Building Carbon Neutral Water Infrastructure in South Texas

CEFTX and STWA Awarded $250,000 Grant to Launch Clean Energy Investment Pipeline

Clean Energy Fund of Texas, Inc. (CEFTX) is proud to announce an exciting new collaboration with South Texas Water Authority (STWA) to build carbon neutral water infrastructure in the Coastal Bend region.

This grant represents a major step toward advancing clean, affordable, and resilient water systems while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, lowering energy costs, and creating long-term benefits for underserved communities in South Texas.

This initiative is made possible by a $250,000 Market-Building Grant from the Municipal Investment Fund The Municipal Investment Fund is a 50-state strategy launched by Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI USA) to empower communities to use public/private investing to accelerate the deployment of clean, abundant, and reliable energy across the country.

Why This Grant Matters for South Texas

The Coastal Bend region is home to cities such as Driscoll, Bishop, Robstown, and Agua Dulce and faces significant challenges in water affordability and energy efficiency. Many of these communities are classified as low-income and disadvantaged (LIDACs), with annual median household incomes well below the Texas average. At the same time, the region is experiencing rapid residential, commercial, and industrial growth.

By aligning clean energy investments with critical water infrastructure, this project will help deliver sustainable growth that directly benefits local families, businesses, and future generations.

Clean Energy Investment Pipeline

With the support of Quantified Ventures (QV) and Water Finance Exchange (WFX), CEFTX and STWA will design a pipeline of clean energy projects that strengthens local capacity and expands access to resilient infrastructure.

This first phase will focus on three strategic areas:

Community Engagement – Partnering with local governments, nonprofits, utilities, and minority-serving institutions to shape clean energy goals and ensure community voices lead the process.

Public-Private Partnerships – Building cross-sector collaborations that bring scalable investment into water and energy systems, with a focus on LIDAC communities.

Project Pipeline Development – Identifying projects such as solar energy, battery storage, and water system upgrades that reduce emissions, create jobs, and improve community resilience.

Looking Ahead at the CEFTX-STWA Collaboration

This is just the beginning. The CEFTX-STWA collaboration is part of a multi-phase plan to:

• Build a roadmap for public-private partnerships that accelerate community-wide clean energy adoption.
• Unite community organizations, labor, businesses, utilities, and renewable energy developers around shared sustainability goals.
• Attract capital to projects that deliver clean energy, affordable water, and long-term resilience for South Texas families.

By combining expertise in clean energy finance, water infrastructure, and regional development, CEFTX, STWA, QV, and WFX are charting a path toward a carbon neutral future in South Texas.

Stay Connected

This collaboration is an important step in delivering clean, resilient, and equitable infrastructure for South Texas. We are grateful to ICLEI and CGC for their support and look forward to sharing updates as the clean energy investment pipeline develops.

Stay connected for progress updates and opportunities to get involved in building a cleaner, more resilient Texas