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Energy expert: What record heat and extended summers mean for Texans

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Extreme weather in Texas is not only increasing but also becoming more hazardous for communities, infrastructure, and the economy. Photo by Jarosław Kwoczała on Unsplash

Earth’s third-warmest year on record occurred in 2025, reinforcing a decades-long pattern of rising global temperatures. This warming trend is increasingly reflected in regional weather patterns across the United States, particularly in Texas, where hotter summers, prolonged droughts, and heavier rainfall events are becoming more common.

A 2024 report from Texas A&M University highlights how these shifts are already reshaping weather conditions across the Lone Star State. The assessment analyzes climate and weather data from 1900 through 2023 and projects likely trends through 2036.

Its findings suggest that extreme weather in Texas is not only increasing but also becoming more hazardous for communities, infrastructure, and the economy.

A Rise in Extreme Heat
One of the most dramatic changes is the increasing frequency of extreme heat events. Summer temperatures in Texas have climbed back to levels not seen since the early 20th century, and projections suggest they will exceed those historic highs within the next decade.

Triple-digit temperatures are becoming far more common. In the 1970s and 1980s, most parts of Texas experienced relatively few days above 100°F in a typical year. By 2036, those days are expected to occur about four times as often, especially across North, Central, and West Texas.

Houston reflects that broader trend. Five of the 10 years with the most 100-degree days on record in the city have occurred since 2000, according to records dating back to the late 1880s.

The summer of 2023 was Houston’s hottest on record, surpassing even the historic heat of 2011. While short-term cold snaps still occur, climate data suggests extreme summer heat will become more frequent in the years ahead.

Heat waves are also starting earlier in the year and lasting longer. As of 2024, the average length of heat-wave season in the United States has increased by 46 days since the 1960s. Their frequency has also increased steadily, rising from an average of two heat waves per year in the 1960s to about six per year in the 2010s and 2020s.

Energy Grid Strain
Heat waves occurring earlier in the year and more intensely place increasing pressure on the state’s electricity system. When temperatures spike early in the summer, households and businesses simultaneously increase air-conditioning use, pushing electricity demand close to record levels.

In recent summers, record-breaking electricity demand has repeatedly tested grid capacity. Energy experts warn that if heat extremes continue to intensify, maintaining grid reliability will require expanded generation capacity, improved energy efficiency, and greater integration of renewable energy and battery storage. Fortunately, Texas has already made strides in these areas of concern.

Texas continues to lead the nation in clean energy adoption and grid modernization, particularly in wind and solar power. With more than 40,000 megawatts (MW) of wind capacity, the state ranks first in the country in wind-powered electricity generation, supplying up to 35% when blowing and as low as 0%. Much of this growth was driven by the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which requires utility companies to develop renewable energy in proportion to their market share. The policy originally set a goal of generating 10,000 MW of renewable capacity by 2025, but Texas surpassed this target years ahead of schedule due to rapid investment and expansion.

Solar energy is also growing quickly. Texas has officially overtaken California as the country’s. leader in utility-scale solar, according to recently released data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. With over 37 GW of capacity, Texas now leads in new solar installations, supported by large-scale solar farm development and favorable policies that continue to diversify the state’s energy mix.

To build a more resilient and cost-effective power system, Texas is working to integrate wind and solar generation while strengthening grid reliability. Efforts include regulatory reforms, mandates for improved power infrastructure, and the deployment of renewable energy storage solutions. A recent report from the Solar Energy Industries Association indicates that Texas is on track to surpass California this year as the nation’s leader in energy storage capacity, driven largely by the rapid growth of battery storage facilities across the state. Alongside renewable expansion, the state also added 3,410 MW of natural gas–fueled power in 2024 to support growing electricity demand.

Economic Consequences
Extreme heat also has measurable economic impacts. For every 1-degree increase in the average summer temperature, Texas’ annual nominal GDP growth rate slows by about 0.4 percentage points. Because Texas already experiences hotter summers than most of the country, rising temperatures affect the state’s economic growth about twice as much as they do in the rest of the United States. Additional warming compounds the strain on productivity, infrastructure, and energy costs.

Some industries are more sensitive to heat than others. Construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and outdoor services often experience productivity losses during prolonged heat waves.

The effects were already visible during the record-breaking summer of 2023, when cities such as Houston, Dallas, and El Paso experienced prolonged stretches of triple-digit temperatures. Surveys conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found that roughly one-quarter of businesses responding to the Texas Business Outlook Surveys reported reduced revenue or production because of the heat.

The hardest-hit sector was leisure and hospitality, where outdoor activities and tourism often decline during extreme temperatures. However, businesses across manufacturing, retail, and services also reported disruptions.

Environmental and Infrastructure Stress
In addition to heat, there are growing risks related to drought, wildfire conditions, and urban flooding.

Extended heat waves tend to worsen drought conditions by increasing evaporation and reducing soil moisture. Lower water levels in lakes and reservoirs can lead to water restrictions for cities and agricultural producers, especially in regions that rely heavily on surface water supplies.

Dry conditions also increase the likelihood of wildfires, particularly across West Texas and the Hill Country. Strong winds, dry vegetation, and extreme heat can quickly turn small fires into fast-moving blazes that threaten homes, infrastructure, and ecosystems.

At the same time, Texas is experiencing an increase in severe rainfall events, which can overwhelm drainage systems in rapidly growing urban areas. Cities with large amounts of pavement and development are especially vulnerable to flash flooding when heavy rain falls in short bursts.

Along the Gulf Coast, rising sea levels are adding another layer of risk. Communities near Galveston Bay and other low-lying coastal areas face increasing threats from storm surge and high-tide flooding.

Preparing for a Hotter Future
Climate experts emphasize that over the next decade, Texans are likely to face more frequent heat waves, higher energy demand, and greater environmental stress.

Adapting to these changes will require a range of responses, including strengthening infrastructure, expanding water management strategies, improving urban planning, and enhancing emergency preparedness for extreme heat and flooding.

While the challenges are significant, understanding these trends now gives policymakers, businesses, and communities time to prepare. As the state’s population and economy continue to grow, resilience to extreme weather is an increasingly important priority for Texas in the years ahead.

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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.

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How has the Texas grid improved since Winter Storm Uri in 2021? Getty Images

Energy expert reviews Texas' big strides in winter grid resilience

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Many Houstonians were holding their breath during the hard freezes that occurred in late January. While Winter Storm Uri was five years ago, the massive blackouts remain a fresh memory.

During that storm, 4.5 million Texans lost power, the state suffered over $80 billion in economic losses, and more than 200 people lost their lives.

During the most recent freeze events, Texas did not experience large-scale blackouts across the state like those in 2021. Regional power outages occurred due to infrastructure issues, including ice on trees and power lines. Since Uri, we have not seen the same sustained weather conditions to test the grid, but there have been significant improvements.

What Has Changed Since Uri

The ERCOT grid has changed significantly since the storm in 2021:

  1. Senate Bill 3 required generators to winterize their equipment, treated the natural gas supply chain as critical infrastructure, and imposed fines of up to $1 million for falling short. More than 300 power units have already been weatherized, and regulators have issued clearer standards to help keep the grid running during extreme cold.
  2. There has been significant progress with monitoring the grid and preparing for emergencies. ERCOT has improved in spotting problems before they turn into outages. Operators now have stronger real-time visibility into generator performance and fuel supplies, improved coordination with natural gas providers, and more advanced forecasting tools that help predict energy availability.
  3. The Texas Energy Fund authorized more than $10 billion for reliability projects across the state. The funds support four programs that aim to increase energy generation and dispatch capacity during periods of grid strain.

Signs of Progress

The grid's performance from 2022 to 2026 shows measurable improvements in how the system handles extreme cold.

  • ERCOT has implemented conservation alerts to help reduce grid load and prevent major blackouts.
  • Operators monitor the reserve margin, essentially the buffer between supply and demand. When that cushion holds, the grid has more flexibility to keep power flowing.
  • Stronger coordination between generators, transmission operators and utilities is also improving overall system resilience.

Additionally, Texas has built one of the largest smart-meter networks in the country, enabling better predictive analysis of electricity demand and usage. These smart meters have been installed in 90% of Texas residential homes, providing a much more accurate picture of energy consumption.

Finally, energy companies are helping customers understand how small changes in usage can ease grid strain. Individually, those adjustments may seem minor, but across millions of homes, they can meaningfully lower demand and help reduce the risk of outages.

Remaining Vulnerabilities and Possible Risks

Despite the progress, Grid Strategies assigned the Texas power grid a D-minus rating this year. A major factor in the rating is Texas’s lack of connections to neighboring power grids. While the state earned a B for legislative engagement, delayed transmission projects contributed to a lower C-minus outcome score.

While the grid has become more reliable since 2021, several threats remain that could impede its continued progress.

  • Population growth remains one of the biggest tests for Texas grid reliability. The state is expected to add roughly 15 million residents over the next three decades.
  • Data centers, industrial expansion, and corporate relocations continue to drive electricity demand higher. Houston sits at the center of that growth, making it a key region to watch to see whether Texas can keep pace with rising energy needs.
  • Increased weather volatility in Texas will make demand predictions even more challenging. Currently, Texas supplies almost 45% of its energy needs with natural gas. Natural gas production and extraction are particularly susceptible to cold weather and freezing conditions.

What “No Blackouts” Really Means for Texans

A stronger grid comes with a price tag. Meeting Texas’s growing demand requires major investments in generation, transmission, and emergency preparedness, and those costs ultimately flow to consumers through higher electric bills.

At the same time, Texans are becoming more proactive about managing energy use and protecting against outages, with more homeowners investing in generators, battery storage, and solar as part of long-term energy planning.

Final Thoughts

As lawmakers continue to debate how to recover grid investments, consumers will ultimately bear part of the cost. The challenge moving forward is improving reliability while keeping electricity affordable for Texans.

Texas continues to expand renewable generation to diversify the power mix, and battery storage is quickly becoming a key reliability tool because it can respond almost instantly to demand spikes. At the same time, advanced forecasting technology is helping operators better anticipate grid stress.

The Texas energy market is evolving fast, driven by population growth and rising electricity demand. Lawmakers, regulators, and grid operators will need to stay aligned to keep reliability moving in the right direction, while consumers will play a bigger role in managing how and when they use electricity.

So, is Texas better prepared for winter today? In many ways, yes. But the grid is still vulnerable to extreme weather and rapid demand growth. Maintaining reliability will require continued investment, planning, and coordination to keep the lights on across the state.

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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.

Conversations rarely focus on what keeps electricity moving: transmission infrastructure. Photo by REVTLProjects on Unsplash

Expert: Why Texas must make energy transmission a top priority in 2026

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Texas takes pride in running one of the most dynamic and deregulated energy markets in the world, but conversations about electricity rarely focus on what keeps it moving: transmission infrastructure.

As ERCOT projects unprecedented electricity demand growth and grid operators update their forecasts for 2026, it’s becoming increasingly clear that generation, whether renewable or fossil, is only part of the solution. Transmission buildout and sound governing policy now stand as the linchpin for reliability, cost containment, and long-term resilience in a grid under unprecedented stress.

At the heart of this urgency is one simple thing: demand. Over 2024 and 2025, ERCOT has been breaking records at a pace we haven’t seen before. From January through September of 2025 alone, electricity use jumped more than 5% over the year before, the fastest growth of any major U.S. grid. And it’s not slowing down.

The Energy Information Administration expects demand to climb another 14% in 2026, pushing total consumption to roughly 425 terawatt-hours in just the first nine months. That surge isn’t just about more people moving to Texas or running their homes differently; it’s being driven by massive industrial and technology loads that simply weren’t part of the equation ten years ago.

The most dramatic contributor to that rising demand is large-scale infrastructure such as data centers, cloud computing campuses, crypto mining facilities, and electrified industrial sectors. In the latest ERCOT planning update, more than 233 gigawatts of total “large load” interconnection requests were being tracked, an almost 300% jump over just a year earlier, with more than 70% of those requests tied to data centers.

Imagine hundreds of new power plants requesting to connect to the grid, all demanding uninterrupted power 24/7. That’s the scale of the transition Texas is facing, and it’s one of the major reasons transmission planning is no longer back-of-house policy talk but a central grid imperative.

Yet transmission is complicated, costly, and inherently long-lead. It takes three to six years to build new transmission infrastructure, compared with six to twelve months to add a new load or generation project.

This is where Texas will feel the most tension. Current infrastructure can add customers and power plants quickly, but the lines to connect them reliably take time, money, permitting, and political will.

To address these impending needs, ERCOT wrapped up its 2024 Regional Transmission Plan (RTP) at the end of last year, and the message was pretty clear: we’ve got work to do. The plan calls for 274 transmission projects and about 6,000 miles of new, rebuilt, or upgraded lines just to handle the growth coming our way and keep the lights on.

The plan also suggests upgrading to 765-kilovolt transmission lines, a big step beyond the standard 345-kV system. When you start talking about 765-kilovolt transmission lines, that’s a big leap from what Texas normally uses. Those lines are built to move a massive amount of power over long distances, but they’re expensive and complicated, so they’re only considered when planners expect demand to grow far beyond normal levels. Recommending them is a clear signal that incremental upgrades won’t be enough to keep up with where electricity demand is headed.

There’s a reason transmission is suddenly getting so much attention. ERCOT and just about every industry analyst watching Texas are projecting that electricity demand could climb as high as 218 gigawatts by 2031 if even a portion of the massive queue of large-load projects actually comes online. When you focus only on what’s likely to get built, the takeaway is the same: demand is going to stay well above anything we’ve seen before, driven largely by the steady expansion of data centers, cloud computing, and digital infrastructure across the state.

Ultimately, the decisions Texas makes on transmission investment and the policies that determine how those costs are allocated will shape whether 2026 and the years ahead bring greater stability or continued volatility to the grid. Thoughtful planning can support growth while protecting reliability and affordability, but falling short risks making volatility a lasting feature of Texas’s energy landscape.

Transmission Policy: The Other Half of the Equation

Infrastructure investment delivers results only when paired with policies that allow it to operate efficiently and at scale. Recognizing that markets alone won’t solve these challenges, Texas lawmakers and regulators have started creating guardrails.

For example, Senate Bill 6, now part of state law, aims to improve how large energy consumers are managed on the grid, including new rules for data center operations during emergencies and requirements around interconnection. Data centers may even be required to disconnect under extreme conditions to protect overall system reliability, a novel and necessary rule given their scale.

Similarly, House Bill 5066 changed how load forecasting occurs by requiring ERCOT to include utility-reported projections in its planning processes, ensuring transmission planning incorporates real-world expectations. These policy updates matter because grid planning isn’t just a technical checklist. It’s about making sure investment incentives, permitting decisions, and cost-sharing rules are aligned so Texas can grow its economy without putting unnecessary pressure on consumers.

Without thoughtful policy, we risk repeating past grid management mistakes. For example, if transmission projects are delayed or underfunded while new high-demand loads come online, we could see congestion worsen. If that happens, affordable electricity would be located farther from where it’s needed, limiting access to low-cost power for consumers and slowing overall economic growth. That’s especially critical in regions like Houston, where energy costs are already a hot topic for households and businesses alike.

A 2026 View: Strategy Over Shortage

As we look toward 2026, here are the transmission and policy trends that matter most:

  • Pipeline of Projects Must Stay on Track: ERCOT’s RTP is ambitious, and keeping those 274 projects, thousands of circuit miles, and next-generation 765-kV lines moving is crucial for reliability and cost containment.
  • Large Load Forecasting Must Be Nuanced: The explosion in large-load interconnection requests, whether or not every project materializes, signals demand pressure that transmission planners cannot ignore. Building lines ahead of realized demand is not wasteful planning; it’s insurance against cost and reliability breakdowns.
  • Policy Frameworks Must Evolve: Laws like SB 6 and HB 5066 are just the beginning. Texas needs transparent rules for cost allocation, interconnection standards, and emergency protocols that keep consumers protected while supporting innovation and economic growth.
  • Coordination Among Stakeholders Is Critical: Transmission doesn’t stop at one utility’s borders. Regional cooperation among utilities, ERCOT, and local stakeholders is essential to manage congestion and develop systemwide reliability solutions.

Here’s the bottom line: Generation gets the headlines, but transmission makes the grid work. Without a robust transmission buildout and thoughtful governance, even the most advanced generation mix that includes wind, solar, gas, and storage will struggle to deliver the reliability Texans expect at a price they can afford.

In 2026, Texas is not merely testing its grid’s capacity to produce power; it’s testing its ability to move that power where it’s needed most. How we rise to meet that challenge will define the next decade of energy in the Lone Star State.

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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.

ENGIE plans to add one wind and two solar projects to the ERCOT grid. Photo via Pexels.

Houston-based ENGIE to add new wind and solar projects to Texas grid

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Houston-based ENGIE North America Inc. has expanded its partnership with Los Angeles-based Ares Infrastructure Opportunities to add 730 megawatts of renewable energy projects to the ERCOT grid.

The new projects will include one wind and two solar projects in Texas.

“The continued growth of our relationship with Ares reflects the strength of ENGIE’s portfolio of assets and our track record of delivering, operating and financing growth in the U.S. despite challenging circumstances,” Dave Carroll, CEO and Chief Renewables Officer of ENGIE North America, said in a news release. “The addition of another 730 MW of generation to our existing relationship reflects the commitment both ENGIE and Ares have to meeting growing demand for power in the U.S. and our willingness to invest in meeting those needs.”

