Open Circuit

Jane Flegal, a senior fellow at the Searchlight Institute and author on aligning data center buildouts with grid policy, discusses using hyperscaler demand to fund coordinated grid upgrades. She explains a grid infrastructure fund, why moratoria miss leverage opportunities, and how federal and state reforms could align private capital with long-term planning.

Hannah Bascom, Chief Growth Officer at Uplight, coordinates programs that turn customer devices into grid flexibility. She explains the “demand stack” that layers efficiency, dynamic pricing, and demand response. The conversation covers Evergy’s case study, AI forecasting for reliable dispatch, one-click device enrollment, and how aggregated customer assets can defer costly grid upgrades.

Brian Janis, co-founder and CCO at Cloverleaf Infrastructure, helps source powered land and unlock grid capacity for digital infrastructure. He dives into the Brattle report claiming better utilization could free ~100 GW. Short takes on how hyperscalers reshaped planning, local impacts of data center siting, the tension between using existing capacity versus building more, and the limits of distributed resources.

Michael Sembalist, chairman of market and investment strategy at JPMorgan and author of the Eye on the Market energy reports, offers a data-driven take on the biggest fights in energy. He breaks down debates on data centers and grid capacity. He discusses oil shock fallout, LNG and emerging markets choices. He also weighs costs and promise of CCUS, green hydrogen, SMRs and industrial electrification.

Julia Hamm, a coalition-builder in the electricity sector, and Jigar Shah, clean-energy entrepreneur and financer, discuss how Iran-related oil and LNG shocks ripple to electricity prices and grid security. They explore whether crises push utilities toward more coal or accelerate distributed solar, batteries, and demand-response. The conversation highlights BYO distributed capacity models, regulatory hurdles, and why large customers matter for grid flexibility.

A behind-the-scenes look at the White House pledge tying data centers to their own power costs. Three competing models for powering AI are compared: renewables plus long-duration storage, ad-hoc gas builds, and a broad grid modernization mix. The conversation digs into tariff design, utility resistance, and who ultimately pays for AI’s electricity.

They unpack how capital flowed selectively in 2025 amid shifting tariffs, FIAC guidance, and policy whiplash. They highlight why renewables and batteries captured most investment while manufacturing stalled. They explore evolving deal structures, tax-credit safe harbors, and how storage is stacking value to outcompete gas for reliability.

Cindy Taff, CEO of Sage Geosystems and former oil & gas well engineer, explains gravity‑fracture geothermal and underground long‑duration energy storage. She describes pumping pressure deep underground to act like inverted pumped hydro. The discussion covers rapid build of a first commercial facility, a rural cooperative partnership in Texas, and scaling via industry ties like Ormat.

Big tech’s unprecedented $600+ billion infrastructure push and investor unease over that spending. Debate over whether tech firms are built for massive physical builds or need outside capital and discipline. The wild idea of space-based data centers, with practical limits like cooling, radiation, latency, and launch costs. Tesla’s ambitious solar manufacturing plans and shifting political support for domestic panels.

A lively look at whether next-generation geothermal can become bankable infrastructure and attract big IPO money. The conversation contrasts different technical approaches, financing choices, and tech-company partnerships shaping scale-up. It also explores risks from unmanaged fossil-fuel decline and policy levers to steer a smoother energy transition.