.The Texas Energy Report

August 7, 2026 — Breakthroughs in the improvement of batteries for storage of electricity have been elusive, even as pressure from rapidly-expanding electricity demand has positioned batteries as a crucial addition to grids in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Coupled with the latest developments in molten-salt reactors that cannot experience the feared classical meltdown, which allows them to be considered as much safer than what we think of as nuclear power centers, there is new hope for generating and storing cleaner electricity.

In just the past few days, the Energy Information Agency, the Wall Street Journal, and Oil Price have reported highly encouraging news indicating that the future of battery technology is arriving today.

This is in addition to the EIA’s documentation that, overall, the annual average growth rate of batteries in grid use is 70%.

Testing at Abilene State University of molten-salt reactors

“After decades of decline and public distrust, the domestic nuclear energy sector is set to bounce back as the technology finds favor among the public and policymakers alike for its ability to provide round-the-clock clean energy. At a time when data center hyperscalers are driving up energy insecurity and climate deadlines are drawing ever closer, the nuclear option is looking better and better. And not only is the United States trying to kickstart the expansion of traditional nuclear energy, it’s also trying to establish a place at the vanguard of next-gen nuclear energy technologies.

“Just this month, in a historic first, the Department of Energy approved a Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for a demonstration molten salt reactor currently under development by Natura Resources at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. Molten salt reactors (MSRs) are emerging as one of the leading potential technologies that could someday take over the global nuclear power sector, as they may be able to solve or sidestep many of the pitfalls associated with traditional nuclear energy.

“MSRs are designed to use less fuel and produce shorter-lived radioactive waste than other reactor types,” describes the United States Department of Energy. “They have the potential to significantly change the safety posture and economics of nuclear energy production by processing fuel online, removing waste products and adding fresh fuel without lengthy refueling outages.” In other words, MSRs are cheaper and safer than a standard nuclear fission reactor.” — See more on this story from Oil Price

A Milestone For Sodium-Ion Cells

As The Wall Street Journal reports, “U.S. startups are finally delivering something researchers have been working on for decades: a battery in which rare, hard-to-get elements are replaced with the same stuff found in ordinary table salt.

“This tech has the potential to help every country on earth break its dependence on China for batteries, and the critical minerals that go into them.

And the U.S. Energy Information Administration reports utility-scale battery storage capacity in the United States increased significantly during the last three years, with an annual average growth rate of 70%. By the end of 2025, the U.S. power system had operational battery storage capacity of 43.6 gigawatts (GW).

During the first six months of 2026, operators added another 8.3 GW of battery storage capacity, reaching nearly 52 GW of nameplate battery storage capacity, based on our latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory.

Operators anticipate bringing an additional 54 GW of battery storage capacity online over the next two and half years, according to plans they report to us. Plans for additional capacity coming online in the second half of this year total 14 GW. Operators currently plan to add 26 GW in 2027 and 14 GW in 2028.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) plants host the largest battery storage capacity units. The Bellefield Solar and Energy Storage Farm, which began operations in December 2025, couples 500 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic capacity with 500 MW of nameplate power storage for the California Independent System Operator (CAISO).

Plans for the Bellefield facility call for a doubling of the PV and storage capacity of the facility and for the new capacity to be operational by November this year. If those plans materialize, the facility will become the largest power storage facility in the United States.

The Manatee Solar Energy Center in Florida, operational since 2021, has 75 MW of solar capacity and 409 MW of battery storage capacity; it is the second-largest battery storage project. The Gemini Solar Hybrid in the state of Nevada has 690 MW of photovoltaic capacity along with power storage capacity of 380 MW, which became operational in 2024.

July 27, 2026 12:52pm CDT — A massive fire reportedly broke out at the Saudi Aramco Abqaiq refinery in Saudi Arabia on Monday following a drone strike, according to outside news agencies, sparking some concerns about the global price of oil.

And smoke continues to rise from an attack two days ago at Saudi Arabia’s Jazan facilities, though there are no official statements from the Saudi government about either reported attack.

Meanwhile the price of oil futures is down 7-8%, with WTI at $82.76 and Brent at $89.16.…
 

July 1, 2026 — Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have produced a new analysis of underground natural gas storage sites around the country. The analysis can help guide future expansion of natural gas storage capacity, optimize existing storage facilities, and aid in developing the emerging hydrogen and carbon storage industries.

The study “Geoscience-Informed Evaluation of U.S. Natural Gas Storage Reservoirs, Aquifers, and Salt Caverns” was published in the journal Earth Energy Science. It is the first to combine geological assessments, reservoir engineering and operational data from the nationwide network of underground storage systems that serves the nation’s energy needs.