ENGIE has more than 11 gigawatts of renewable energy projects in operation or under construction in the U.S. and Canada, and 52.7 gigawatts worldwide. The company is targeting 95 gigawatts by 2030.

ENGIE launched three new community solar farms in Illinois since December, including the 2.5-megawatt Harmony community solar farm in Lena and the Knox 2A and Knox 2B projects in Galesburg.

The company's 600-megawatt Swenson Ranch Solar project near Abilene, Texas, is expected to go online in 2027 and will provide power for Meta, the parent company of social media platform Facebook. Late last year, ENGIE also signed a nine-year renewable energy supply agreement with AstraZeneca to support the pharmaceutical company’s manufacturing operations from its 114-megawatt Tyson Nick Solar Project in Lamar County, Texas.

Solar represented 14 percent of energy supplied to the ERCOT electric grid in 2025. Photo via bp.com

Solar surpasses coal to become ERCOT’s third-largest power source in 2025

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Solar barely eclipsed coal to become the third biggest source of energy generated for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in 2025, according to new data.

In 2024, solar represented 10 percent of energy supplied to the ERCOT electric grid. Last year, that number climbed to 14 percent. During the same period, coal’s share remained at 13 percent.

From the largest to smallest share, here’s the breakdown of other ERCOT energy sources in 2025 compared with 2024:

  • Combined-cycle gas: 33 percent, down from 35 percent in 2024
  • Wind: 23 percent, down from 24 percent in 2024
  • Natural gas: 8 percent, down from 9 percent in 2024
  • Nuclear: 8 percent, unchanged from 2024
  • Other sources: 1 percent, unchanged from 2024

Combined, solar and wind accounted for 37 percent of ERCOT energy sources.

Looking ahead, solar promises to reign as the star of the ERCOT show:

  • An ERCOT report released in December 2024 said solar is on track to continue outpacing other energy sources in terms of growth of installed generating capacity, followed by battery energy storage.
  • In December, ERCOT reported that more than 11,100 megawatts of new generating capacity had been added to its grid since the previous winter. One megawatt of electricity serves about 250 homes in peak-demand periods. Battery energy storage made up 47 percent of the new capacity, with solar in second place at 40 percent.

The mix of ERCOT’s energy is critical to Texas’ growing need for electricity, as ERCOT manages about 90 percent of the electric load for the state, including the Houston metro area. Data centers, AI and population growth are driving heightened demand for electricity.

In the first nine months of 2025, Texas added a nation-leading 7.4 gigawatts of solar capacity, according to a report from data and analytics firm Wood Mackenzie and the Solar Energy Industries Association.

“Remarkable growth in Texas, Indiana, Utah and other states ... shows just how decisively the market is moving toward solar,” says Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the solar association.

Texas leaned heavily on clean energy in 2025. Photo via Pexels

Energy expert: What 2025 revealed about the evolution of Texas power

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2025 marked a pivotal year for Texas’ energy ecosystem. Rising demand, accelerating renewable integration, tightening reserve margins and growing industrial load reshaped the way policymakers, utilities and the broader market think about reliability.

This wasn’t just another year of operational challenges; it was a clear signal that the state is entering an era where growth and innovation must move together in unison if Texas is going to keep pace.

What happened in 2025 is already influencing the decisions utilities, regulators and large energy consumers will make in 2026 and beyond. If Texas is going to remain the nation’s proving ground for large-scale energy innovation, this year made one thing clear: we need every tool working together and working smarter.

What changed: Grid, policy & the growth of renewables

This year, ERCOT recorded one of the steepest demand increases in its history. From January through September 2025, electricity consumption reached 372 terawatt-hours (TWh), a 5 percent increase over the previous year and a 23 percent jump since 2021. That growth officially positions ERCOT as the fastest-expanding large grid in the country.

To meet this rising load, Texas leaned heavily on clean energy. Solar, wind and battery storage served approximately 36 percent of ERCOT’s electricity needs over the first nine months of the year, a milestone that showcased how quickly Texas has diversified its generation mix. Utility-scale solar surged to 45 TWh, up 50 percent year-over-year, while wind generation reached 87 TWh, a 36 percent increase since 2021.

Battery storage also proved its value. What was once niche is now essential: storage helped shift mid-day excess solar to evening peaks, especially during a historic week in early spring when Texas hit new highs for simultaneous wind, solar and battery output.

