In a significant step toward enhancing grid reliability and energy resiliency in Texas, Irby Construction Company has officially commenced construction on SMT Houston IV, a landmark 160 megawatt / 320 megawatt-hour Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). The groundbreaking event, held in Houston, marks a collaborative initiative between Irby Construction, SMT Energy, and CenterPoint Energy.
Located in the Houston Zone of the ERCOT market, SMT Houston IV is designed to deliver fast-response power during peak demand periods, thereby supporting grid stability and the integration of renewable energy. The project is expected to be completed by early July.
Irby Construction Company, recognized as a premier utility infrastructure solutions provider, is serving as the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor for the project. SMT Energy, through its affiliate SMT Houston IV LLC, is both the owner and developer, while CenterPoint Energy is facilitating the interconnection to Houston’s broader electrical network.
“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 deviated from tradition, featuring a symbolic cord-cutting instead of the customary shovel dig. Representatives from all three organizations, along with key stakeholders, attended the event.
“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.”
Tony Gardner, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at CenterPoint Energy, emphasized the project’s role in broader grid improvements: “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.”
The SMT Houston IV project will also significantly bolster ERCOT’s ancillary services markets by delivering high-speed grid balancing and mitigating the effects of load volatility and renewable intermittency.
Irby Construction has long been a leader in the BESS industry. Since constructing the then-world’s largest BESS project at the Manatee site in 2019 with Florida Power and Light (FPL), the company has built over 30 BESS facilities, with more than 20 currently under construction or under contract.
