Total BESS-Related Ads
1,600+
matching battery/energy storage reaching TX
Dominant Spender
$1.5M+
GoodPower alone · 1,384 ads
Pro-BESS Advertisers
8
national advocacy + local groups
Anti-BESS Advertisers
3
hyperlocal, under $3K total spend
Key Finding
The BESS ad war in Texas is the most lopsided energy battle on Meta. Pro-BESS forces, led by the foundation-funded GoodPower ($1.5M–$2M, 1,384 ads), outspend opposition groups by a ratio exceeding 500 to 1. Yet despite this spending disparity, grassroots anti-BESS movements have achieved tangible legislative and regulatory victories—including the first-ever local BESS project kill in Texas (Rock Creek, Kendall County)6 and the passage of HB 3809, which imposes decommissioning mandates the industry warns could threaten project viability.8
The data reveals a two-year escalation arc: a pro-BESS advertising surge in mid-2024 was met by real-world opposition victories in early 2025, catalyzed by the Moss Landing battery fire in California.5 Money is winning the ad war. Organizing is winning the policy war.
Monthly Ad Landscape — Battery Energy Storage (National, Reaching Texas)
Annotated Spend Timeline
Monthly ad volume and spend for "battery energy storage" ads reaching Texas, with key real-world events overlaid
GoodPower: Monthly Ad Spend
$1.5M–$2M total spend across 1,384 ads (Jan 2024 – Feb 2026). GoodPower is the single dominant advertiser in the BESS space nationally.
Interpreting the GoodPower Surge
GoodPower launched in January 2024 and immediately began scaling. By August 2024, it was spending $416K–$543K/month on 413 ad variants—a massive A/B testing operation. This coincided with Hurricane Beryl knocking out power across Houston in July 2024, giving grid-resilience messaging a real-world hook. Spending tapered through late 2024, then surged again in Q1 2025 as the Texas legislature convened and BESS-hostile bills were filed. GoodPower is backed by the MacArthur Foundation
1 and describes itself as working to "accelerate the global transition to a renewable economy that works for everyone."
14
Spend Share by Advertiser
Pro-BESS advertisers only (anti-BESS spend too small to register)
Pro vs. Anti Spending
The spending asymmetry is extreme—anti-BESS groups have spent less than $3K total across two years
500:1 Spend Ratio
The combined pro-BESS ad spend exceeds $1.6M. All identified anti-BESS advertisers combined have spent under $3K. This is not a "debate" on Meta—it is a one-sided messaging operation with negligible organized opposition on the platform.
Real-World Context — Two Years of BESS Battles in Texas
Timeline of Key Events
The advertising data cannot be understood without the legislative, regulatory, and community events that shaped it. This timeline connects the ad activity to the real world.
Jan 2024
GoodPower launches. The MacArthur Foundation-backed
1 advocacy group begins its national ad campaign with Texas as a primary target state. Within months it becomes the largest BESS advertiser in the country.
Feb–Apr 2024
Texas Land & Liberty Coalition active. A project of Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation runs pro-renewables/pro-BESS ads framed around property rights ($27K–$35K spend). Uses conservative messaging: "energy independence," "don't let big government tell you what to do with your land."
Jul 8, 2024
Hurricane Beryl devastates Houston. 2.7M customers lose power.
2 League City Residents for Grid Resilience launches a pro-BESS ad campaign citing Beryl as evidence storage is needed (77 ads through November).
Aug 2024
GoodPower peaks at $416K–$543K/month. 413 ad variants in a single month—the most aggressive BESS ad blitz ever recorded on Meta. Likely responding to both the Beryl aftermath and emerging legislative threats.
Oct 2024
Katy City Council rejects Vesper Energy's 500MW BESS.3 The proposal near Katy High School is denied after sustained homeowner opposition. The fight becomes a template for local anti-BESS organizing statewide.
Nov 2024
Texas GOP passes anti-BESS resolution.4 The Republican Party of Texas formally calls for BESS regulation, citing "more than 1,000 BESS plants in production or planning" and foreign ownership concerns. HB 1378 (500-yard setback) and HB 1343 (PUCT permitting) filed.
Jan 16, 2025
Moss Landing battery fire (California).5 The world's largest lithium-ion BESS burns for days. 1,200 evacuated.
5a 55,000 lbs of toxic metals deposited.
5b This event becomes the single most effective argument for anti-BESS organizers nationwide—including in Texas.
Jan 2025
Rock Creek BESS abandoned in Kendall County.6 East Point Energy (Equinor subsidiary)
6a pulls its 250MW proposal near Comfort after the Hill Country Energy Sub-Regional Planning Commission and fire marshal impose strict requirements. First local BESS kill in Texas.
