The KBH Energy Center connects academia and industry, fueling collaboration and advancing energy solutions.
This collaboration among UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business, School of Law, Cockrell School of Engineering, and Jackson School of Geosciences, allows the Center to offer students a comprehensive view of energy and enrich the energy dialogue on campus and beyond.
We connect industry leaders, energy experts, students, and faculty to create opportunities for engagement, conversation, and education.
For Students
For Industry Professionals
Annual Symposium and Honoree Dinner
September 11, 2026
Industry Event
Headlined by Michael K. Wirth and Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, this year’s Energy Symposium will convene industry leaders, faculty, and students for a series of insightful panel discussions. It will explore the industry’s most pressing challenges and emerging opportunities shaping the future of energy. To read a summary…
Roger Bonnecaze, Dean, Cockrell School of Engineering at UT Austin
Shane Young
Brandon Joe, Energy Studies Minor Student
2025 KBH Energy Symposium – Conversation with Darren Woods, Chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil and Jack Balagia, The KBH Energy Center’s Executive Director.
Article
On December 11, 2025, the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation launched a new resource page consolidating Clean Air Act guidance for data center developers. The resource is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to accelerate energy infrastructure development and reflects the growing recognition that air permitting has become a critical bottleneck for AI and data center projects.
Data centers, domestic manufacturing, and other drivers of economic growth are generating significant new demand for electricity across the country. Grid operators are working to ensure that new generation capacity keeps pace. In PJM Interconnection—the nation’s largest grid operator—the December 2025 capacity auction fell 5.2% short of reliability requirements for the 2027-2028 delivery year, the first time PJM has experienced such a shortfall. Capacity auctions are a mechanism used in some regions for ensuring enough generation exists to meet projected demand. PJM’s shortfall has prompted two new proposals for how to accelerate new generation.
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