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San Antonio Express-News: As Texas Embraces Battery Energy Storage, Hill Country Residents Push Back — ‘Not in Our Backyard’

Posted by Sara DiNatale on Sep 28, 2024

San Antonio Express-News reports on the growing Texas battery energy storage boom, but some Hill County residents are worried that new battery storage sites will be noisy, increase the risk of fire, and cause environmental damage. The article quotes Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance's (United's state affiliate) Matthew Boms, who spoke to the importance of battery storage sites in the state.

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Topics: United In The News, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas, Matthew Boms, Battery Storage

The New York Times: America’s Oil Country Increasingly Runs on Renewables

Posted by J. David Goodman on Sep 18, 2024

Amid rising energy demands, The New York Times reports that America's biggest oil-producing state, Texas, is increasingly turning to solar power and battery storage to see it through extreme weather over the years. The article quotes Matthew Boms of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (United's state affiliate), who speaks to Texas' renewable energy potential.

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Topics: United In The News, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas, Matthew Boms, Solar, Battery Storage

Houston Chronicle: Texas Leads the U.S. in Renewable Energy. Next Up, Your Home.

Posted by Matthew Boms on Aug 26, 2024

In an opinion piece for the Houston Chronicle, Matthew Boms of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (United's state affiliate), shares how President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act has transformed Texas' energy portfolio, with Texas now ranking as the nation's wind energy leader and a top state for utility-scale solar.

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Topics: State Policy, Federal Policy, United In The News, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas, Matthew Boms

Hurricane Beryl Underscores Need for New Approaches to Grid Resilience

Posted by Rory Coleman on Jul 18, 2024

Advanced Energy Industry Group Calls on Texas Utilities to Up Their Commitment to Distributed Energy Resources

AUSTIN, TX – Amidst ongoing power outages and calls for investigations in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) is advocating for Texas leaders to reevaluate the state’s approach to grid resilience.

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Topics: State Policy, Press Releases, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas

Scripps News: Centerpoint Faces Backlash in Texas Amid Extended Outages After Hurricane Beryl

Posted by Christian Bryant & Chris Nguyen on Jul 12, 2024

Matt Boms of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), Advanced Energy United's Texas entity, is interviewed live on Scripps News' The National Report on July 12 about the impacts Hurricane Beryl had on the Texas power grid. Boms makes the case that Texas utilities should be relying less on centralized power plants and more on distributed resources, like rooftop solar and other aggregated resources, to improve resiliency in the face of extreme weather like hurricanes.

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Topics: United In The News, Texas, Matthew Boms

KVUE: Texas Power Grid Operator Predicts Power Demand Will Nearly Double by 2030

Posted by Adam Bennett on Jun 13, 2024

Texas news station KVUE covers a recent forecast by The Electric Reliability Council of Texas that states power demand in the region will nearly double by 2030. The story quotes Matt Boms of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (United's Texas state chapter), who emphasized the importance of distributed energy resources for grid reliability during a Texas Senate Business & Commerce committee hearing. 

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Topics: United In The News, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas, Matthew Boms

RTO Insider: 2023 Elections Bring Billions for Texas Gas, Dem Wins in Virginia, NJ


RTO Insider reports on the results of 2023 notable state elections across the country. In the article, Kim Jemaine is quoted surrounding the outcome of the Virginia election, commenting on the motivation of Virginia voters to show out and vote against extremism in the state, flipping control of the House and maintaining a Democratic majority in the Senate.
 

Voters Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a nearly $10 billion fund for gas generation in Texas, while handing Democrats victories in legislative elections in New Jersey and Virginia that have implications for energy policy there. 

Texas’ Proposition 7 passed by a vote of 1,641,453-886,991, gathering nearly 65% of the votes. (See $10B Fund for Gas Plants on Texas Ballot.) 

The proposition sets up the Texas Energy Fund (TEF), a $7.2 billion low-interest loan program intended for the development of up to 10 GW of natural gas plants. Some $5 billion will be set aside for 20-year, 3% interest loans to build new generation with at least 100 MW of fully dispatchable capacity. Power plants that come online before June 2029 are eligible for bonus payments. 

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Topics: State Policy, Virginia, United In The News, Texas, New Jersey

E&E News: Can Texas stave off its next grid emergency?

Posted by Jason Plautz on Sep 15, 2023

E&E News reports on the recent emergency sounded by Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to stop a potential blackout. The article quotes Matthew Boms of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (Advanced Energy United's Texas state chapter) on the importance of incentivizing demand response programs to curb the ever-growing energy demand in Texas.
 

The Texas grid operator declared an emergency last week, but it didn’t end up cutting off residents’ lights and air conditioning as the state roasted.

Next time, everyone might not be so lucky.

A combination of a growing population, a booming economy and a heat wave pushed demand on the state’s main electric grid to previously unseen levels this summer, including 10 all-time records for demand. That record demand was accompanied by repeated requests for customers to conserve their own energy. 

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Topics: United In The News, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas, Matthew Boms

The Weather Channel: Extreme Heat and Grid Demand in Texas

Posted by Jordan Steele & Felicia Combs on Sep 12, 2023

In a video interview with The Pattrn Show on The Weather Channel, Matthew Boms of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance - Advanced Energy United's Texas state chapter - emphasizes that wind, solar, and storage have played a pivotal role in ensuring Texans have reliable power this summer, consistently contributing over 30-40% of the state's total generation. Spotlighting Texas as a leader in advanced energy generation, Boms underlines that renewable energy technologies are mature, cost-effective, scalable, and critical for Texas’ energy future.

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Topics: United In The News, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas, Matthew Boms

New Report Identifies Economic Savings for Texans, Optimal Approach for Modernizing the Texas Electric Grid

Posted by Adam Winer on Jul 17, 2023

1,350 more miles of electric transmission lines needed to meet Texas’ growing energy needs

AUSTIN, TXA new report by Texas-based energy analysis group IdeaSmiths LLC has modeled the most cost-effective path for the Texas electric grid to meet the state’s growing electricity needs by 2040, aiming to more effectively guarantee lower pricing for consumers. According to the report, keeping up with the demand for electricity will require the construction of approximately 1,350 miles of new transmission lines.

"The report lays out a clear, actionable roadmap for the ERCOT grid," says Matt Boms, Executive Director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA), which co-funded the report with national business association Advanced Energy United. "Our findings underscore the urgent need for modernizing Texas’s electricity infrastructure. Adopting this roadmap will lower electricity bills for millions of Texans, bolster grid reliability and create thousands of jobs in the Lone Star State." 

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Topics: Press Releases, Texas, Transmission