Mar 2025
Fannin County becomes a flashpoint. Engie's BESS near Savoy draws fierce opposition. Rep. Shelley Luther joins residents at hearings.
7 Engie sues the county, claiming officials "moved the goalposts at every turn."
7a
May 29, 2025
Gov. Abbott signs HB 3809.8 Mandates full decommissioning of all BESS facilities including buried cables and foundations. Industry groups warn the law could make marginal projects uneconomic.
8a Effective Sep 1, 2025.
End of 2025
ERCOT battery capacity nearly doubles in one year. From 8.6GW to 13.9GW.
9 Texas now has more battery storage than all states except California combined. New grid-connection applications fall 50% in H2 2025, however, signaling cooling investment.
9a
Nov 2025
Vesper Energy appeals to PUC.10 After Katy's rejection, the developer asks the Public Utility Commission of Texas to overrule the city's zoning decision. ERCOT files a direct interest in the outcome.
10a Decision delayed.
Jan 21–28, 2026
Winter Storm Fern. Batteries provide 9.5% of grid power at peak, generating 7,000+ MW (enough for 1.75M homes).
11 GoodPower immediately deploys 11+ ad variants citing storm resilience. The grid holds—a victory for BESS proponents.
Dec 2025
"Don't BESS With Menard" runs first ad. Menard County grassroots opposition. Ran without required disclaimer. Minimal spend ($0–$99) but symbolic of the community-level organizing spreading across rural Texas.
Advertiser Landscape — All Identified BESS Advertisers Reaching Texas
| Advertiser |
Ads |
Total Spend Est. |
Active Period |
Stance |
Objective |
GoodPower GoodPower, Inc · MacArthur Foundation-backed 1 |
1,384 |
$1.5M–$2M |
Jan 2024–present |
Pro-BESS |
Awareness / Persuasion |
Texas Land & Liberty Coalition Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation |
17 |
$27K–$35K |
Jan–Nov 2024 |
Pro-BESS |
Persuasion (conservative frame) |
Apex Clean Energy Developer · Apex Clean Energy |
26 |
$23K–$32K |
Mar 2024–Apr 2025 |
Pro-BESS |
Reputation / Brand |
Greenlight Action Rockefeller Brothers Fund grantee |
10 |
$15K–$18K |
May 2025–Jan 2026 |
Pro |
Mobilization / YIMBY |
Public Citizen Texas Public Citizen Inc |
83 |
$12.5K–$22K |
Mar 2024–present |
Pro |
Mobilization |
League City Residents for Grid Resilience Self-funded (Galveston County) |
77 |
$2.2K–$9.8K |
Jul–Nov 2024 |
Pro-BESS |
Awareness / Mobilization |
Texas Sierra Club Sierra Club |
48 |
$1K–$5.8K |
Mar 2025–present |
Pro |
Accountability (scorecards) |
Life: Powered Texas Public Policy Foundation |
15 |
$800–$2.3K |
Mar 2024–Jul 2025 |
Anti-Renewables |
Persuasion (anti-subsidy) |
Dan Smith — Waller Co. Commissioner Dan Smith For Katy |
5 |
$100–$595 |
Jan–Feb 2026 |
Anti-BESS |
Campaign (Katy siting fight) |
Don't BESS With Menard No disclaimer · Menard County grassroots |
1 |
$0–$99 |
Dec 2025 |
Anti-BESS |
Opposition (grassroots) |
Odessa Headlines Local news / Ector County |
1 |
$100–$199 |
Aug 2025 |
Issue |
Journalism (tax abatement) |
Messaging Landscape — How Each Side Frames the Fight
Pro-BESS Messaging Tracks
Grid Resilience & Storm Response
"With Winter Storm Fern, we once again saw power plant outages. We need a stronger and more weather-resilient power grid."
— GoodPower (deployed within 48 hrs of Fern, 11+ variants)
BESS Education
"BESS allow us to hold on to extra power from wind, solar, and more, so the grid stays strong. These systems are safe, proven, and getting better every year."
— GoodPower (highest single-ad spend: $2K–$2.5K, 250K impr.)
Property Value Myth-Busting
"Fact check: Battery storage won't hurt your property values."
— GoodPower (direct counter to opposition arguments)
Conservative Property Rights Frame
"Don't let big government tell you what you can or cannot do on your land."
— Texas Land & Liberty Coalition ($15K–$20K on this message alone)
YIMBY & Anti-Misinformation
"Local clean energy projects are being blocked by fossil fuel misinformation—just as federal tax credits are about to expire."