Abouzar Mirzaei Paiaman, a research assistant professor at the Bureau of Economic Geology at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences, said the information is a key tool for companies looking to expand the natural gas storage systems, which is expected to be necessary in the coming years as demand and production increase.

“This database and the insights derived from it can be used to screen and identify the most suitable candidates for gas storage,” he said. “We have ranked facilities using a range of performance metrics, creating a valuable resource that helps pinpoint the most promising locations for expanding existing storage operations or developing new gas storage projects.”

The U.S. has the largest underground natural gas storage and pipeline system in the world, consisting of nearly 400 underground storage facilities in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, saline aquifers, and engineered solution-mined salt caverns. Collectively, they have a storage capacity of approximately 9.2 trillion cubic feet. For comparison, the U.S. uses about 92 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day.

Because the U.S. uses natural gas in such large quantities, underground storage in huge geological structures is the only way to ensure there is a readily available supply.

The new study builds upon and significantly expands two existing databases: one maintained by the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the other by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. While these databases provide basic facility-level information, Mirzaei Paiaman and his team took the analysis a step further by compiling detailed geological, subsurface, and operational data for underground gas storage facilities across the United States. The new integrated database provides a far more comprehensive and valuable resource for gas storage engineering and enables analyses that were previously not possible using the publicly available datasets alone, researchers said.

“Underground geological storage in depleted fields, saline aquifers, and engineered salt caverns are the only viable options that provide the storage capacity for a system that stretches across the country supplying natural gas to industry, and commercial and residential users,” said Mark Shuster, the deputy director of the bureau’s energy division. “This study provides insights on the geological, engineering, and operational attributes of the different storage types to provide a straightforward framework to inform developing new underground storage or repurposing existing storage.”

Beyond natural gas, the researchers said that the new database can be readily used for companies interested in underground storage of other energy sources as well as greenhouse gases. That includes hydrogen, a carbon-free fuel source, or CO₂, which could be kept out of the atmosphere by being stored permanently underground.

The study was supported by the State of Texas Advanced Resource Recovery program, a research program at the bureau focused on maximizing the responsible production and profitability of earth resources in Texas.

Related ongoing research includes studying the integration of hydrogen storage with natural gas storage, developing strategies for improving the performance and use of existing storage facilities, and evaluating the use of alternative gases as “cushion gas” in existing and future natural storage facilities. About half the country’s stored natural gas is considered “cushion gas,” which is gas that is permanently stored to provide sufficient pressure in the underground reservoir so the other half can be readily accessed when needed. Replacing it with CO₂, for instance, could free up more natural gas for beneficial use, while providing a way to trap CO₂ underground.
 

Over the 250-year history of our nation, energy consumption has evolved from wood use in the 18th and 19th centuries to today’s use of modern renewable, hydrocarbon, and nuclear technology. In 2025, total energy used in the United States was 96 quadrillion British thermal units (quads), up 2% from 2024, but below 2007’s record 99 quads. Petroleum was the most-used energy source last year, followed closely by natural gas. Use of renewable, coal, and nuclear energy each made up about 9% of total energy use.

As a share of total energy consumption in the United States, wood was the most-consumed source of energy early in our history. Fossil fuels emerged as the largest share of energy, starting with the use of coal, which expanded rapidly. With the more recent emergence of nuclear power and forms of renewable energy such as wind and solar, the total share of energy generation from fossil fuels decreased. However, as of 2025, fossil fuels still accounted for the vast majority of energy consumed in the United States, accounting for 82% of energy consumed.

The 18th and 19th centuries (1776–1900)

When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, wood, a renewable energy source, was the main source for heating, cooking, and lighting. Earlier, in 1742, one of our nation’s founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, designed a more efficient, metal-lined wood stove. Wood remained the largest U.S. energy source as America expanded westward until the late 1800s. The United States still uses wood energy, mainly to generate electricity at industrial lumber and paper plants that burn excess wood waste.

Coal became a widely used energy source in the United States during the mid-1800s, and in 1830 a demonstration steam-powered train called Tom Thumb showed the potential of coal-burning steam engines and locomotives. EIA’s coal data series begins in the mid-1800s. By 1870, railroads connected the country from coast to coast, driving coal consumption in the United States from 9% of total consumption in 1850 to 27% in 1870.

In 1879, Thomas Edison invented the incandescent light bulb, and its widening use increased demand for electricity. In 1880, hydropower was used to generate electricity for lighting at a chair factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Two years later, the world’s first hydroelectric power plant to sell electricity to the public opened on the Fox River near Appleton, Wisconsin. By 1888, about 200 companies were generating electricity from hydropower in the United States; some nineteenth century hydroelectric plants still operate.

