Could data centers help reshape the power grid? The boom in AI infrastructure is creating challenges for data centers, utility providers and power grids. To help us understand the state of play between data and energy, we turned to Elisa Wood, the founder of Energy Changemakers, which focuses on the future of distributed energy. Elisa has been covering the energy sector for years, and many of you may know her work at Microgrid Knowledge.

We discuss the intersection of energy and data, the potential for innovation and new business models., and the prospect for more data centers with on-site power generation, and what that might mean for the future of the grid.

Join host Rich Miller as he and Elisa Wood examine data centers, AI and the future of power.

Here’s our discussion.

00:00 - Intro and background on Elisa Wood
00:45 - The energy sector’s love-hate relationship with data centers
09:20 - AI demand and the importance of “time to power”
14:30 - On-site power is coming, at Internet scale
16:30 - Regulatory considerations with on-site power
18:45 - How decentralized data center power might shift the future of the grid
21:30 - Natural gas as the bridge to nuclear
23:00 - Communication gaps between the utility and data center sectors
28:00 - Server waste heat reuse and community relations
32:00 - Business model innovation on the utility side

At Data Center Richness we demystify technology and explain why data centers matter, and what comes next for the Internet, cloud computing and AI. Host Rich Miller is a journalist and analyst who has been covering the data center sector for 25 years.

LINKS FROM THIS SHOW :

Energy Changemakers (Elisa's Company) https://energychangemakers.com/

RELATED VIDEO:

How Soon Will Nuclear Data Centers Become A Reality? https://youtu.be/STr3FHuBhok

Why Data Centers Matter in the Age of AI https://youtu.be/9GJSENgbcmk

Supplemental music via Epidemic Sound.