— Greenlight Action ($3.5K–$4K on this variant)
Legislative Accountability
"Some legislators put [affordable energy] at risk by threatening renewable energy and necessary battery storage. Let them know Texans are watching."
— Texas Sierra Club (2025 legislative scorecard campaign)
Anti-BESS Messaging Tracks
Schools & Children Safety
"When a massive lithium-ion battery storage facility was proposed next to Katy High School, I stepped up, asked the tough questions, and made the motion to stop it."
— Dan Smith, Waller County Commissioner (6K+ impressions)
Community Identity / Grassroots Branding
"Don't BESS With Menard" — page name as slogan. No formal ad text; the brand IS the message.
— Don't BESS With Menard (ran without required disclaimer)
Anti-Subsidy / Cost Frame
"The 'Green Revolution' is costing you more than you think. It's branded as clean, green, and the future—but the reality is it's raising your electricity bills."
— Life: Powered (Texas Public Policy Foundation)
The Opposition Asymmetry
Anti-BESS forces have spent less than $3K on Meta across two years. But their real battlefield isn't Facebook—it's county commissioners' courts, public hearings, and the state legislature. The Katy BESS rejection, Rock Creek abandonment, HB 3809's passage, and the Fannin County lawsuit all happened without significant digital ad spending. Opposition organizing happens through local Facebook groups, NextDoor, county meetings, and news coverage—channels that don't register in the Ad Library.
Neutral / Issue-Adjacent
Tax Abatement Accountability
"Judge Fawcett Praises Battery Company for Only Taking a 71.6% Tax Break... Commissioners approved a 71.6% tax abatement for a $200 million battery storage facility."
— Odessa Headlines (local journalism, Ector County)
Advertiser Deep Dives
GoodPower is the dominant force in BESS advertising nationally. The organization describes its mission as accelerating "the global transition to a renewable economy that works for everyone."14 It runs a sophisticated multi-track operation with distinct messaging for different contexts: BESS education, storm response, myth-busting, economic benefits, wind energy defense, and utility bill framing. Texas is a top-3 target state (627 of 1,384 ads reach TX), alongside Pennsylvania (679) and Ohio (688). The operation deploys massive A/B testing—413 variants in a single month (Aug 2024)—suggesting a well-funded digital operation with professional optimization.
"Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are a concept that most of us are still trying to wrap our heads around, so let's break it down. BESS allow us to hold on to extra power from wind, solar, and more, so the grid stays strong."
A project of Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation, this group frames renewables and BESS through a property-rights and energy-independence lens designed to appeal to conservative Texans. The framing is deliberate: "big government" is the enemy, not energy companies. Critics have called the national Land & Liberty Coalition network "liberal-funded front groups who use conservative-sounding language,"12 though the organization describes itself as an alliance of local landowners, farmers, and community leaders. Active through November 2024, then went dark—its largest single ad ($15K–$20K) was a property-rights call to action.
"Don't let big government tell you what you can or cannot do on your land. Join us to fight to preserve private property rights."
A hyperlocal pro-BESS group in Galveston County that launched immediately after Hurricane Beryl knocked out power in July 2024. Ran 77 ads in five months with consistent messaging about grid resilience, BESS benefits, and post-hurricane recovery. The page activated quickly and ran on a tight schedule (new ads every few days), suggesting organized campaign management. Messaging consistently referenced Beryl and summer heat as evidence of BESS necessity. Went silent after November 2024.
"The loss of electricity leaves many Texas residents concerned after being affected by Hurricane Beryl. The installation of battery energy storage systems brings us toward a more reliable future."
A clean energy developer running brand-awareness and reputation campaigns. Two Texas-specific ads directly reference Winter Storm Uri and battery storage's role in grid resilience. Broader campaign covers sustainability reports, conservation grants, job creation, and domestic manufacturing. This is corporate reputation management—Apex develops renewable projects and has a direct commercial interest in favorable public opinion.
"Winter Storm Uri helped Texas recognize the need to update its aging infrastructure... thanks in part to the growth of battery storage across the state, the electrical grid has withstood record heat waves and other storms."
A local elected official using BESS opposition as a campaign platform. Smith's ads center on the Katy High School siting fight—a 500MW Vesper Energy proposal that the Katy City Council rejected in October 2024. His messaging follows the classic safety-near-schools playbook. Despite minimal Meta spend, Smith's real impact was at the commissioners' court level, where he claims to have "made the motion to stop it." The Vesper/Katy fight continues—the developer has appealed to the PUC to overrule the city.10
"Public safety comes first. Always. When a massive lithium-ion battery storage facility was proposed next to Katy High School, I stepped up, asked the tough questions, and made the motion to stop it."
