New report ranks Texas in the middle for sustainable development

room to improve

Texas ranked 24th on SmileHub's list of the best states for sustainable development. Photo via Getty Images.

Texas appears in the middle of the pack in a new ranking of the best states for sustainable development.

SmileHub, a nonprofit that rates charities, examined 20 key metrics to create its list of the best states for sustainable development. Among the metrics it studied were the share of urban tree cover, green buildings per capita and clean energy jobs per capita. Once SmileHub crunched all the numbers, it put Texas in 24th place — one notch above average.

The United Nations defines sustainable development as “meeting present needs without compromising the chances of future generations to meet their needs.”

Here’s how Texas fared in several of SmileHub’s ranking categories:

No. 2 for water efficiency and sustainability
No. 7 for presence of wastewater reuse initiatives
No. 18 for environmental protection charities per capita
No. 25 for green buildings per capita
No. 34 for clean energy jobs per capita
No. 34 for industrial toxins per square mile
No. 38 for share of tree cover in urban areas

California leads the SmileHub list, followed by Vermont, Massachusetts, Oregon and Maryland.

When it comes to water, a 2024 report commissioned by Texas 2036, a nonpartisan think tank, recommends that Texas invest $154 billion over the next 50 years in new water supply and infrastructure to support sustainable growth, according to the Greater Houston Partnership.

“The report underscores a stark reality: a comprehensive, sustainable funding strategy for water is necessary to keep Texas economically resilient and competitive,” the partnership says.

From Your Site Articles

Ørsted, which maintains offices in Houston and Austin, just flipped the switch on its 468-megawatt Mockingbird Solar Center in Lamar County, a project that also established a nearby nature preserve. Photo courtesy of Ørsted

Danish renewable company’s largest solar project to power Texas grid, preserve prairie habitat

seeds planted

The largest solar project in the global portfolio of Danish renewable energy company Ørsted is now supplying power to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid.

Ørsted, which maintains offices in Houston and Austin, just flipped the switch on its 468-megawatt Mockingbird Solar Center in Lamar County, which is northeast of Dallas-Fort Worth and directly south of the Texas-Oklahoma border. The $500 million project can produce enough power for 80,000 homes and businesses.

ERCOT provides power to more than 25 million Texas customers, representing 90 percent of the state’s electric load.

In conjunction with the solar project, Ørsted donated 953 acres to The Nature Conservancy to establish the Smiley Meadow Preserve. This area, adjacent to the Mockingbird facility, protects a tallgrass prairie habitat featuring more than 400 species of grasses and wildflowers. Accounting for land already owned by the conservancy, Smiley Meadow exceeds 1,000 acres.

“Through the power of partnership, Ørsted has helped The Nature Conservancy protect an irreplaceable landscape that might otherwise have been lost to development,” Suzanne Scott, The Nature Conservancy’s Texas state director, says in a news release.

Mockingbird Solar Center is part of Ørsted’s $20 billion investment in U.S. energy generation. With this project now online, Ørsted owns a portfolio of more than six gigawatts of onshore wind, solar, and battery storage projects that either are operating or are being built.

Plug and Play is opening a Sugar Land hub to accelerate startups and innovation across smart cities, energy, health, and mobility sectors. Photo courtesy of Plug and Play

Global organization unveils new location in Houston suburb to drive energy transition innovation and beyond

moving in

Leading innovation platform Plug and Play announced the opening of its new flagship Houston-area location in Sugar Land, which is its fourth location in Texas.

Plug and Play has accelerated over 2,700 startups globally last year with corporate partners that include Dell Technologies, Daikin, Microsoft, LG Chem, Shell, and Mercedes. The company’s portfolio includes PayPal, Dropbox, LendingClub, and Course Hero, with 8 percent of the portfolio valued at over $100 million.

The deal, which facilitated by the Sugar Land Office of Economic Development and Tourism, will bring a new office for the organization to Sugar Land Town Square with leasing and hiring between December and January.

The focus will be on “smart cities,” which include energy, health, transportation, and mobility sectors. The official launch is slated for the first quarter of 2025, and will feature 15 startups announced on Selection Day.

"By expanding to Sugar Land, we’re creating a space where startups can access resources, build partnerships, and scale rapidly,” VP Growth Strategy at Plug and Play Sherif Saadawi says in a news release. “This location will help fuel Texas' innovation ecosystem, providing entrepreneurs with the tools and networks they need to drive real-world impact and contribute to the state’s technological and economic growth."

Plug and Play plans to hire four full-time equivalent employees and accelerate two startup batches per year. One Sugar Land City representative will serve as a board member.

“We are excited to welcome Plug and Play to Sugar Land,” Mayor of Sugar Land Joe Zimmerma adds. “This investment will help us connect with corporate contacts and experts in startups and businesses that would take us many years to reach on our own. It allows us to create a presence, attract investments and jobs to the city, and hopefully become a base of operations for some of these high-growth companies.”

