Energy and Water Security: Powering Texas Forward
Energy and Water Security: Powering Texas Forward
Depending on unreliable grids and dwindling water supplies until blackouts hit or droughts devastate is disastrous and a societally destructive way of governing. As it stands, Texans are facing power outages from extreme weather and water shortages that threaten farms, homes, and businesses; and it's being propped up by outdated systems. Doc Pete Chambers will SECURE these essential resources in Texas with a strategic rollout to achieve total energy and water independence and reliability.
Doc will secure energy and water in the same manner he treated wounded Soldiers on the battlefield: stop the bleeding, treat the wounds, and stabilize for long-term care:
- Stop the Bleeding: Roll out portable natural gas (NG) units immediately to add 1-2 GW of backup power in vulnerable zones, averting outages like those in 2021's Winter Storm Uri.
- Treat the Wounds: Initiate coastal desalination projects and grid hardening to supply 1 million acre-feet of fresh water and stable electricity within four years.
- Stabilize for Long-Term Care: Scale micro-nuclear reactors and full desalination networks statewide, ensuring 7 million acre-feet of water and baseload power for decades through legislation pushed in his term.
The Why
Texas is on the brink of a dual crisis: Texas Water Development Board's 2022 State Water Plan projects water supplies falling 18% by 2070 while demand surges 9% amid population growth to 51.5 million, demanding $154 billion in investments to avoid $100-200 billion in yearly economic hits. Energy-wise, Electric Reliability Council of Texas reports demand climbing from 464 billion kWh in 2024 to 487 billion kWh in 2025 – a 5% jump – driven by data centers and expansion, with grid failures like Uri costing $90-130 billion in 2021 alone. Under the current setup, unreliable power disrupts lives and water shortages hammer agriculture practices, leading to loss of generational livelihoods and lives. Since the State oversees ERCOT, TWDB, and Public Utility Commission (PUC), it's the Governor's duty to tackle this growing threat.
Through outdated planning and underinvestment, the State has left most Texans exposed to blackouts and water deficits in critical basins. Massive increases in energy and water reliant tech industry ventures in the State put further drains on an already thinly stretched system.
The How
Shifting to a resilient, integrated energy-water system is both sustainable and integral to the security of our State. No longer will rural areas shoulder droughts without relief or urban centers face blackouts; all benefit from reliable supplies of essential resources. By deploying portable NG, piloting and scaling desalination, and scaling micro-nuclear, we can add 1-2 GW power and 1-2 million acre-feet water initially, with full rollout preventing the projected 2050 catastrophic shortages.
Doc will deliver quick wins by declaring an energy-water emergency and advancing bills in the 2027 Legislative Session focused on grid and supply security. This will authorize portable NG fleets (50+ units at $1-5 billion total, with the State share at $0.5-2 billion) for fast deployment, generating 5,000-15,000 jobs in the process.
Any remaining necessary Special Sessions will fund 5-10 desalination pilot plants (50 MGD each, online in 2.5-4 years), handling brine through regulated offshore discharge or injection to minimize coastal impacts while powering sites with on-site NG (20-30 MW per plant). Brine as Economic Opportunity: Transform brine byproducts into revenue via co-located "brine mining" facilities recovering high-value salts, magnesium, lithium, and bromine (current facilities across the glove generate $5-20 million/year per facility). Data centers, as major water users (projected 399 billion gallons by 2030), will fund 30-50% through PPPs and incentives, creating 1,000+ jobs in mineral processing and offsetting state costs while boosting coastal economies. Water security through desalination will not come without a price. The projected State share in securing our water resources carries with it a $2 to 10 billion price tag (this figure includes the cost of piping and pumping the water to inland areas throughout the State). In order to prevent future administrations and potentially hostile legislatures and courts from overturning the investment in a micro-nuclear program and due to the strict Constitutional provisions on State spending, Doc will also push the legislature to pass a bill providing a Constitutional amendment for micro-nuclear incentives. This will total $2-10 billion, with the State share at $1-5 billion via Texas Energy Fund. The People of Texas will be able to vote on this Constitutional amendment within the first 12 months of Doc swearing in. This locks in foundational gains within Doc's first year, keeping systems operational and setting Texas on a path to long-term energy and water stability.
Grid enhancements will complement ongoing infrastructure upgrades. Fixing multiple previous decades of neglect on our power grid carries a significant cost, but it’s important to be upfront and honest about the price of fixing our problems. The low-end estimates sit at $20 billion and the high-end at 50 billion total, with the State share of those costs at $5-20 billion. Enhancing a thousand miles of transmission lines, weatherizing and hardening the grid, providing storage capacity for peak grid strain times, and enhancing the grid with sensors and limited national grid interoperability in the event of catastrophic emergencies will require multiple years of dedicated focus and hard work. Our electric grid is both a State and national security concern and as the Commander in Chief of Texas, it is the Governor’s responsibility to ensure this security is addressed.
The steep price tag associated with securing our energy and water needs far into the future carry with it a silver lining and a potentially significant return on investment. All projects will create 50,000-200,000 jobs (20,000-100,000+ in construction, 10,000-20,000+ long-term operation and maintenance, plus 1,000+ in brine industries). The return on The People’s initial investment will be 2.5 to 5 times the initial costs between avoided losses, already existing tax revenues, and savings on energy bills. These projects stand to boost GDP by 2-3% annually, primarily benefiting our agriculture, tech, and energy sectors.
Doc Pete Chambers is THE commander to drive energy and water security for our State. Our children, the future (i) generations of Texans, will not inherit a 3rd world hellscape with daily brown & blackouts and dried up farms. That’s not the Texas dream or the American dream and Under Doc Pete Chambers’ leadership, he will ensure that bleak future never happens. We want your feedback on fixing these issues in Texas! Join our discussion on social media so we can make Texas a prosperous place for all future generations.
These are PROPOSED SOLUTIONS subject to the will of The People and specific implementation will occur with future energy and water task force guidance.
Answers to FAQs:
- This plan requires no new taxes to pay for any portion (would need long term legislation to prevent future administrations from adding unnecessary taxes related to it)
- Utility bill impact: Likely $2 to $5 dollar increase per household in short term (1 to 4 years) but long term cut of 10 to 20% on utility bills in years 5+ when more systems come online.
- Data centers would offset for the resources they are using (the data center issue is separate and a local municipality decision not at State level, but we are looking at ways to force transparency and local public consent since it impacts all locals in that municipality, and some municipalities are concealing deals to bring them in)
-Data centers would fund a significant portion through public private partnerships (PPP) since they are utilizing resources at scale.
-Environmental impact through brine management is dealt with through existing environmental protection regulations. No one will be pumping highly concentrated brine directly back into the ocean to kill off fishing and tourism industries. We also utilize on-site brine byproduct conversion facilities to provide jobs and much needed raw resources for Texas industries (salt, magnesium, chlor-alkali feedstock, lithium, bromine, KCI fertilizers, rare earths, gypsum, etc.)
(i) All figures based on official Texas Water Development Board, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, and Public Utility Commission reports, accessible at:
https://www.twdb.texas.gov/waterplanning/swp/index.asp
https://www.ercot.com/gridinfo/load/forecast
https://www.puc.texas.gov/industry/electric/reports/Default.aspx