Even as hydropower grew, the increasing demand for electricity was largely met by increasing coal generation. The first U.S. coal-fired power plant began operations in New York City in 1882. Coal surpassed wood as the largest source of energy in the United States around 1885. Many early uses of coal–cooking, steam engines, and glassmaking–are no longer common.

Other early forms of energy in the United States included water used in milling operations, wind used to sail ships, whale oil used for lighting and lubricating machinery, and horses used for transportation and manual labor. These forms of energy are not well quantified and not included in either our modern survey data series or historical data estimates.

The early 20th century (1901–1950)

The early 20th century gave rise to U.S. industrialization, electricity, and fossil fuel dominance, especially petroleum. Nearly 50 years after Edwin Drake drilled the first commercial oil well in Titusville, Pennsylvania, and the invention of the petroleum refinery in the 1850s, the first U.S. petroleum boom occurred with a gusher at Spindletop, Texas, in 1901. The California oil boom soon followed at Signal Hill and Long Beach, and U.S. production helped meet growing petroleum demand during World War I, the Roaring 20s, and World War II.

In the 19th century, petroleum was used mainly as kerosene for heating and lighting. In the 20th century, petroleum became the major transportation fuel in the United States for cars, boats, and airplanes. In the early 1900s, George Selden’s horseless carriage, an early term for automobiles, began replacing horses for travel. With the mass-production of Henry Ford’s Model T, the number of cars in the United States grew from 8 million in 1920 to more than 50 million by 1950. During the same period, the first U.S. airline businesses began for mail delivery. Petroleum surpassed coal as the most-used U.S. energy source in 1950.

Early U.S. natural gas energy use was mainly for lighting streetlamps before electricity, but eventually Americans used it for space heating, cooking, and industry. However, it was relatively more difficult to contain and transport than petroleum, coal, and wood. In 1925, the first all-welded pipeline, which decreased leaks, was built along 200 miles between Louisiana and Texas, and by 1950, there was a network of pipelines across much of the country.

Coal consumption grew in the early 20th century as more industrial and electricity plants were built in the United States. U.S. coal consumption fell sharply before rebounding during the 1930s in part because the Great Depression decreased residential, industrial, and railway demand. Coal consumption fell again during the 1940s with growing economic competition from petroleum and natural gas and several large labor strikes in the Appalachia region.

Electricity emerged as an important energy source during the early 20th century. In 1901, the first major power line was built between the United States and Canada at Niagara Falls. Frequently, cities received electricity before rural towns and farms. Legislation passed during the 1930s regulated public utilities and helped to bring electricity to rural America. In 1932, only 11% of U.S. farms had electricity, but by 1942 about half did. By 1950 almost all Americans had electricity.

The late 20th century (1951–2000)

The late 20th century was a time of significant U.S. energy consumption growth, especially fossil fuels, as the growing population traveled more. By 1955, more Americans traveled by air than by train, increasing petroleum demand. Between 1956 and 1992, the U.S. Interstate Highway System was built, allowing Americans to travel farther and faster than ever before. In 1969, the United States took long-distance travel one step further, using petroleum, in part, to fuel Apollo 11, sending the first humans to the moon. Except for the two oil crises during the 1970s, petroleum consumption increased during this period.

Electricity demand drove energy consumption higher, with wider distribution of home heating and cooling and the advent of new technologies such as the internet and computers. A lot of this electricity came from coal, as well as from a new energy source—nuclear energy.

In 1957, following the discoveries made during the Manhattan Project the first full-scale commercial U.S. nuclear power plant came online in Pennsylvania. The U.S. nuclear fleet peaked at 112 operatable units, with 94 operating in 2025.

The 21st century (2001–2025)

The 21st century brought additional change as the United States became more electrified, with increasing consumption of natural gas and electricity from renewable energy sources, and decreasing consumption of coal and petroleum. U.S. total energy use remained relatively flat between 2000 and 2020, with some temporary petroleum declines during the 2007–2009 financial crisis and the 2020 COVID–19 pandemic. In 2025, U.S. petroleum use remained below pre-pandemic levels.

In the 2000s, natural gas produced from shale formations became more widely available and cheaper because of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Between 2011 and 2020, more than 100 coal-fired power plants were replaced with or converted to natural gas. In 2025, natural gas generated more electricity than any other individual energy source and was the most common home heating source in the United States.

In 2022, U.S. energy consumption from renewables surpassed nuclear for the first time since 1984. In 2023, renewables surpassed coal use for the first time since the 1880s. Wind and solar accounted for more energy used than hydropower in 2025.

