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:

  • Dr. Derek Adams

    Permian Energy Development Lab

    Geothermal Energy

  • Beth Garza

    R Street Institute

    Utilities and Demand Response

  • Dr. Rusty Towell

    Abilene Christian University

    Advanced Nuclear Energy

  • Dr. Ning Lin

    Bureau of Economic Geology

    Large Load (data centers and AI) Integration

  • Dr. David E. Adelman

    UT Austin Law School

    Siting Renewables

  • Dr. Margaret Cook

    Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC)

    Energy-Water-Climate Nexus

  • Dr. Joshua D. Rhodes

    University of Texas at Austin

    Electric grid, Energy storage, Energy efficiency, Hydrogen

  • Dr. Aparajita Datta

    University of Houston

    Large Loads and Data Centers, Resource Management

  • Olivier Beaufils

    Aurora Energy Research

    Energy Systems Modeling, Electric Grid, Energy Storage

  • Dr. Sue Hovorka

    Bureau of Economic Geology

    Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage