase deals, transmission rights, permit approvals, and equipment acquisitions make Fervo “an ideal candidate” for debt financing. In May, Latimer joined the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss the company's growth and latest project.

With a new office in downtown Houston, Fervo recently signed up one of the country’s largest utilities as a new customer and expanded its collaboration with Google.

To date, Fervo has raised $531 million in venture capital funding, per Crunchbase data.

Houston artists have created unique carbon-absorbing art. "Future's Past" by Emily Ding in partnership with UXD tells the story of the Mellie Esperson building. Photo courtesy of Dario DeLeon

Artist collective brings carbon-absorbing murals to Houston

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Anthony Rose, the CEO of creative agency United By Design, is on a mission to brighten Houston’s urban spaces and improve the city’s air quality one carbon-absorbing mural at a time.

Rose originally founded United By Design, or UXD, in 2019 to connect muralists like himself and commercial businesses seeking to beautify their spaces and form brand identities. After creating vibrant murals for Lockhart Elementary School, the Houston Astros, and Smoothie King, Rose expanded UXD’s vision to include environmental sustainability in their artistic collaborations in 2022.

“This city’s vibrant art scene and growing focus on sustainability makes it an ideal location for our projects,” Rose says. “We’re not just creating eco-friendly murals, we’re reimagining how art can actively contribute to environmental solutions.”

In search of ecologically-conscious paints, Rose formed a partnership with Spain-based, natural paint company Graphenstone. Rose says he was drawn to the company’s eponymous Graphenstone coating because of its nontoxic ingredients and exclusively uses the product for UXD’s carbon-absorbing murals.

For 713 Day, UXD created carbon-absorbing mural "(HUE)STON HARMONY" in collaboration with Downtown Houston+ and local artist David Maldonado. Photo courtesy of Egidio Narvaez

The Graphenstone coating consists of a limestone base which goes through a process called photocatalysis, during which carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is absorbed into the surface, and is then sealed in with graphene, a thin layer of carbon atoms. The murals absorb carbon dioxide throughout the coat’s drying process which typically takes 30 days.

“Each of our murals absorbs about 1600 grams of CO2 during that curing process which is the equivalent daily absorption of about 33 growing trees,” Rose explains.

UXD’s largest carbon-absorbing mural to date is a floor-to-ceiling panorama in downtown Houston’s historic Mellie Esperson building, home to the company’s new creative hub. Painted by Houston-born artist Emily Ding, the mural is a tribute to the establishment’s namesake: an innovative, early 20th century entrepreneur who constructed the opulent building.

Rose says UXD plans to expand their carbon-absorbing murals project in collaboration with more local artists and establishments, while creating an artist-in-residency program themed around sustainability. Though Rose acknowledges in the grand scheme of carbon pollution these murals are not a silver bullet, he says the non-toxic paints are encouraging conversations about how artists can be conservation-minded.

“We’re trying to figure out how art as a messaging tool can help break down scientific data, a language not many people practice daily, can break down barriers and help bridge the gap to a more intuitive knowledge of sustainability,” Rose says. “We’re bringing the community together, helping them feel empowered, and giving them actionable information to help them live more sustainable lives.”

"Between Land and Sky" by artist David Maldonado was UXD's first carbon-absorbing painting. Photo courtesy of Dario DeLeon and Tommy Valdez

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This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

The first Alto EVs have hit the road in Houston. Photo via Alto

Texas ride-hailing app grows Houston fleet with EV additions

rolling out

Your next Alto ride might be electric. The Dallas-based car service has rolled out electric vehicles in Houston.

Alto, founded in Dallas in 2018 and launched in Houston in 2020, elevates ridesharing with its own fleet of company-owned, clearly branded SUVs driven by its staff of drivers. The company previously announced its plans to evolve its fleet into being completely electric, and the first EVs have hit the road, according to a company email.

"Our EV additions to the Houston fleet mark an important moment in our commitment to significantly reduce Alto's environmental impact," reads the email sent on September 5.

The new cars offer similar features to its existing fleet, including legroom, phone chargers, water bottles for riders, and more. Plus, the new cars — Kia EV9 — boast a quieter ride.

Alto has consistently grown in its Texas markets — which include Houston and Dallas — over the years, including expanding into Houston's suburbs.

Will Coleman, CEO of Alto, previously wrote in a guest column for InnovationMap that his priorities for starting the company included safety — but also sustainability. For years, Alto has been expressing interest in introducing EVs, with plans of having a completely electric fleet.

"This EV vision is one example of how a rideshare company can build a better and more accountable industry, and these steps also give Houstonians a more responsible and sustainable transportation solution," Coleman writes.

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.

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CenterPoint reaches agreement on SRP to significantly reduce outages

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CenterPoint Energy has reached a settlement agreement with parties to its 2026-2028 Systemwide Resiliency Plan (SRP), which will represent the largest single grid resiliency investment in CenterPoint's history.

The plan is expected to reduce storm-related outages by 1 billion minutes for its 2.8 million customers by 2029 and build on the first two phases of the company's Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative (GHRI), according to a release from CenterPoint.

This SRP is designed to further address the impacts of extreme weather threats. The deal, which is subject to Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) review and approval, reflects discussions with intervening parties following the filing of CenterPoint's enhanced SRP with the PUCT in January 2025.

“Our plan is cost-effective and will build on the progress we've made to date through the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative,” Jason Wells, president and CEO of CenterPoint, said in a news release. “We believe that these resiliency actions will help create a future with fewer outages that impact smaller clusters of customers, coupled with faster restoration times for our Greater Houston communities.”

Included in the SRP is a revised, agreed-upon investment of more than $3 billion in CenterPoint's electric distribution system, and also includes the deferment of more than $240 million in SRP costs until the second half of 2029, which will spread the costs out for customers over a four-year period. All SRP work will be completed in the proposed 2026-2028 timeframe, once approved.

The plan will target high-risk areas. Key initiatives include:

Distributing 130,000 stronger storm-resilient poles
Clearing 100 percent of power lines of hazardous vegetation every three years
Undergrounding more than 50 percent of CenterPoint's system
Modernizing 20,150 spans of underground cables
Automating lines serving the most customers to make them capable of “self-healing”

CenterPoint also announced it will continue its nearly $2 billion investment planned for the electric transmission system, which includes rebuilding or upgrading 2,200 structures to help withstand extreme weather.

The SRP investment in the electric distribution system would add $1.40 per month for an average residential customer each year from 2026 through 2028, with a final $0.60 per month added in 2030, according to the news release.

“This is another major step on our strategic roadmap to building and operating the most resilient coastal grid in the nation,” Wells said in the release.

In preparation for filing the SRP, CenterPoint ran 30 community meetings, listening sessions and solicited feedback on the plan during the draft stages.

In April, CenterPoint began building a network of 100 new weather monitoring stations, which will provide 24/7 weather monitoring and storm response preparation, and in June began installing 100 new local weather monitoring stations as part of the GHRI Phase 2. Also in April, CenterPoint began a collaboration between AI-powered predictive modeling platform company Neara and utility infrastructure asset assessment solutions company Osmose.

Guest column: How growing energy demand will impact the Texas grid

Guest Column

Although Texas increased its power supply by 35% over the last four years, a recent report from ERCOT predicts that Texas’ energy demand will nearly double by 2030, with power supply projected to fall short of peak demand in a worst-case scenario beginning in summer 2026. There are many factors and variables that could either increase or decrease the grid’s stability.

Homebuilding in Texas

One of the most easily identifiable challenges is that the population of Texas is continuing to grow, which places greater demand on the state’s power grid. With its booming population, the state is now the second most populous in the country.

In 2024, Texas led the nation in homebuilding, issuing 15% of the country's new-home permits in 2024. Within the first two months of 2025, Houston alone saw more than 11,000 new building permits issued. The fact that Houston is the only major metro in the United States to lack zoning laws means it does not directly regulate density or separate communities by use type, which is advantageous for developers and homebuilders, who have far fewer restrictions to navigate when constructing new homes.

Large-scale computing facilities

Another main source of the growing demand for power is large-scale computing facilities such as data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations. These facilities consume large amounts of electricity to run and keep their computing equipment cool.

In 2022, in an effort to ensure grid reliability, ERCOT created a program to approve and monitor these large load (LFL) customers. The Large Flexible Load Task Force is a non-voting body that develops policy recommendations related to planning, markets, operations, and large load interconnection processes. LFL customers are those with an expected peak demand capacity of 75 megawatts or greater.

It is anticipated that electricity demand from customers identified by ERCOT as LFL will total 54 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2025, which is up almost 60% from the expected demand in 2024. If this comes to fruition, the demand from LFL customers would represent about 10% of the total forecast electricity consumption on the ERCOT grid this year. To accommodate the expected increase in power demand from large computing facilities, the state created the Texas Energy Fund, which provides grants and loans to finance the construction, maintenance, modernization, and operation of electric facilities in Texas. During this year’s 89th legislative session, lawmakers approved a major expansion of the Texas Energy Fund, allocating $5 billion more to help build new power plants and fund grid resilience projects.

Is solar power the key to stabilizing the grid?

The fastest-growing source of new electric generating capacity in the United States is solar power, and Texas stands as the second-highest producer of solar energy in the country.

On a regular day, solar power typically constitutes about 5% of the grid’s total energy output. However, during intense heat waves, when the demand for electricity spikes and solar conditions are optimal, the share of solar power can significantly increase. In such scenarios, solar energy’s contribution to the Texas grid can rise to as much as 20%, highlighting its potential to meet higher energy demands, especially during critical times of need.

While the benefits of solar power are numerous, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, lowering electricity bills, and promoting energy independence from the grid, it is important to acknowledge its barriers, such as:

Sunlight is intermittent and variable. Cloudy days, nighttime, and seasonal changes can affect energy production, requiring backup or storage solutions. Extreme weather conditions, such as hailstorms, can damage solar panels, affecting their performance and lifespan.
The upfront costs of purchasing and installing solar panels and associated equipment can be relatively high.
Large-scale solar installations may require significant land area, potentially leading to concerns about land use, habitat disruption, and conflicts with agricultural activities.
Integrating solar power into existing electricity grids can pose challenges due to its intermittent nature. Upgrading and modifying grids to handle distributed generation can be costly.

Although Texas has made progress in expanding its power supply, the rapid pace of population growth, homebuilding, and large-scale computing facilities presents challenges for grid stability. The gap between energy supply and demand needs to continue to be addressed with proactive planning. While solar power is a promising solution, there are realistic limitations to consider. A diversified approach that includes both renewable and traditional energy sources, along with ongoing legislative movement, is critical to ensuring a resilient energy future for Texas.

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Sam Luna is director at BKV Energy, where he oversees brand and go-to-market strategy, customer experience, marketing execution, and more.

Enbridge activates first solar power project in Texas

power on

Canadian energy company Enbridge Inc., whose gas transmission and midstream operations are based in Houston, has flipped the switch on its first solar power project in Texas.

The Orange Grove project, about 45 miles west of Corpus Christi, is now generating 130 megawatts of energy that feeds into the grid operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). ERCOT supplies electricity to 90 percent of the state.

Orange Grove features 300,000 solar panels installed on more than 920 acres in Jim Wells County. Construction began in 2024.

Telecom giant AT&T has signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Enbridge to buy energy from Orange Grove at a fixed price. Rather than physically acquiring this power, though, AT&T will receive renewable energy certificates. One renewable energy certificate represents the consumption of one megawatt of grid power from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.

“Orange Grove is a key part of our commitment to develop, construct, and operate onshore renewable projects across North America,” Matthew Akman, executive vice president of corporate strategy and president of renewable power at Enbridge, said in 2024.

Orange Grove isn’t Enbridge’s only Texas project. Enbridge owns the 110-megawatt Keechi wind farm in Jacksboro, about 60 miles northwest of Fort Worth, and the 249.1-megawatt Chapman Ranch wind farm near Corpus Christi, along with a majority stake in the 203.3-megatt Magic Valley I wind farm near Harlingen. The company’s 815-megawatt Sequoia solar project, east of Abilene, is scheduled to go online in early 2026. Enbridge has signed long-term power purchase agreements with AT&T and Toyota North America for energy produced by Sequoia.

During a recent earnings call, Enbridge President and CEO Greg Ebel said that given the “unprecedented demand for power generation across North America,” driven largely by explosive growth in the data center sector, the company expects to unveil more renewable energy projects.

“The policy landscape for renewables is dynamic,” Ebel said, “but we think we are well-positioned with our portfolio of late-stage (projects).”

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