The Texas Public Policy Foundation's energy project doesn't attack BESS specifically but argues that wind and solar subsidies are raising Texas electricity prices and undermining grid reliability. Their framing positions nuclear as the solution and renewables (including battery storage) as the problem. TPPF is a major conservative think tank with fossil fuel industry funding.13 Their Meta ad spend is minimal, but their influence operates through legislative testimony, policy papers, and earned media rather than paid social.
"The 'Green Revolution' is costing you more than you think. It's branded as clean, green, and the future—but the reality is it's raising your electricity bills."
GoodPower Geographic & Demographic Reach
GoodPower: Top 10 States by Ad Reach
Number of ads delivered to each state (of 1,384 total). GoodPower runs a national operation; Texas is one of several priority states.
Delivery Demographics
Aggregate audience composition across all 1,384 GoodPower ads. Data reflects delivery, not targeting intent.
Delivery Data vs. Targeting Intent
All Ad Library demographic and geographic data shows delivery results (who saw the ad), not targeting inputs. GoodPower's slight female lean and 45–64 concentration could reflect explicit targeting, first-party audience lists, algorithmic optimization toward responsive users, or creative resonance with those demographics. The broad national distribution across 30+ states suggests GoodPower is running a national awareness campaign rather than Texas-specific targeting.
Strategic Assessment
Strategic Takeaway
The Texas BESS ad landscape is the clearest example of an asymmetric information war in American energy politics. One side—the pro-BESS coalition led by GoodPower—has spent over $1.6 million on Meta in two years, deploying nearly 1,600 ads with professional creative, rapid-response messaging (Winter Storm Fern ads within 48 hours), and sophisticated A/B testing at scale. The other side has spent less than $3,000.
Yet the policy outcomes tell a different story. Anti-BESS forces—operating through county commissioners' courts, public hearings, legislative testimony, and grassroots organizing—have achieved concrete victories: the Katy BESS rejection,3 the Rock Creek abandonment in the Hill Country,6 HB 3809's decommissioning mandates,8 and the Texas GOP's formal anti-BESS resolution.4 The Fannin County fight produced a lawsuit (Engie v. Fannin County)7a that could set statewide precedent. The Moss Landing fire5 gave opposition organizers a visceral, visual argument that no amount of ad spend can fully counter.
The strategic dynamic is clear: pro-BESS money dominates the digital narrative, but anti-BESS organizing dominates the regulatory and legislative arena. GoodPower's $1.5M+ is buying awareness and sentiment—but awareness doesn't vote at commissioners' court. The real question is whether the PUC ruling on the Vesper/Katy appeal10 will establish a precedent that overrides local opposition, effectively shifting the battleground from county-level politics to state-level regulation.
Notable absences: No major Texas energy trade associations (TXOGA, Texas Solar Power Association) are running BESS ads. No BESS developers beyond Apex have their own branded ad campaigns. The "Don't BESS With Texas" movement, despite a website and social presence, has no paid Meta advertising. The advertising war is being fought almost entirely by national advocacy organizations—GoodPower, Greenlight Action, the Sierra Club—while local actors on both sides operate through channels the Ad Library cannot see.
Methodology & Limitations
Search parameters: This report analyzes political, social, and issue ads from the Meta Ad Library API matching keywords including "battery energy storage," "BESS," "battery storage Texas," "grid resilience," and related terms, delivered to users in the United States with Texas as a delivery region, between February 10, 2024 and February 10, 2026. Additional page-specific queries were run for all identified advertisers.
Spend figures: Meta reports spend as ranges (e.g., "$1,000–$1,499"), not exact amounts. All spend figures in this report use these ranges. Total spend for an advertiser is calculated by summing the individual ad ranges.
Delivery vs. targeting: All demographic and geographic data reflects ad delivery (who saw the ad), not advertiser targeting selections. Delivery patterns can be influenced by first-party data, lookalike audiences, algorithmic optimization, creative resonance, and platform demographics—not only explicit targeting choices.
Keyword limitations: Ads that discuss BESS-related topics without using the searched keywords will not appear. Opposition groups may use different terminology (e.g., "battery plant," "lithium facility") that evades keyword-based searches. Organic posts, Facebook group activity, and community organizing on other platforms are not captured.
Scope: This report covers only ads classified as political, social, or issue ads under Meta's Ad Library policies. Commercial advertising for energy products or services is not included.