Still, natural gas remained the backbone of reliability. Dispatchable thermal resources supplied more than 50 percent of ERCOT’s power 92 percent of the time in Q3 2025. That dual structure of fast-growing renewables backed by firm gas generation is now the defining characteristic of Texas’s energy identity.

But growth cuts both ways. Intermittent generation is up, yet demand is rising faster. Storage is scaling, but not quite at the rate required to fill the evening reliability gap. And while new clean-energy projects are coming online rapidly, the reality of rising population, data center growth, electrification and heavy industrial expansion continues to outpace the additions.

A recent forecast from the Texas Legislative Study Group projects demand could climb another 14 percent by mid-2026, tightening reserve margins unless meaningful additions in capacity, or smarter systemwide usage, arrive soon.

What 2025 meant for the energy ecosystem

The challenges of 2025 pushed Texas to rethink reliability as a shared responsibility between grid operators, generation companies, large load customers, policymakers and consumers. The year underscored several realities:

1. The grid is becoming increasingly weather-dependent. Solar thrives in summer; wind dominates in spring and winter. But extreme heat waves and cold snaps also push demand to unprecedented levels. Reliability now hinges on planning for volatility, not just averages.

2. Infrastructure is straining under rapid load growth. The grid handled multiple stress events in 2025, but it required decisive coordination and emerging technologies, such as storage methods, to do so.

3. Innovation is no longer optional. Advanced forecasting, grid-scale batteries, demand flexibility tools, and hybrid renewable-gas portfolios are now essential components of grid stability.

4. Data centers and industrial electrification are changing the game. Large flexible loads present both a challenge and an opportunity. With proper coordination, they can help stabilize the grid. Without it, they can exacerbate conditions of scarcity.

Texas can meet these challenges, but only with intentional leadership and strong public-private collaboration.

The system-level wins of 2025

Despite volatility, 2025 showcased meaningful progress:

Renewables proved their reliability role. Hitting 36 percent of ERCOT’s generation mix for three consecutive quarters demonstrates that wind, solar and batteries are no longer supplemental — they’re foundational.

Storage emerged as a real asset for reliability. Battery deployments doubled their discharge records in early 2025, showing the potential of short-duration storage during peak periods.

The dual model works when balanced wisely. Natural gas continues to provide firm reliability during low-renewable hours. When paired with renewable growth, Texas gains resilience without sacrificing affordability.

Energy literacy increased across the ecosystem. Communities, utilities and even industrial facilities are paying closer attention to how loads, pricing signals, weather and grid conditions interact—a necessary cultural shift in a fast-changing market.

Where Texas goes in 2026

Texas heads into 2026 with several unmistakable trends shaping the road ahead. Rate adjustments will continue as utilities like CenterPoint request cost recovery to strengthen infrastructure, modernize outdated equipment and add the capacity needed to handle record-breaking growth in load.

At the same time, weather-driven demand is expected to stay unpredictable. While summer peaks will almost certainly set new records, winter is quickly becoming the bigger wild card, especially as natural gas prices and heating demand increasingly drive both reliability planning and consumer stress.

Alongside these pressures, distributed energy is set for real expansion. Rooftop solar, community battery systems and hybrid generation-storage setups are no longer niche upgrades; they’re quickly becoming meaningful grid assets that help support reliability at scale.

And underlying all of this is a cultural shift toward energy literacy. The utilities, regulators, businesses, and institutions that understand load flexibility, pricing signals and efficiency strategies will be the ones best positioned to manage costs and strengthen the grid. In a market that’s evolving this fast, knowing how we use energy matters just as much as knowing how much.

The big picture: 2025 as a blueprint for a resilient future

If 2025 showed us anything, it’s that Texas can scale innovation at a pace few states can match. We saw record renewable output, historic storage milestones and strong thermal performance during strain events. The Texas grid endured significant stress but maintained operational integrity.

But it also showed that reliability isn’t a static achievement; it’s a moving target. As population growth, AI and industrial electrification and weather extremes intensify, Texas must evolve from a reactive posture to a proactive one.

The encouraging part is that Texas has the tools, the talent and the market structure to build one of the most resilient and future-ready power ecosystems in the world. The test ahead isn’t whether we can generate enough power; it’s whether we can coordinate systems, technologies and market behavior fast enough to meet the moment.

And in 2026, that coordination is precisely where the opportunity lies.

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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.

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Fervo Energy leads Time’s top green tech companies of 2026

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The accolades keep coming for Houston-based geothermal energy company Fervo Energy.

