grid tech

Houston energy leaders form new coalition to improve Texas power grid

A new coalition of energy leaders wants to “take the Texas grid from good to great." Photo via Getty Images

A Houston-based coalition that launched this month aims to educate Texas officials about technology designed to shore up the state’s power grid.

The public-private Texas Reliability Coalition says it will promote utility-scale microgrid technology geared toward strengthening the resilience and reliability of the Texas power grid, particularly during extreme weather.

A utility-operated microgrid is a group of interconnected power loads and distributed energy sources that can operate in tandem with or apart from regular power grids, such as the grid run by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Legislation passed in 2023 enables the use of utility-scale microgrid technology in Texas’ deregulated energy market, according to the coalition.

John Elder, executive director of the coalition, says that with the legal framework now in place, the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT need to create rules to establish the Texas marketplace for microgrid technology. The goal, he says, is to “take the Texas grid from good to great” by installing microgrid technology, improving the infrastructure, and strengthening the system — all targeted toward meeting power needs during extreme weather and amid growing demand.

Houston-based CenterPoint Energy will test the utility-scale microgrid technology being promoted by the coalition. In a January 31 filing with the Public Utility Commission, CenterPoint says microgrid technology will be featured in a $36.5 million pilot program that’ll set up an estimated three to five microgrids in the company’s service area. The pilot program is slated to last from 2026 to 2028.

In the public affairs arena, five Houston executives are leading the new reliability commission’s microgrid initiative.

Elder, one of the coalition’s founding members, is president and CEO of Houston-based Acclaim Energy. Other founders include Ember Real Estate Investment & Development, Park Eight Development, and PowerSecure. Ember and Park Eight are based in Houston. Durham, North Carolina-based PowerSecure, which produces microgrid technology, is a subsidiary of energy provider Southern Co.

Aside from Elder, members of the coalition’s board are:

  • Stewart Black, board secretary of the coalition and vice president of Acclaim Energy’s midstream division
  • Todd Burrer, president of municipal utility districts at Inframark.
  • Harry Masterson, managing principal of Ember
  • Martin Narendorf, former vice president at CenterPoint Energy.

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A View From HETI

A new joint venture will work on four projects supplying 5 gigawatts of power from combined-cycle power plants for the ERCOT and PJM Interconnection grids. Photo via Getty Images.

Houston-based power provider NRG Energy Inc. has formed a joint venture with two other companies to meet escalating demand for electricity to fuel the rise of data centers and the evolution of generative AI.

NRG’s partners in the joint venture are GE Vernova, a provider of renewable energy equipment and services, and TIC – The Industrial Co., a subsidiary of construction and engineering company Kiewit.

“The growing demand for electricity in part due to GenAI and the buildup of data centers means we need to form new, innovative partnerships to quickly increase America’s dispatchable generation,” Robert Gaudette, head of NRG Business and Wholesale Operations, said in a news release. “Working together, these three industry leaders are committed to executing with speed and excellence to meet our customers’ generation needs.”

Initially, the joint venture will work on four projects supplying 5 gigawatts of power from combined-cycle power plants, which uses a combination of natural gas and steam turbines that produce additional electricity from natural gas waste. Electricity from these projects will be produced for power grids operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and PJM Interconnection. The projects are scheduled to come online from 2029 through 2032.

The joint venture says the model it’s developing for these four projects is “replicable and scalable,” with the potential for expansion across the U.S.

The company is also developing a new 721-megawatt natural gas combined-cycle unit at its Cedar Bayou plant in Baytown, Texas. Read more here.

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