POWER: MATERIALITY and INFRASTRUCTURE

Wind Turbines on Kenedy Ranch on the Stella Wind Farm: A 201-megawatt site featuring 67 turbines near Armstrong, Texas. Photograph by Mary Ellen Carroll / MEC, studios © 2021. Add to calendar Google Calendar iCalendar Outlook 365 Outlook Live About While fossil fuels still dominate the American narrative about energy, Texas and its electrical grid are increasingly powered by renewables. POWER is a public forum that makes visible the material, economic, political, and infrastructural systems shaping the transformation of energy in Texas. Situated within the context of a cultural institution, POWER brings this transformation into public discussion, convening key individuals across the public sector, government, and industry who are actively shaping the field. From the unique vantage point of Houston-the “energy capital” of the world, the forum considers the present and offers a forward-looking perspective on POWER – co-convened by renewable energy developer Joey Romano and conceptual artist Mary Ellen Carroll. Participating Speakers: Jayshree Desai, CFO, Quanta Energy, Photovoltaic, Wind Energy, and StorageJesse Dickerman, Interim Executive Director, Harris County Pollution Control Services | Solar For All |Margo Weisz, Executive Director, Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute (TEPRI) Moderator: Dr. Gökçe Günel, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Rice University (Infrastructure, Energy, Climate) This program will be seated in the Brown Foundation Gallery and is FREE to attend. RSVP is recommended. Seating is limited and available on a first-come basis. RSVP Organizers This program is organized by Joey Romano and Mary Ellen Carroll. About Dr. Gökçe Günel Dr. Gökçe Günel is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Rice University, where her research examines infrastructure, energy, and climate change. She is the author of Spaceship in the Desert and Floating Power: Energy, Infrastructure, and South-South Relations. About Jayshree Desai Jayshree Desai, CFO, Quanta Services,one of North America’s largest builders of energy infrastructure, including electric transmission and distribution systems, substations, and utility-scale wind, solar, and battery-storage facilities. Her career in renewable energy includes leadership roles at EDP Renewables North America, Clean Line Energy Partners, and ConnectGen. About Jesse Dickerman Jesse Dickerman is Interim Executive Director of Harris County Pollution Control Services and has held senior leadership roles in Harris County focused on administration, energy transition, and sustainability. His work has included establishing the County’s Office of Sustainability and helping implement its $250 million Solar for All initiative. About Margo Weisz, ED, TEPRI Margo Weisz is Executive Director of the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute (TEPRI), an independent nonprofit advancing energy solutions for low-income communities across Texas. She helped conceptualize and launch TEPRI and has more than two decades of experience developing initiatives for underserved communities. About Joey Romano Joey Romano is a Houston-based renewable-energy developer. He developed Houston’s first merchant solar-power project and Texas’s first community-solar program in a competitive retail electricity market. About Mary Ellen Carroll Mary Ellen Carroll is a conceptual artist whose work over more than four decades has engaged architecture, public policy, film and media, technology, and language as materials. Their career survey, How To Talk Dirty and Influence People, is on view at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, where POWER emerges from Carroll’s new work SHALL. Related Events View Calendar