Solar, Storage, Gas, and VPPs in Texas: Reading & Podcast Picks, September 28, 2025

Solar + storage in Texas = uneventful summer, lower power prices; VPPs growing in Texas and beyond; ERCOT launches innovation initiative; new TEF gas plant announced; and much more

Reading and Podcast Picks is a collection of what I’ve been reading and listening to over the last week or so about energy topics.

In addition to these R&P Picks, paid subscribers receive access to the full archives, Grid Roundups, and select episodes of the Energy Capital Podcast, including this one with Fluence’s Suzanne Leta about how batteries are reshaping the Texas grid.

This summer was ‘uneventful’ for the Texas grid. Why ERCOT still warns against complacency | The Houston Chronicle (gift link)

The Houston Chronicle’s Claire Hao covered some of the main takeaways from last week’s Board meeting.

Total energy consumption is expected to rise more than 5% this year compared to last year. That’s five times faster than the national average growth rate from 2000 to 2020, Vegas said.

Much of that increased power usage has been met with ERCOT’s fast-growing fleet of solar arrays, a technology that both the Trump administration and some Texas lawmakers have tried to limit this year.

“The additions of solar and batteries have helped us handle the growth in the summer months, where we’ve seen a lot more consumption,” Vegas said…

Slide from ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas’ Board presentation

Which States Are Getting Hit Hardest by Electricity Price Increases? | Inside Climate News

Dan Gearino breaks down the affordability crisis and how the Administration’s anti-energy policies will likely exacerbate it:

The bigger concern for consumers, in my view, is that the worst may be yet to come. Trump’s policies are likely to contribute to inflation, including pushing up electricity costs. For example, the Trump administration’s attempt to slow the development of renewable energy will likely reduce the supply of electricity at a time when solar is the country’s fastest-growing power source. And tariffs on imported metals are likely to increase the costs for electricity infrastructure.