Biofuels, became the most-used U.S. renewable energy source in 2016. Common biofuels include ethanol, biodiesel, and renewable diesel.

Most recently, total U.S. energy use increased in part because of more electricity used to power data centers, cryptocurrency mining, and electric vehicles (EVs). We expect U.S. electricity demand to grow faster than any time since 2000 between now and the end of 2027, mostly because of data centers. Demand from electric vehicles is also growing, with nearly 6 million EVs on U.S. roads in 2024, almost 6 times more than in 2018. Our most recent estimates indicate that U.S. light-duty EV electricity consumption was 24 billion kilowatthours (kWh) in 2025, nearly 15 times more than it was in 2018.

July 1, 2026 — A University of Houston report finds that more than $1 trillion in new midstream energy infrastructure investment will be needed by 2052 to meet rising U.S. energy demand driven by data centers, AI and global market pressures. The researchers outline a strategy to secure the nation’s energy requirements, including significant expansion of midstream infrastructure.

The 2025 North American Midstream Infrastructure Report, released by the INGAA Foundation  in collaboration with UH and Wood and ESMIA Consultants, highlights future energy needs and the pipelines and associated infrastructure required to support growing demand. UH Energy also developed an abridged version of the report to make findings more accessible.

“The University of Houston was pleased to lead the consortium that conducted this analysis,” said Paul Doucette, hydrogen program officer at UH and principal investigator of the report. “The consortium worked closely with a team of industry experts, as well as university faculty and staff, to evaluate the market forces shaping North America’s energy future.”

Securing the Energy Future

The report models outcomes under two scenarios: a reference case reflecting current federal, state and provincial policies as of April 1, 2025, and a low-carbon scenario that accounts for state and provincial GHG reduction targets across the U.S. and Canada, which influence projected energy demand, fuel selection, and infrastructure development.

In both cases, natural gas remains a foundational component of the region’s energy system. Rising electricity demand, particularly from data centers, along with continued growth in liquefied natural gas exports, is expected to drive the need for expanded infrastructure.

“Meeting energy demand is a critical challenge right now, and this report quantifies the necessary midstream infrastructure and corresponding development dollars needed to meet that demand,” said Hebe Shaw, executive director of the INGAA Foundation. “Meeting the energy needs of North America will require sustained investment and development, which must begin now to ensure a safe, reliable and affordable energy system.”

The report concludes that due to projected demand through 2052, sustained investment in pipelines and midstream infrastructure is essential to maintaining a reliable, affordable U.S. energy system. The report identifies several key midstream infrastructure requirements:

• More than $1 trillion in new midstream capital investment, averaging $40-$48 billion per year across natural gas, oil, natural gas liquids, hydrogen and CO2 infrastructure
• At least 37,000 miles of additional natural gas transmission pipelines, including approximately 33,800 miles within the United States
• Approximately 103,000 miles of new natural gas gathering pipelines
• Roughly 414,000-828,000 jobs annually, or up to 24 million cumulative jobs over 25 years

“The final report draws on decades of experience and equips industry leaders and policymakers with the clarity and confidence needed to plan, permit and build infrastructure required to power a growing economy through 2052,” Doucette said.

UH Continues to Lead the Way

The report’s findings also highlight the growing need for workforce development and innovation tied to expanding energy infrastructure, areas where UH has continued to expand its efforts.

Most recently, Mim Rahimi, professor at the Cullen College of Engineering, and his team of researchers developed a roadmap for the implementation of a new technology that uses the ocean to capture carbon dioxide, which could be a boon to coastal economies.

Prior to that, the Gulf Offshore Research Institute and its partners, including UH, were awarded $20 million through the Gulf Futures Challenge to advance an initiative that will transform inactive offshore platforms into productive hubs for advanced energy technologies, mineral recovery and aquaculture.
…
 

June 30, 2026 — University of Texas at Austin researchers have developed a jacket that pulls drinking water directly from the air, a technology they said could help hikers, farm workers and emergency responders stay hydrated in harsh conditions. According to UT Austin, testing showed the jacket produced between 400 and 900 milliliters of drinking water per day, depending on humidity levels.

“We designed these water harvesting jackets by engineering these very special textile fabrics,” said Professor Guihua Yu with the Texas Materials Institute at UT Austin.

The researchers published their work in the month’s new issue of Science Advances.

Yu said the technology could be useful for:

• Hikers
• Campers
• Agricultural workers
• Emergency responders
• Military personnel

According to the researchers, the specially engineered fabric …
 

June 23, 2026 — Aerospace engineering professor Dr. Paul Cizmas will lead a team of researchers on campus who will test alternative methods of powering jet engines this year. The team settled on hydrogen as the best option due to its chemical structure. It creates vapor and steam when it burns, as opposed to traditional jet fuel that releases carbon dioxide.

