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Released March 14, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Cleaner-focused energy provider Avangrid Incorporated (NYSE:AGR) (Orange, Connecticut) said it would spend as much as $20 billion on new grid infrastructure after meeting with Energy Secretary Chris Wright on the sidelines of a Houston energy conference.
Avangrid in the waning weeks of 2024 declared that it was approaching a milestone of 10.6 gigawatts (GW) of installed energy, spread over 24 U.S. states with enough power to meet the demands of more than 3 million homes.
Avangrid draws power from onshore wind, solar power, hydroelectricity, natural gas and fuel cells. Though it has operations in 24 U.S. states from Massachusetts to California, about 36% of its installed capacity is in western states.
Joined by Energy Secretary Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Bergum, Avangrid said on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston on Wednesday that it was committed to investing $20 billion on grid infrastructure through the end of the decade.
It offered few project specifics, however. Avangrid last year claimed the lead position in offshore wind energy capacity after the first 10 turbines for the Vineyard Wind facility offshore Massachusetts started spinning in June.
Vineyard Wind has an initial capacity of 136 megawatts (MW), which Avangrid said was enough to power more than 60,000 homes. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more by viewing the project report. On the West Coast, meanwhile, Avangrid is at work on its Camino solar project in Kern County, California. It would boast a nameplate capacity of 44 MW and include 11 MW in a battery energy storage system (BESS). See project report.
Battery storage may be an integral part of an emerging energy landscape as it provides a buffer against the intermittent nature of renewable energy and supports the growing demand from data centers. A December report from the U.S. Department of Energy found demand from data centers alone tripled over the past 10 years and could triple again by the end of this decade.
Secretary Wright was the keynote speaker at this year's CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. The former chief executive officer at Liberty Energy Incorporated (NYSE:LBRT) (Denver, Colorado), Wright doubled down on the decidedly pro-fossil fuels agenda offered by President Donald Trump.
Wright took the podium in Houston to say that while solar and wind energy have a growing presence on the grid, prices went up while stability went down. It's natural gas, he said, that's the largest source of home-heating, and a major feedstock for the petrochemical industry.
"Beyond the obvious scale and cost problems, there is simply no physical way that wind, solar and batteries could replace the myriad uses of natural gas," he said.
Trump since taking office has unraveled much of his predecessor's clean-energy agenda, ending auctions for offshore wind in one of his first acts of office. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical arm of the Energy Department, finds natural gas may be fading from the grid as more renewable forms of energy come online.
The share of natural gas on the grid was 43% last year. It's expected to drop to 39% by next year. Renewables, meanwhile, increase their share from 23% in 2024 to 27% by 2026.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Avangrid in the waning weeks of 2024 declared that it was approaching a milestone of 10.6 gigawatts (GW) of installed energy, spread over 24 U.S. states with enough power to meet the demands of more than 3 million homes.
Avangrid draws power from onshore wind, solar power, hydroelectricity, natural gas and fuel cells. Though it has operations in 24 U.S. states from Massachusetts to California, about 36% of its installed capacity is in western states.
Joined by Energy Secretary Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Bergum, Avangrid said on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston on Wednesday that it was committed to investing $20 billion on grid infrastructure through the end of the decade.
It offered few project specifics, however. Avangrid last year claimed the lead position in offshore wind energy capacity after the first 10 turbines for the Vineyard Wind facility offshore Massachusetts started spinning in June.
Vineyard Wind has an initial capacity of 136 megawatts (MW), which Avangrid said was enough to power more than 60,000 homes. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more by viewing the project report. On the West Coast, meanwhile, Avangrid is at work on its Camino solar project in Kern County, California. It would boast a nameplate capacity of 44 MW and include 11 MW in a battery energy storage system (BESS). See project report.
Battery storage may be an integral part of an emerging energy landscape as it provides a buffer against the intermittent nature of renewable energy and supports the growing demand from data centers. A December report from the U.S. Department of Energy found demand from data centers alone tripled over the past 10 years and could triple again by the end of this decade.
Secretary Wright was the keynote speaker at this year's CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. The former chief executive officer at Liberty Energy Incorporated (NYSE:LBRT) (Denver, Colorado), Wright doubled down on the decidedly pro-fossil fuels agenda offered by President Donald Trump.
Wright took the podium in Houston to say that while solar and wind energy have a growing presence on the grid, prices went up while stability went down. It's natural gas, he said, that's the largest source of home-heating, and a major feedstock for the petrochemical industry.
"Beyond the obvious scale and cost problems, there is simply no physical way that wind, solar and batteries could replace the myriad uses of natural gas," he said.
Trump since taking office has unraveled much of his predecessor's clean-energy agenda, ending auctions for offshore wind in one of his first acts of office. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical arm of the Energy Department, finds natural gas may be fading from the grid as more renewable forms of energy come online.
The share of natural gas on the grid was 43% last year. It's expected to drop to 39% by next year. Renewables, meanwhile, increase their share from 23% in 2024 to 27% by 2026.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