Fervo sits atop Time magazine’s and Statista’s 2026 list of America’s Top GreenTech Companies. Fervo ranked No. 6 on the list last year.

The ranking honors 250 companies in the U.S. based on their environmental impact, innovation and financial strength. Fervo joins five other Houston-area companies on the list.

  • No. 49 Quaise Energy, an MIT Energy Initiative spinout that’s developing a drilling system designed to convert existing power stations for geothermal power production
  • No. 71 Plus Power, which develops, owns and operates battery energy storage systems
  • No. 98 Utility Global, whose technology enables industrial decarbonization
  • No. 199 Solugen, whose technology converts plant-based feedstocks into carbon-negative chemicals
  • No. 215 Noodoe, which specializes in EV charging stations and software

Fervo says its approach to enhanced geothermal systems (EGS)—including horizontal drilling, AI-enabled drilling and exploration, advanced reservoir engineering, and fiber-optic sensing—demonstrates how validated technology can help deliver reliable zero-emission power.

“By applying drilling technology from the oil and gas industry, we have proven that we can produce 24/7 carbon-free energy resources in new geographies across the world,” Fervo co-founder and CEO Tim Latimer said last year.

Other recent recognitions for Fervo includes:

  • The 2025 Houston Innovation Awards named it Scaleup of the Year
  • MIT Technology Review put Fervo on its 2025 list of the 10 global climatech companies to watch
  • Time named Fervo one of the 100 Most Influential Companies of 2025
  • Fervo was hailed as the Global Cleantech Group 100 North American Company of the Year
  • Fervo was among Congruent Ventures’ and Silicon Valley Bank’s 50 by 2050 companies, all of which are poised to advance global decarbonization over a 25-year span
Just last month, Fervo secured $421 million in debt financing for the construction of its 500-megawatt Cape Station geothermal project in Utah. And in December, the company landed an oversubscribed $462 million Series E round of funding, pushing its valuation to an estimated $1.4 billion. Fervo filed for an IPO earlier this year.

3 strategies to strengthen the Gulf Coast as a global energy hub

The View from HETI

The Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast is the backbone of America’s energy and chemical economy. Texas produces roughly 43% of U.S. crude oil and 28% of natural gas, while Texas and Louisiana together account for about half of the nation’s refining capacity, processing 9.3 million barrels of crude per day across 50 refineries. The region also produces approximately 80% of the nation’s primary petrochemicals and ships more than $117 billion in chemical products annually from Texas alone.

This unmatched concentration of refining, petrochemical manufacturing, pipelines, ports, and technical talent makes the Gulf Coast one of the most critical energy hubs in the world. But maintaining that leadership in a rapidly evolving global market will require intentional collaboration, faster technology commercialization, and strengthened supply chain resilience.

In fall 2025, the Greater Houston Partnership’s Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) convened national laboratories, Gulf Coast universities, and industry leaders to examine how to reinforce the region’s long-term competitiveness. Participants included Argonne, Oak Ridge, Lawrence Berkeley, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), and the National Laboratory of the Rockies, alongside Gulf Coast academic institutions and energy and chemical companies. Here are the key findings and takeaways from the workshop.

1. Supply Chain Resilience Requires Structured Industry–Lab Collaboration

Resilience—diversity of supply, operational flexibility, and rapid recovery—was a recurring theme. Recent disruptions exposed vulnerabilities in tightly interconnected energy and manufacturing systems.

National laboratories provide capabilities that complement Gulf Coast industrial scale, particularly at early and mid technology readiness levels (TRLs 1–7), before full commercial deployment. Examples include:

  • Advanced manufacturing and AI-enabled validation of critical components (Oak Ridge).
  • Materials scale-up and techno-economic modeling to move from lab discovery to industrial relevance (Argonne).
  • Pilot-scale testing for severe-service alloys, chemical conversion, and process innovation (NETL).
  • Integrated energy systems modeling to assess grid resilience and system disruptions (National Laboratory of the Rockies).

Recommendation: Organize targeted Gulf Coast industry missions to national laboratories focused on critical supply chains—power equipment, high-heat industrial processes, novel catalysts, refining, and grid infrastructure—to identify joint development opportunities and reduce time to commercialization.

2. Modeling, AI, and Open-Access Platforms Can Bridge the Technology Gap

A persistent barrier to innovation is the gap between scientific discovery, applied development, and commercial deployment. Universities often operate at TRLs 1–3, national labs at 1–7, and industry at 7–9. Bridging these silos requires shared modeling tools, high-performance computing, and structured feedback loops.