Hydrogen also releases three times as much energy per kilogram of fuel. These characteristics make it an ideal fuel source for spaceships, which require an immense amount of energy to make it past Earth’s atmosphere. The research is sponsored by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in hopes to find cleaner alternatives in war zones.

There are significant challenges to using hydrogen as a primary fuel source, however. It burns faster than traditional jet fuel, which can make it dangerous to carry aboard an aircraft. It is also less dense, which makes storing small and easily transportable quantities more difficult.

Aerospace engineering Ph.D. student Justin Schoppe has been working on the project since its inception. He agrees that the greatest challenge is storage and transport and says finding a solution is not impossible, just difficult.

Schoppe also highlighted the benefits of using hydrogen. It is an element that is easy to find because it can be pulled from water through electrolysis, but traditional jet fuel comes from natural gas, which is a finite resource.

“If you’re using jet fuel, there’s only one place that it is coming from, and that’s the ground,” Schoppe said. “It’s far more sustainable to power things off of hydrogen.”

Going into the research, Schoppe said they had to consider several things, such as how efficiently the new fuel is burning and maintaining an even temperature to prevent dangerous outcomes. The end goal of the research is to make hydrogen more accessible for people around the world.

“Anything that you can do to push the world closer to sustainable or renewable sources of energy is great,” Schoppe said. “Bringing this technology to smaller scale pilots to bring them into a more sustainable future is well worth it.”

The team is still in the preliminary stages of testing in the Jet Propulsion Lab. Aerospace graduate student Matthew Schulz will be working through simulations to understand how different fuel types will affect the jet engine that is being tested. He emphasized that these simulations are key before physical testing in future stages.

Once the testing is done, Schoppe hopes it can contribute to a future of sustainable fuel sources.

“There’s a lot that goes into these kinds of studies because it has a wide-ranging effect on basically just everyone,” Schoppe said. “We all live on this planet so we all need to do our part to move forward in a sustainable fashion.”…
 

June 18, 2026 — NUBURU Inc., a developer of advanced blue-laser technologies and defense-focused photonics solutions, has announced a significant step forward in underwater energy transmission through a new collaboration with Italian technology company SunCubes.

The initiative will see NUBURU, through its subsidiary Lyocon S.r.l., design specialized blue-laser technology for integration into SunCubes’ DEEP LIGHT underwater wireless power platform.

The project represents the first concrete application emerging from a recently signed agreement between NUBURU and SunCubes. It aims to develop an underwater laser-based power transmission system capable of delivering energy wirelessly to autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and other subsea systems, potentially transforming the way underwater assets are powered and operated.

The DEEP LIGHT platform is designed around a high-power laser transmitter and receiver architecture that enables contactless energy transfer underwater. Unlike traditional underwater charging methods that require physical docking or cable connections, the system seeks to transmit power over distances of several tens of meters using laser beams operating in the blue-green optical spectrum.

This wavelength range is particularly important because blue and blue-green light experiences lower attenuation in water than many other wavelengths, allowing energy and data to travel more efficiently through underwater environments. By leveraging NUBURU’s expertise in blue-laser technology, the collaboration aims to improve the efficiency, reliability, and scalability of underwater wireless power systems.

Lyocon, acquired by NUBURU earlier this year, will serve as the laser-source design and integration partner for the project. The company brings established expertise in laser manufacturing, photonics engineering, and systems integration, positioning it as a key contributor to the development of the DEEP LIGHT platform.

See more at Interesting Engineering

June 18, 2026 — The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) today approved ERCOT’s Batch Zero process for large-user connection requests, ensuring large electricity users like data centers only connect in quantities and locations the Texas grid can reliably support. ERCOT is the first Independent System Operator (ISO) in the nation to use a batch process to assess large electricity users wanting to connect to the grid.

The new batch framework — built through a robust stakeholder process with input from developers, utilities, generators, consumer advocates, and industry experts — groups qualified large projects that are 75 megawatts (MW) and greater into a single study so ERCOT can assess the full picture of future electricity demand at once, fairly allocate available grid capacity, and identify needed transmission upgrades.

“Texas is experiencing an energy transformation unlike anything we have seen before,” said ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas. “This new process represents a fundamental shift in how ERCOT manages the significant growth of large load interconnection, providing a structured, transparent path forward that protects reliability for Texans while supporting the state’s continued economic growth.”

ERCOT is tracking more than 438,000 MW of large load requests, nearly 89 percent from data centers alone. “Batch Zero” is the name of the first group of large-user applicants to go through the new process.