The organization originally entered the Houston market in 2019 and now has locations in Bryan/College Station, Frisco, and Cedar Park in Texas.

———

This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

A new report ranks Texas as one of the least cycling-friendly states in the U.S., citing poor infrastructure, limited bike routes, and low safety measures, highlighting the need for improved sustainable transportation. Photo by Photo Mizuno K/Pexels

Report: Texas trails behind in cycling safety, sustainability

share the road

In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around Houston, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycle riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas' has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

———

This article originally ran on CultureMap.

Driverless semis traveling from Dallas to Houston — originally expected to launch this year — have been put in park until April. Photo courtesy of Aurora

Autonomous truck company taps breaks on self-driving freight in Texas

rerouting

Autonomous truck company Aurora Innovation says it won't start hauling freight without humans on board until April of next year, a delay from previous statements that commercial service would begin by the end of 2024.

The Pittsburgh company on Wednesday said the April launch of driverless semis traveling from Dallas to Houston — originally announced last year — will be “modestly later” than the company had intended.

The company told investors on its third-quarter earnings conference call that it has made progress toward ensuring its trucks will operate safely.

Remaining obstacles are “primarily in the areas of some elements of surface street driving and some elements of construction that we see on the freeway,” CEO Chris Urmson said. “We want to have extremely high confidence in the system as we as we go forward.”

The company will start with about 10 autonomous tractor-trailers and move to “tens” of trucks by the end of next year, Urmson said.

“This shift to our timeline will have a negligible financial impact and does not affect our scaling efforts on our path to self-funding," Urmson said.

Aurora also intends to haul freight without human drivers from Fort Worth, Texas, to Phoenix later in 2025, Urmson said.

Aurora in August added nearly $500 million to its balance sheet with a capital raise in August, which the company expects to fund the initial phases of its strategy to scale up driverless trucking.

ViVa Center — located at the old Compaq headquarters — received $40 million in C-PACE financing to revitalize its facility. Rendering courtesy of ViVa Center

Houston tech hub secures $40M to meet rising data center needs

fresh funding

A technology hub in Houston has fresh funding to drive tech advancement and data center growth.

Texas’ Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program Lone Star PACE has arranged $40 million in C-PACE financing for the revitalization of ViVa Center in Houston to help support the development of data centers that revolve around the growth of AI.

“At ViVa Center, our commitment to technological innovation and forward-thinking design drives the integration of state-of-the-art building systems,” Freddy Vaca, president of VivaVerse Solutions said in a news release.

The facility is a turnkey data center that caters to hyper-scale users in cloud computing and AI.

VivaVerse Solutions’ ViVa Center is a 2.3-million-square-foot technology hub that was once Compaq headquarters, and also once owned by Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. The ViVa Center will offer 250 megawatts of power, a dedicated chilled water plant and a natural gas pipeline for energy generation with the new development. In addition, improvements will include LED lighting, advanced HVAC systems, energy-efficient windows, and high-efficiency plumbing upgrades.

“We are thrilled to have partnered with VivaVerse Solutions on this much-needed project,” Lee McCormick, president of Lone Star PACE said in a news release. “Demand for data center infrastructure has exploded amid a rise in data consumption and technological innovation, and it’s exciting to see C-PACE play a role in meeting that need.”

C-PACE gives access to property owners to long-term financing for energy and water conservation systems at commercial buildings at lower costs. The property owners can use C-PACE to finance building retrofits, recapitalizations , or new construction. Nuveen Green Capital served as a capital provider for the project. The project involves retrofitting an existing building with Phase 1 being scheduled for completion this fall.

“We are proud to expand our partnership with Lone Star PACE by providing $40 million in C-PACE capital to VivaVerse Solutions for the deep retrofit of their data center,” Sean Ribble, senior director of originations at Nuveen Green Capital, said in a news release. “ In a capital-constrained market, more owners and developers are recognizing the value of C-PACE as a flexible, cost-efficient financing solution for commercial real estate projects of all asset classes. We look forward to supporting many more C-PACE deals across Texas as the platform continues its expansion as a more mainstream financing option.”

———

This article originally ran on InnovationMap.

Ad Placement 300x100

Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Ultra-fast EV charging bays coming to Waffle House locations in Texas and beyond

power breakfast

Scattered, smothered and ... charged?

Starting next year, EV drivers can connect to ultra-fast charging stations at select Waffle House locations throughout Texas, courtesy of bp pulse.

The EV arm of British energy giant bp announced a strategic partnership with the all-day breakfast chain this week. The company aims to deploy a network of 400kW DC fast chargers and a mix of CCS and NACS connectors at Waffle House locations in Texas, Georgia, Florida, and other restaurants in the South.

Each Waffle House site will feature six ultra-fast EV charging bays, allowing drivers to "(enjoy) Waffle House’s 24/7 amenities," the announcement reads.

