Texas has approved $1.8 billion for a new microgrid program to boost backup power at critical sites such as hospitals, water systems, and emergency services. The Texas Backup Power Package Program will deploy on-site systems combining solar, batteries, and gas generation, offering a faster, more flexible alternative to large-scale plants. As traditional grid projects face delays, this marks a strategic shift toward distributed resilience amid rising demand and increasingly frequent extreme weather.

At the close of UH Energy’s Energy Transition Winds of Change symposium—co-hosted by the Center for Carbon Management in Energy (CCME)—U.S. Congressman Robert Latta delivered a keynote urging bold action on America’s energy future. Emphasizing the need for scalable energy infrastructure, domestic nuclear fuel sourcing, and streamlined regulation, Latta called for an “all-of-the-above” approach to secure, affordable, and sustainable power. His message: the U.S. must act quickly, think strategically, and listen to innovators driving the transition forward.

ERCOT’s recent projections show steep increases in electricity demand in the next few years, much of it driven by the rise of data centers. HARC, in partnership with the University of Houston, explored how data centers are evolving across Texas and what this means for the grid’s future.