Stakeholder-Driven Process

ERCOT’s robust stakeholder-driven process included one-on-one interviews, public workshops, and formal committee sessions. It produced results unprecedented in scale:

• More than 200 hours of live discussion
• Workshops averaging approximately 500 participants each
• Approximately 200 survey responses
• More than 290 written comments

“The response from the Texas energy community was remarkable. The depth of participation and quality of feedback were extraordinary, and both directly shaped how ERCOT manages large load connections in Texas,” said Jeff Billo, Vice President, Interconnection and Grid Analysis.

The framework was approved by the Protocol Revision Subcommittee (PRS), Reliability and Operations Subcommittee (ROS), the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), and the ERCOT Board of Directors before PUCT consideration.

The principles established through the Batch Zero framework will serve as the foundation for an ongoing, comprehensive transmission planning process developed in partnership with stakeholders later this year.

New Reliability-Focused Connection Pathways

The Batch Zero framework gives large electricity users additional pathways to connect to the ERCOT grid that are expected to yield reliability benefits for Texans.

The framework includes provisions for large customers that want to build their own onsite generation to self-supply some or all of their electricity, reducing the need to draw from the larger grid. Facilities that are truly islanded with no grid connection would generally fall outside ERCOT’s interconnection process, though they may still be subject to registration requirements with the PUCT.

Additionally, the framework creates a pathway to connect for large customers who agree to let ERCOT curtail their power use in response to local transmission constraints, reducing demand where and when the grid needs it most.

For additional context, view ERCOT’s Batch Study Trending Topic.

Next Steps for Batch Zero

Following today’s approval, ERCOT expects to notify Batch Zero applicants of their project classification in August 2026, at which point the full scope of Batch Zero will be known. A final transmission plan covering the entire batch of projects across the state is expected to be published in fall 2027. While not all interconnection requests result in built projects, ERCOT data shows the majority expect to be operational by 2030.

Applications for Batch 1 are expected to open in Summer 2027. For additional background, view ERCOT Revision Requests: NPRR1325 and PGRR145.

June 18, 2026 — Oil and gas regulator Wayne Christian today announced the next phase of the Delivering Oil and Gas Efficiently (DOGE) Task Force following a year of stakeholder engagement, review and modernization efforts at the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC). The initiative aims to streamline internal processes, strengthen communication and bolster the RRC’s responsive, pro-business approach.

“Our goal is simple: make the RRC more efficient, responsive and transparent while maintaining safety, environmental stewardship and regulatory integrity,” Commissioner Christian said. “Texas producers know better than anyone where government processes create unnecessary delays, and they’ve made their concerns clear. Government should be less focused on bureaucratic procedures and more focused on delivering results.”

Following a year of extensive stakeholder engagement, detailed agency review and comprehensive evaluation of regulatory processes, the initiative is entering an expanded implementation phase focused on advancing operational improvements and modernization efforts across the agency.

Examples of priorities the RRC has identified or implemented include:

• Identifying opportunities to reduce unnecessary expenditures while continuing agency audits and oversight efforts to improve operational efficiency.
• Modernizing the RRC’s digital infrastructure through enhanced online filing tools, a new single sign-on platform and the development of a more integrated regulatory system that reduces duplicative submissions and improves data management.
• Expanding transparency by publishing key permitting information through the Open Data Portal and enhancing data access, tracking and communication tools.
• Promoting greater consistency in inspections across districts through regular coordination, training and standardized guidance for inspection, compliance and enforcement activities.
• Strengthening accountability, stakeholder communication and case management processes to improve responsiveness and regulatory clarity.
• Enhancing orphan well and critical infrastructure programs through increased contractor competition, improved data quality and targeted inspection efforts.

Building on stakeholder input gathered throughout the review process, the RRC continues to identify opportunities to streamline workflows, enhance efficiency and improve overall agency performance. A second round of DOGE Task Force meetings will be held in the coming months to gather additional feedback, assess ongoing progress and explore further opportunities to strengthen agency operation…
 

May 29, 2026 — Understanding the dynamics of how water moves is deceptively simple in concept and endlessly complex in practice. Real-world marine environments are anything but controlled: Weather, seasons and geography change constantly. Yet understanding water movement is a critical aspect in areas of study like marine biology, coastal and environmental science and even policy around how we recover from natural disasters.

Dr. Jiabi Du, assistant professor of marine and coastal environmental science at Texas A&M University at Galveston, is spearheading the comprehension of ocean circulation and dynamics by creating detailed 3D ocean models that simulate how water moves throughout Gulf environments.