“Adding an iconic landmark like Waffle House to our growing portfolio of EV charging sites is such an exciting opportunity. As an integrated energy company, bp is committed to providing efficient solutions like ultra-fast charging to support our customers’ mobility needs," Sujay Sharma, CEO of bp pulse U.S., said in a news release. "We’re building a robust network of ultra-fast chargers across the country, and this is another example of third-party collaborations enabling access to charging co-located with convenient amenities for EV drivers.”

The news comes as bp pulse continues to grow its charging network in Texas.

The company debuted its new high-speed electric vehicle charging site, known as the Gigahub, at the bp America headquarters in Houston last year. In partnership with Hertz Electrifies Houston, it also previously announced plans to install a new EV fast-charging hub at Hobby Airport. In a recent partnership with Simon Malls, bp also shared plans to install EV charging Gigahubs at The Galleria and Katy Mills Mall.

bp has previously reported that it plans to invest $1 billion in EV charging infrastructure by 2030, with $500 million invested in by the end of 2025.

Houston hypersonic engine co. completes first successful test flight

Taking Off

Houston-based Venus Aerospace successfully completed the first U.S. flight test of its proprietary engine at a demonstration at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

Venus’ next-generation rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) is supported by a $155,908 federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from NASA and aims to enable vehicles to travel four to six times the speed of sound from a conventional runway. The recent flight test was the first of an American-developed engine of its kind.

"With this flight test, Venus Aerospace is transforming a decades-old engineering challenge into an operational reality,” Thomas d'Halluin, managing partner at Airbus Ventures, an investor in Venus, said in a news release. “Getting a rotating detonation engine integrated, launch-ready, and validated under real conditions is no small feat. Venus has shown an extraordinary ability to translate deep technical insight into hardware progress, and we're proud to support their bold approach in their attempt to unlock the hypersonic economy and forge the future of propulsion."

Venus’ RDRE operates through supersonic shockwaves, called detonations, that generate more power with less fuel. It is designed to be affordable and scalable for defense and commercial systems.

The RDRE is also engineered to work with the company's air-breathing detonation ramjet, the VDR2, which helps enable aircraft to take off from a runway and transition to speeds exceeding Mach 6. Venus plans for full-scale propulsion testing and vehicle integration of this system. Venus’ ultimate goal is to develop a Mach 4 reusable passenger aircraft, known as the Stargazer M4.

"This milestone proves our engine works outside the lab, under real flight conditions," Andrew Duggleby, Venus co-founder and chief technology officer, said in the release. "Rotating detonation has been a long-sought gain in performance. Venus' RDRE solved the last but critical steps to harness the theoretical benefits of pressure gain combustion. We've built an engine that not only runs, but runs reliably and efficiently—and that's what makes it scalable. This is the foundation we need that, combined with a ramjet, completes the system from take-off to sustained hypersonic flight."

The hypersonic market is projected to surpass $12 billion by 2030, according to Venus.

"This is the moment we've been working toward for five years," Sassie Duggleby, CEO and co-founder of Venus Aerospace, added. "We've proven that this technology works—not just in simulations or the lab, but in the air. With this milestone, we're one step closer to making high-speed flight accessible, affordable, and sustainable."

---

This article originally appeared on InnovationMap.com.

Investment giant to acquire TXNM Energy for $11.5 billion

m&a moves

Blackstone Infrastructure, an investment giant with $600 million in assets under management, has agreed to buy publicly traded TXNM Energy in a debt-and-stock deal valued at $11.5 billion.

TXNM Energy is the parent company of Lewisville-based Texas New Mexico Power (TNMP), which supplies electricity to more than 270,000 homes and businesses throughout Texas. Its Houston-area service territory includes Alvin, Angleton, Brazoria, Dickinson, Friendswood, La Marque, League City, Sweeny, Texas City and West Columbia.

Once Blackstone Infrastructure wraps up the deal in the second half of 2026, Albuquerque, New Mexico-based TXNM will no longer be a public company. But TNMP’s headquarters will remain in Texas and its rates will continue to be set by the Public Utility Commission of Texas. TNMP was founded in 1934.

Blackstone Infrastructure is affiliated with investment powerhouse Blackstone Inc., which has $1.2 trillion in assets under management and is the world’s largest investment manager.

“TNMP has done an excellent job of meeting its customers’ growing demand for electricity and supporting the communities it serves,” Sean Klimczak, Blackstone’s global head of infrastructure, said in a news release. “We look forward to utilizing our long-term investment commitments to support TNMP as they continue on this path of high-demand growth across Texas.”

During TXNM’s fourth-quarter earnings call in February, Chairwoman and CEO Patricia Vincent-Collawn said the company’s five-year Texas capital investment plan had grown by more than $1 billion.

“Our future is so bright with these increased investment levels that we are now targeting earnings growth of 7 percent to 9 percent through 2029,” Vincent-Collawn said.

“Our financial expectations are driven by the continued expansion of grid infrastructure supporting growth and reliability in our Texas service territory,” she added.

In 2024, TXNM reported revenue of $1.96 billion, up 1.7 percent from the previous year.

View All Listings

ENERGYCAPITALHTX EMAILS ARE AWESOME