Irby Construction Company, a leading utility infrastructure provider, has partnered with SMT Energy and CenterPoint Energy to officially break ground on SMT Houston IV, a 160 MW / 320 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in the Houston Zone of the ERCOT market.
The project marks a significant step in enhancing Texas’ grid reliability and resilience through grid-scale energy storage. Once operational, the BESS will deliver fast-response power during peak demand, support grid stability, and integrate renewable energy sources.
Irby Construction is serving as the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor, leveraging its extensive expertise in electrical infrastructure. The project is owned and developed by SMT Energy via its affiliate, SMT Houston IV LLC, while CenterPoint Energy will act as the interconnecting utility, integrating the system into Houston’s broader electrical grid. Construction is set to begin this month, with completion expected by early July.
“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,” said Amanda Cobb Davis, Irby Director of Operations for Battery Energy Storage Systems.
The groundbreaking ceremony featured a symbolic cord-cutting in place of the traditional shovel event—representing a bold stride toward a more electrified and flexible energy future. Key representatives from Irby, SMT Energy, CenterPoint, and other stakeholders were in attendance.
“This groundbreaking 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, prioritizing safety, quality, and schedule from the first day on site through commissioning,” said Kevin Midei, SMT Senior Vice President of EPC. “We are proud to be underway and deliver this grid-strengthening project to Houston.”
“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 percent of our overall grid resiliency improvements. This is one more action we are taking to build a more resilient and reliable grid to better serve our customers,” said Tony Gardner, SVP & Chief Customer Officer, CenterPoint Energy.
SMT Houston IV is expected to play a vital role in ERCOT’s ancillary services markets by delivering high-speed grid balancing and helping mitigate load volatility and renewable energy intermittency.
Irby Construction, a pioneer in BESS infrastructure, began its journey in the space in 2019 with the Manatee BESS project for Florida Power and Light (FPL), then the world’s largest. Since then, Irby has completed over 30 BESS sites, with more than 20 currently under construction or contracted.
