Powering Up

Virtual power plant from Houston-area company debuts at CES

AISPEX's EnerVision platform enables users to sell excess energy back to the grid during demand peaks. Photo courtesy AISPEX.

Brookshire, Texas-based decentralized energy solution company AISPEX Inc. debuted its virtual power plant (VPP) platform, known as EnerVision, earlier this month at CES in Las Vegas.

EnerVision offers energy efficiency, savings and performance for residential, commercial and industrial users by combining state-of-the-art hardware with an AI-powered cloud platform. The VPP technology enables users to sell excess energy back to the grid during demand peaks.

AISPEX, or Advanced Integrated Systems for Power Exchange, has evolved from an EV charging solutions company into an energy systems innovator since it was founded in 2018. It focuses on integrating solar energy and decentralized systems to overcome grid limitations, reduce upgrade costs and accelerate electrification.

Regarding grid issues, the company hopes by leveraging decentralized solar power and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), EnerVision can help bring energy generation closer to consumption, which can ease grid strain and enhance stability. EnerVision plans to do this by addressing “aging infrastructure, grid congestion, increasing electrification and the need for resilience against extreme weather and cyber threats,” according to the company.

One of the company's latest VPP products is SuperHub, which is an all-in-one charging station designed to combine components like solar panels, energy storage systems, fast EV chargers, mobile EV chargers and LCD display screens, into a unified, efficient solution.

“It supports clean energy generation and storage but also ensures seamless charging for electric vehicles while providing opportunities for communication or advertising through its built-in displays,” says Vivian Nie, a representative from AISPEX.

Also at CES, AISPEX displayed its REP Services, which offer flexible pricing, peak load management, and renewable energy options for end-to-end solutions, and its Integrated Systems, which combine solar power, battery storage, EV charging and LCD displays.

“We had the opportunity to meet new partners, reconnect with so many old friends, and dive into discussions about the future of e-mobility and energy solutions,” CEO Paul Nie said on LinkedIn.

In 2024, AISPEX installed its DC Fast chargers at two California Volkswagen locations.

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A View From HETI

Houston U.S. representatives and others from Texas are pushing the Trump administration to reinstate a portion of the $7 billion Biden-era Solar for All program, which aimed to help low-income families reduce their energy costs.. Photo via Pixabay

Eight Democratic members of the U.S. House from Texas, including two from Houston, are calling on the Trump administration to restore a nearly $250 million solar energy grant for Texas that’s being slashed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In a letter to Lee Zeldin, head of the EPA, and Russell Vought, director of the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the House members urged the two officials to reinstate the nearly $250 million grant, which was awarded to Texas under the $7 billion Biden-era Solar for All program. The Texas grant was designed to assist 28,000 low-income households in installing solar panels, aiming to reduce their energy bills.

“This administration has improperly withheld billions in congressionally appropriated funding that was intended to benefit everyday Americans,” the letter stated.

The letter claimed that numerous court rulings have determined the EPA cannot repeal already allocated funding.

“Congress made a commitment to families, small businesses, and communities across this country to lower their utility bills and reduce harmful pollution through investments in clean energy. The Solar for All program was part of that commitment, and the EPA’s actions to rescind this funding effectively undermine that congressional intent,” the House members wrote.

The six House members who signed the letter are:

  • U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Houston
  • U.S. Rep. Al Green of Houston
  • U.S. Rep. Greg Casar of Austin
  • U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas
  • U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin
  • U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson of Dallas
  • U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey of Fort Worth

The nearly $250 million grant was awarded last year to the Harris County-led Texas Solar for All Coalition.

In a post on the X social media platform, Zeldin said the recently passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” killed the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which would have financed the $7 billion Solar for All program.

“The bottom line is this: EPA no longer has the statutory authority to administer the program or the appropriated funds to keep this boondoggle alive,” Zeldin said.

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