“I like to use 3D models as a major tool to help me understand the underlying physical processes and mechanisms driving all the interesting phenomena we have seen,” Du said.

Du has spent years developing a high-resolution coastal ocean model for the northern Gulf. His model can replicate oceanic conditions such as water level, ocean currents, waves, temperature and salinity with stunning accuracy — requiring hundreds of processors to simulate on a powerful supercomputer.

“We can comfortably use 400 CPUs to do all the simulations,” Du said. “It gives us pretty good efficiency — about 24 hours for a one-year simulation.”

These 3D models are endlessly customizable, making them invaluable tools for isolating impacts from different forces — such as tide, wind and hurricanes — and measuring how they affect the whole system. When integrated with real-world observations, applications for these findings…
 

We forecast natural gas consumption by the U.S. electric power sector this summer will remain near recent highs and set a record next summer in our May Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). Despite a 2% increase in overall U.S. electricity demand this summer, we expect natural gas-fired electricity generation to be similar to last summer, primarily because of forecast increased generation from renewables. In the May STEO, we forecast natural gas consumed by the U.S. electric power sector will average 43.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) during the summer (June–September), the same as in the summer of 2025, and 4% above the five-year summer average (2021–2025). We forecast natural gas consumption for power generation will increase 6% (2.4 Bcf/d) during the summer of 2027 to 46.1 Bcf/d, surpassing the previous record set in 2024 by 3%.

Electricity consumption is highest during the summer months because of cooling needs across all sectors. The record-high natural gas consumption we forecast for the summer of 2027 is primarily driven by increasing sales of electricity to the commercial and industrial sectors in the West South Central and Mid-Atlantic regions. We forecast demand in the commercial sector to grow nationally because of the addition of new data centers and large manufacturing facilities—particularly in Texas (driving up demand in ERCOT) and Virginia (driving up demand in PJM). These facilities require large amounts of electricity for both operation and cooling.

We expect commercial and industrial electricity demand in the West South Central region to rise 20% from the summer of 2025 to the summer of 2027. In addition to increasing commercial demand, electricity demand from the region’s industrial sector is expected to increase in 2027 because of growing electrification in the oil and natural gas sector and other industrial projects. We forecast the Electric Reliability Council of Texas  (ERCOT), which manages the grid for most of Texas, will meet the rising demand with more generation from both natural gas and solar. From the summer of 2025 to the summer of 2027, we expect ERCOT to increase natural gas generation 22%.

The PJM Interconnection, which operates the electrical grid across the Mid-Atlantic, has steadily increased its natural gas consumption for electricity generation over the past decade as the region’s power demand has increased and as natural gas-fired generation became more competitive with coal. We expect this trend to continue alongside increased commercial sector demand from computing facilities. Natural gas consumption for electricity generation in PJM is forecast to increase by 6% (9 BkWh) in the summer of 2027 relative to the summer of 2025, and solar generation is forecast to increase 32% (4 BkWh) over the same period.

The trend toward more generation from a combination of natural gas and renewables and less from coal has also played out nationwide. Over the past decade, the U.S. electricity…
 

Developers plan to bring approximately 44.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of new pipeline capacity online in the United States in 2026 and 2027, according to our latest Natural Gas Pipeline Projects Tracker. Approximately 70% (31.6 Bcf/d) of this new capacity is already under construction. More than 66% (29.7 Bcf/d) of the capacity additions originate in Texas. Louisiana is second with 19% (8.4 Bcf/d) of total capacity additions.

The projects in Texas will provide additional takeaway capacity out of the Permian Basin and debottleneck the Waha Hub, supplying natural gas to LNG export terminals, as well as residential, power, and industrial users.

The largest of the pipeline projects currently under construction and projected to enter service by the end of this year include:

• Rio Bravo Pipeline Project: A 138-mile pipeline originating in Texas with a capacity of up to 4.5 Bcf/d, which will deliver feedgas to NextDecade’s under construction Rio Grande LNG export terminal. NextDecade is targeting an in-service date in the second half of this year.
• Blackcomb Pipeline: A 365-mile, 2.5 Bcf/d pipeline currently under construction and slated to enter service in the third quarter 2026. The pipeline originating in Texas will deliver Permian supply from the Waha hub to the Agua Dulce hub, further clearing the Waha bottleneck.
• Hugh Brinson Pipeline: A total 2.2 Bcf/d project increasing takeaway capacity from the Permian Basin in Texas. The developer expects phase 1 of this…
   

Texas Energy Report NewsClips Friday June 5, 2026 Asterisk (*) denotes news stories that may be inaccessible because portions are behind a paywall   Good morning! Here are today’s Texas Energy Report NewsClips …

May 14, 2026 — Three Republican candidates fighting for two open District 1 and District 5 seats on the Louisiana Public Service Commission this year received substantial support from PSC-regulated entities or organizations, PACs or businesses with ties to those enterprises, according to an Energy and Policy Institute review of campaign finance filings for candidates participating in the Louisiana primary elections from January 1, 2025 to April 16, 2026.

