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City of Houston is poised to be global leader in energy transition
The growth of Houston’s innovation has brought new concepts meant to foster creative thinking and solicit investments. Innovation information terms to know: Accelerator an organization that helps startups scale Carbon capture the collection of carbon before it enters the atmosphere Carbon dioxide equivalent the measure of all greenhouse gas in the atmosphere Coworking communal working spaces shared across companies, industries Incubator a program that supports young companies Startup a company focused on bringing an idea to market Venture capital a form of nancing for startups and small businesses
zero carbon among oil industry titans, the GHP, the Center for Houston’s Future and management consulting rm McKinsey & Co., Krishnamoorti said there is a palpable sense of urgency to change. This change entails not only the city of Houston—as out- lined in Houston’s rst-ever Climate Action Plan, published in April 2020— but also oil companies and nuclear electric power provider NRG Energy. NRG, which became Houston based in 2021, is following a science-based goal of limiting the planet’s warmth by 1.5 degrees Celsius. The e ects of global warming beyond this bench- mark are potentially “devastating,” according to environmental nonpro t Conservation International. NRG is among other industry leaders in Houston, a city historically reliant on oil, looking to limit carbon emissions. Energy today Houston’s energy infrastructure is set against that of Texas, one that has become a subject of discussion in recent years, most recently with the February 2021 freeze. The redesign of the Electric Reliabil- ity Council of Texas will potentially appear before the Texas Legislature in the 2023 session. The plan, in part, is tasked with working emerging renew- able energy sources into the equation and motivating the development of thermal energy. ERCOT relies on price signaling to encourage generators to go online and o ine, said Ed Hirs, a lecturer on energy economics at the University of Houston. ERCOT data shows there has been a spike in renewable energy usage, such as solar, in Houston, and renewable energy is more reliable than traditional avenues of energy. According to the city’s Climate Action Plan, the number of solar installation permits in the city increased 150% from 2017-18. It is projected to increase by 230% through 2026, per Energy and Environmental Economics Inc.’s November analysis for ERCOT. “The models that they have consid- ered to date, none of them are going to get us where we need to be,” Hirs said. This story of keeping up with changes and trying to stay ahead of
BY LEAH FOREMAN
Oil companies have propped up Houston’s economy for the last century as the city has amassed one of the largest oil-based economies in the world, economic experts said; however, the narrative around Hous- ton’s energy is starting to shift with the national conversation on the usage of cleaner energy and as innovation alters the status. Houston has a burgeoning tech sector—which has seen a 45.6% increase in job postings year over year from January-October 2021 and from January-October 2022, according to career site Dice. Industry experts said innovators are ocking to Houston. Bayou City startups received an unprecedented amount of funding in 2021. Change—such as the Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park—continues to mold the city’s landscape and inform innovation across industries in Houston. These new ways of thinking are also re ected in Greentown Labs, the largest climate tech-focused incubator in the U.S., which is aiding the entrepreneurial community in renewable and sustainable e orts to combat climate change. The U.S. has a goal of reaching zero carbon emissions by 2050, per the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change benchmarks. In April 2021, President Joe Biden announced a new goal of creating a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. Carbon neutrality is becoming less a distant idea and more the city’s near future, said Ramanam Krishna- moorti, University of Houston’s vice president of energy and innovation. “If Houston and Texas and the nation wants to get to net zero by 2050, we’ve got to start moving on these large-scale projects pretty quickly,” Krishnamoorti said. “And it’s going to cost a lot of money as well as repurposing and retraining people.” Houston has a total of over 237,000 people employed in the energy sector, and of those, over 60,000 are employed in clean energy, per data from the Greater Houston Partnership. After a 2021 agreement to push for
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Texas A&M Innovation Plaza: a 5-acre mixed-use life sciences campus GreenStreet: a mixed development o ering retail as well as coworking spaces TMC Innovation: a cross- industry collaborative research facility, equipped with a health care accelerator Ion: a mixed-use space catering to startups and innovation, with various incubators and accelerators on site
TMC3 Helix Park: a multiuse campus catering to academia, medicine, science and commerce Greentown Labs: a climate technology incubator Houston Exponential: a nonpro t dedicated to helping startups and fostering the entrepreneurial environment in Houston Accenture Houston: an IT consulting rm aiding companies in the energy transition
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SOURCES: CITY OF HOUSTON, TEXAS MEDICAL CENTER, HOUSTON EXPONENTIAL, ACCENTURE HOUSTON COMMUNITY IMPACT
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