National labs maintain open-access platforms capable of:

  • Simulating grid expansion, investment, and dispatch decisions.
  • Modeling cradle-to-gate industrial material flows.
  • Optimizing complex energy and chemical systems.
  • De-risking carbon capture, critical mineral recovery, and advanced manufacturing integration.

Recommendation: HETI should convene structured training and feedback sessions on these public modeling platforms—ensuring Gulf Coast industry can apply, improve, and help guide further development of tools critical to regional competitiveness. Federal initiatives such as the Genesis Mission, focused on AI-accelerated scientific discovery, further expand opportunities for Gulf Coast participation.

3. Time to Commercialization Is the Ultimate Competitive Metric

The lithium-ion battery is a cautionary example: while pioneered in U.S. labs, large-scale manufacturing leadership shifted overseas. Without strategic intervention, U.S. firms are projected to capture less than 30% of domestic lithium battery cell value by 2030.

Successful DOE-backed consortium models show that mission-aligned, multi-partner collaboration reduces development timelines and strengthens domestic manufacturing know-how. However, public–private partnership mechanisms such as CRADAs and Strategic Partnership Projects can be time-intensive.

Recommendation: The Gulf Coast should actively engage DOE and national laboratories to streamline public–private partnership pathways, improve intellectual property clarity, and expand industry access to laboratory infrastructure.

The Path Forward: A Gulf Coast Consortium Model
The workshop’s central conclusion was clear: the Gulf Coast should formalize collaboration through a regional industry–academia–laboratory consortium.

Such a model could:

  • Co-locate national lab researchers within the region.
  • Share modeling data and analytical capabilities.
  • Establish open-access pilot facilities that complement lab infrastructure.
  • Harmonize IP frameworks to accelerate licensing and deployment.

With its dense industrial ecosystem, technical workforce, and decision-making concentration, the Gulf Coast is uniquely positioned to serve as a national demonstration hub for advanced energy and chemical manufacturing.

If industry, universities, and national laboratories align around a shared regional strategy, the Gulf Coast can:

  • Accelerate commercialization timelines.
  • Strengthen critical supply chains.
  • Unleash a world-class technical workforce.
  • Reinforce U.S. leadership in strategic energy and chemical sectors.

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This article originally appeared on the Greater Houston Partnership's Houston Energy Transition Initiative blog. A full report on the key learnings and recommendations from the workshop can be found here: https://bit.ly/4uEDEqk.

Houston cleantech company closes $12M seed round

fresh funding

Houston-based Helix Earth Technologies has closed a $12 million Seed 2 funding round to scale manufacturing of its energy-efficient commercial HVAC add-on technology.

Veriten, a Houston-based energy investment firm, led the round. Rua Ventures, Carnrite Ventures, Skywriter LLC and Textbook Ventures also participated.

Helix Earth—which was founded based on NASA technology, spun out of Rice University and has been incubated at Greentown Labs—is developing high-efficiency retrofit dehumidification systems that aim to reduce the energy consumption of commercial HVAC units. The company reports that its technology can lead to "healthier indoor air, lower energy bills, reduced building maintenance, and more comfortable spaces for building owners and occupants."

"Building owners are dealing with rising energy costs, uncontrolled humidity, and aging infrastructure with no viable, cost-effective path forward. We are in the field today solving these problems for commercial customers, and this capital puts us on an aggressive path to scale,” Rawand Rasheed, Helix Earth co-founder and CEO, said in a news release.

“The strength of this round reinforces our team's conviction that we can transform innovation-starved sectors with transformational solutions that deliver order-of-magnitude improvements to owners and operators, for both their bottom line and the environment,” Rasheed added.

Maynard Holt, Veriten’s founder and CEO, said that the investment firm is tripling its investment in Helix Earth.

"The team has built breakthrough technology with real applicability across multiple industries,” Holt said in the release. “Their first product will have an immediate and measurable impact on our energy system, and they are already pursuing adjacent innovations to help heavy industries operate more efficiently and with less waste. This is a well-rounded team with a proven track record of strong execution and disciplined capital management.”

Helix Earth also closed a $5.6 million seed funding round in 2024, led by Veriten.

Last year, the company secured a $1.2 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant and won in the Smart Cities, Transportation & Sustainability contest at the 2025 SXSW Pitch Showcase. Rasheed was also named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Energy and Green Tech list for 2025.

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