Republican candidate Stephanie Hilferty, D-1, received 50 percent of her contributions from PSC regulated entities or people or entities associated with them, primarily lawyers associated with utilities and lobbying firms whose clients include oil and gas companies and utilities.

Republican candidate John Young, also running for D-1, received 29 percent of his contributions from people or entities associated with PSC regulated entities, primarily utility PACs and utility executives.

District 5 Republican candidate John Atkins has deep ties to the oil and gas industry, and received nearly 30 percent of his contributions from people or entities associated with PSC regulated entities, primarily in the oil and gas and utility industries.

Early voting in the primary elections is already underway, with ten Republicans and Democrats vying for the two open seats that have been held by Commissioner Eric Skrmetta (R-D1) and Commissioner Foster Campbell (D-D5), who have termed…
 

The volume of coal delivered in the United States for uses other than power generation—primarily, for manufacturing—decreased by about half in the last 15 years. Coal delivered for these purposes in the South decreased the most in percentage terms between 2010 and 2025, falling 75%, or 14.7 million short tons (MMst), according to our Annual Coal Distribution Report and Quarterly Coal Distribution Report. In 2010, the South received more than double the amount of coal received in the Northeast; by 2025 the two regions received about the same amount. Manufacturers’ increasing use of natural gas instead of coal and the closure of manufacturing plants using coal were major factors in this decline.

Receipts of coal in nearly all states in the South decreased relative to 2010 levels. The Appalachian coal belt states (West Virginia, Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Georgia) had the largest volumetric decreases, averaging 1.7 MMst. In terms of percentage decline, Florida, West Virginia, Georgia, Texas, and South Carolina all had declines of 90% or greater. Only Louisiana received more coal in 2025 than 2010, increasing 775%, or 0.2 MMst. However, Louisiana’s non-electric power distributions only composed a small portion, approximately 5%, of the South’s total coal distributions in 2025.

On a windy day, a headwind or tailwind can significantly affect how far an electric vehicle (EV) travels on a single charge.

To help EVs use energy more efficiently, researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington are partnering with Hyundai Motor Group to develop advanced routing strategies.

Led by civil engineering Assistant Professor Kate Hyun and in collaboration with Hyundai engineers Junyoung Kim, Gisu Bang and Sanghyun Park, the project explores how real-time data—especially wind conditions—can guide drivers along routes that conserve battery power.

“Traditional navigation systems are designed to get you to your destination as quickly as possible,” Dr. Hyun said. “But for electric vehicles, energy consumption is just as important. We’re looking at how factors like wind, road slope and traffic can work together to create smarter, more efficient routes.”

For EV drivers, range is more than just a performance metric. It is key in shaping the overall experience. External factors such as aerodynamic drag from headwinds can significantly affect energy consumption, and incorporating these metrics into route planning remains a major challenge, the Hyundai researches said.

The study proposes energy-efficient routes by considering various factors such as wind, road gradient and traffic, using real-world vehicle data.

“Through this collaboration, Hyundai Motor Company has confirmed…
 

A University of Houston engineer has found that lithium dendrites—hazardous growths inside lithium-ion batteries that power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles—are unexpectedly strong and brittle, signaling a need to rethink future battery design.

The growth and penetration of lithium dendrites through electrolytes and separators remain key challenges to realizing high–energy density lithium-metal batteries.

The dendrites are tiny crystal ‘needles’ that form inside the batteries for a variety of reasons, from fast charging to low temperatures. Though minute, measuring just hundreds of nanometers (more than 100-times smaller than a strand of human hair), lithium dendrites can cause catastrophic damage and safety hazards including short circuits and fires.

“For decades, the scientific community assumed that solid-state electrolytes could easily block dendrites because lithium was thought to be a soft, ductile metal. We have proven they are actually brittle and snap like glass,” said Yan Yao, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of electrical and computer engineering. Yao’s work is published in Science, in an article co-authored by his colleagues from Rice University, Georgia Institute of Technology and…
 

Update: 7:30 pm Eastern Time, Texas Energy Report

6:45 Eastern Time/ 5:45 Central Texas Energy Report — In a post on Truth Social, President Trump announced that he will suspend the war in Iran for two weeks subject to “the complete, immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz”

This comes hours before Trump’s 8pm ET…