KBH Energy Center’s Jack Balagia and Micah Clark Featured in Summer 2026 NAPE Magazine In this latest issue, KBH Energy Center Executive Director Jack Balagia shares how we’re preparing next generation of workforce-ready talent. The issue also features an article by 2025-2026 KBH Graduate Fellow, and now Associate Advisory Council member, Micah Clark, highlighting how, with clearer mineral ownership rights, produced water could help fuel innovation instead of posing an environmental risk.
Assessing Economic Costs of Two Reliable Generation Mix Scenarios in the ERCOT System A new peer-reviewed study from COMPASS researcher Dr. Jani Das and colleagues at the Bureau of Economic Geology analyzes ERCOT generation scenarios through 2050, looking beyond technology costs to evaluate the total consumer cost of electricity.
What will it take to solve the great American energy puzzle? “There are precious few types of energy production that both parties agree on,” said David Spence, a professor of natural resources law at the University of Texas at Austin. “It all depends on whether the people doing the negotiating in Congress like their own projects and their own goals more than they hate the other side’s goals and projects.”
Trump is using taxpayer dollars to bail out coal and bet against Texas | Opinion In his latest Houston Chronicle opinion piece, our Academic Director Michael E. Webber argues that policies supporting coal generation could have significant implications for Texas, a state that has become a leader in natural gas, wind, solar, battery manufacturing, and emerging geothermal technologies. As energy demand continues to grow, the debate over how best to balance reliability, affordability, security, and innovation remains central to the future of energy.
Nuclear Safety From the Ground Up As Texas invests heavily in advanced nuclear energy, safety is taking center stage. UT Austin Researchers with the Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin are helping make nuclear power safer from the ground up – using cutting-edge seismic modeling, AI-enabled monitoring, and advanced sensing technologies to identify risks before they become problems. Their work is helping strengthen grid reliability, support energy security, and build public confidence in the next generation of nuclear energy.
Gas Prices are Punishing Summer Drivers Again. Here’s What Not to Do. | Opinion In a recent Houston Chronicle piece, our Academic Director Michael E. Webber argues that while high gas prices may be unavoidable today, we can do more to reduce their impact tomorrow.
Seeing Beyond the Next Hill In the latest AAPG Explorer, KBH Energy Center Lecturer Jonathan Rotzien highlights a lesson that extends far beyond geology: tenacity, paired with grace, is what drives success.
The Data Center Boom Is Reshaping Texas — and Every Business Needs to Understand Why A recent JD Supra article outlines that the Bureau of Economic Geology describes the evolution of data centers in three eras: corporate IT, hyperscale cloud computing, and today’s AI-driven boom. Each phase has dramatically increased demand for power, land, and water.
UT Startup Advances Hydrogen Breakthroughs with Seed Fund Investment The UT Seed Fund is helping launch Celadyne Technologies, a startup tackling one of hydrogen energy’s biggest barriers—efficiency and durability—using advanced membrane technology, in order to scale hydrogen solutions for defense, transportation, and industrial applications.
2026–27 UT Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows Announced Eight outstanding graduate students from The University of Texas at Austin have been named recipients of the 2026-2027 UT Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows Awards.