Energy Policy Advisory Council
The Energy Policy Advisory Council (EPAC) brings together leading researchers and practitioners from top energy institutes, universities, and research institutions across Texas.
The Goal?
To offer a well-researched, in-depth perspective on Texas’ energy landscape to legislators and staff, while delivering evidence-based facts on emerging technologies and solutions.
Our EPAC Advisors are involved across our programs. They primarily work to engage with legislators and offer their expertise, they also provide knowledge and insight to our Energy Fellows, train legislative staff via our Energy Academy, and speak & participate in our Innovation Forums and Tours. Each member of our 2026-2028 Advisory Council can be found below:
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Dr. Derek Adams
Permian Energy Development Lab
Geothermal Energy
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Beth Garza
R Street Institute
Utilities and Demand Response
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Dr. Rusty Towell
Abilene Christian University
Advanced Nuclear Energy
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Dr. Ning Lin
Bureau of Economic Geology
Large Load (data centers and AI) Integration
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Dr. David E. Adelman
UT Austin Law School
Siting Renewables
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Dr. Margaret Cook
Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC)
Energy-Water-Climate Nexus
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Dr. Joshua D. Rhodes
University of Texas at Austin
Electric grid, Energy storage, Energy efficiency, Hydrogen
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Dr. Aparajita Datta
University of Houston
Large Loads and Data Centers, Resource Management
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Olivier Beaufils
Aurora Energy Research
Energy Systems Modeling, Electric Grid, Energy Storage
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Dr. Sue Hovorka
Bureau of Economic Geology
Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage