SMT Houston IV aims to provide fast-response power during peak demand.
Irby Construction serves as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor, leveraging its extensive experience in electrical infrastructure. SMT Energy, through its affiliate SMT Houston IV LLC, owns and develops the project, while CenterPoint Energy, the interconnecting utility, facilitates the system’s integration into Houston’s electrical grid. Construction is scheduled to start in May 2025, with completion anticipated by early July 2025.
A groundbreaking ceremony, marked by a symbolic cord-cutting, took place in Houston, attended by representatives from Irby Construction, SMT Energy, CenterPoint Energy, and other project stakeholders. Amanda Cobb Davis, Irby’s Director of Operations for BESS, stated: “We’re excited to work with SMT on this project. We have invested a year of hard work to ensure that the project is engineered efficiently, and we are ready to get our boots on the ground and start construction.”
Kevin Midei, SMT Energy’s EPC Senior Vice-President, said: “This ground-breaking reflects years of detailed planning and collaboration with CenterPoint Energy, Harris County, FlexGen, and Irby Construction Company. Our focus now shifts to executing a tightly managed construction phase, prioritising safety, quality, and schedule from the first day on-site through commissioning.”
Tony Gardner, CenterPoint Energy’s Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer, remarked: “Projects like this demonstrate how collaboration and forward-thinking infrastructure come together to power a more resilient energy future. At CenterPoint, we recently completed nearly 90% of our overall grid resiliency improvements.”
Irby Construction, a Quanta Services company based in Richland, Mississippi, has over 75 years of experience in electric infrastructure. Since constructing the Manatee BESS site in 2019, then the world’s largest BESS, Irby has completed over 30 BESS projects and has more than 20 under construction or contracted. SMT Energy focuses on domestic BESS development, while CenterPoint Energy, headquartered in Houston, serves approximately seven million customers across multiple U.S. states.
