Battery Storage as a Scalable Tool for Texas’ Reliability and Growth Challenges
As Texas braces for a projected 50% surge in electricity demand by 2029, the grid is feeling the strain of rapid, uneven load growth. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are emerging as one of the most adaptable tools for relieving localized congestion, stabilizing frequency, and supporting communities during extreme weather. Yet scaling storage to match the state’s accelerating needs comes with its own challenges.
In our Ask the Experts series, we connect with leaders across the clean energy sector to unpack the technologies and market shifts shaping the future of power in the Lone Star State.
This week, we spoke with Carl Mansfield, VP of Business Development at Moment Energy, to explore how strategically sited storage can ease Texas’ most acute grid constraints, enhance resilience during emergencies, and create meaningful financial opportunities for businesses navigating rising peak charges and new electrification demands.
For EPCs, developers, and C&I customers, Mansfield’s insights offer a clear look at where storage deployment delivers the most value today, and what Texas needs to do next to accelerate a more reliable and weather-ready grid.
Meet the Expert
Carl Mansfield, VP of Business Development at Moment Energy
Carl Mansfield is a clean-tech executive with more than 15 years of experience driving commercialization, product development, and operational strategy across distributed energy, battery storage, virtual power plants, and climate technologies. He has scaled revenue, partnerships, and market presence at multiple growth-stage companies, including Sharp’s U.S. energy solutions business, NantEnergy, and Swell Energy.
Throughout his career, Mansfield has led cross-functional global teams, introduced first-of-their-kind market solutions, secured funding, and regularly briefed Boards and strategic investors. His expertise centers on aligning technology with commercial strategy—balancing innovation, execution, and financial performance to accelerate impact. His background spans go-to-market leadership, corporate strategy, fundraising, M&A, and executive team development.
You Have Questions, We Have Answers
Q: ERCOT forecasts a 50% increase in power demand by 2029, largely from data centers, crypto, and industrial growth. From your perspective, what makes Texas especially vulnerable to grid strain compared to other regions?
As ERCOT faces a forecast 50% demand surge by 2029, its status as an “island” grid makes it uniquely vulnerable to strain, which is now compounded by a severe geographic mismatch between new data center load and existing transmission. This disparity creates intense localized congestion and extreme price volatility, particularly during steep evening net-load ramps, demanding a planning solution beyond just new capacity.
BESS are essential for mitigating these localized constraints, leveraging nodal arbitrage to relieve “hot spots” while simultaneously providing system-wide ancillary services. During weather-driven stress, BESS already provides millisecond-fast frequency response, though future resilience will depend on scaling grid-forming inverters for synthetic inertia and deploying longer-duration assets.
Commercially, the BESS case is anchored in near-term arbitrage and ancillary services, but will rapidly expand to include behind-the-meter peak shaving and EV fast-charging support. Ultimately, ERCOT’s reliability hinges on strategically siting these co-optimized storage portfolios, a goal that requires significant interconnection and planning reform to accelerate deployment where the grid needs it most.
Q: You highlight the modularity and scalability of BESS as a faster alternative to traditional grid reinforcements. What are the most compelling examples you’ve seen of BESS being deployed effectively to relieve localized grid restraints in Texas?
When a line is crowded in West Texas, a battery placed right there soaks up extra wind power and then feeds it back during the dinner peak, easing the traffic on that line. In a town with a “weak” substation, even a small battery (think a few megawatts) can calm big price spikes on the worst hour of the hottest day. Around Dallas–Fort Worth, grouping many home and business batteries lets neighborhoods shave their evening peaks so the utility doesn’t have to expedite installing bigger wires. Near Houston’s fast-growing industrial zones, two-hour batteries help cover the sharp ramp when air-conditioning and factories surge at once. During storms, batteries kick in within milliseconds to steady frequency and ride through short dips until backup generation arrives.
Because they’re modular, you can build them in months, add more later, and aim them at the exact trouble spot—buying time while long transmission upgrades catch up.
Q: Keeping extreme weather in mind – how do you see BESS contributing to resilience during grid emergencies, and what’s still needed to fully realize this potential?
Batteries help during Texas grid emergencies by kicking on within milliseconds to steady frequency after a plant or line trips—exactly what ERCOT’s fast ancillary service products (FFR/ECRS) are designed for. They also shift daytime solar and windy-hours energy into the evening peak during heat waves, which recent market reviews link to lower peak prices and fewer emergency conditions.
At the neighborhood level, Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) that group many small batteries can trim local peaks so feeders and substations are less likely to overload. To make this work even better in winter storms, Texas needs continued cold weather hardening and clear performance standards, so batteries and their controls don’t falter in deep freezes. Longer-duration projects (beyond 1–2 hours) would help cover multi-hour scarcity events when bad weather drags on.
Finally, scaling resilience means speeding up interconnections and keeping fair, durable payments for fast response and aggregation—so storage and VPPs are actually paid to show up when it’s most critical.
Q: Beyond grid support, BESS is increasingly being adopted for commercial applications like peak shaving, EV charging, and energy arbitrage. Which of these do you believe will gain the fastest traction in Texas over the next few years?
The quickest path to scalability lies with peak shaving, followed by EV-charging support. Pure energy arbitrage is expected to lag significantly behind as the third option. The business case is clear. Large Commercial & Industrial (C&I) utility bills in Texas feature high “4CP” transmission charges. These are determined by just four peak summer hours. Battery storage can accurately target and reduce consumption during these hours, resulting in significant cost savings for an entire year.
EV charging (fleet depots, retail sites) is next: load is growing fast under Texas’ NEVI build-out and local programs, and storage helps avoid new service upgrades and demand spikes at these sites.
Pure buy-low/sell-high arbitrage is less universal because many customers aren’t on wholesale-indexed rates, and ERCOT’s 2024–25 data show thinner spreads on average (though spikes still happen).
As ERCOT’s ADER pilot expands, more businesses can also stack revenues (e.g., virtual power plant participation), which further boosts the business case for behind-the-meter peak shaving and charger support.
Bottom line: Texas’ rapid load growth makes cost-cutting peak management the near-term winner, with storage-enabled EV charging close behind, while arbitrage remains situational.
Q: Looking ahead, how can Texas businesses and policymakers best leverage BESS as both a financial opportunity and a strategic resilience tool to prepare for projected demand growth?
Think of batteries as the Swiss Army knife for Texas growth. They cut your most significant four summer charges, keep new fast-chargers from blowing up your utility bill, and get paid to show up when the grid is stressed. Start by aiming them at those few peak hours that set next year’s transmission costs; it’s an easy win, real dollars.
Put them next to the loads that are exploding (data halls, industrial clusters) and make interconnection a sprint, not a marathon. Enroll them in virtual power plant programs, so your asset earns during tight conditions instead of sitting idle.
Enable fast frequency response so the same system that trims bills also steadies the grid when a plant trips or a storm hits. And because winter stress lingers, harden the gear and add a slice of three-to-four-hour capacity so you ride through multi-hour events instead of white-knuckling them.