Podcasts about MW

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Latest podcast episodes about MW

C.O.B. Tuesday
"The Process Of Building Credibility To Deliver In This Space Is Grueling" Featuring Dr. Mike Laufer, Kairos Power

C.O.B. Tuesday

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2026 59:50


Today we had the pleasure of hosting Dr. Mike Laufer, Co-Founder and CEO of Kairos Power, for a robust nuclear-focused discussion. Kairos recently marked its nine-year anniversary and has grown to 500+ employees across its headquarters in Alameda, CA, its manufacturing development campus in Albuquerque, NM, and its Hermes Demonstration Reactor Campus in Oak Ridge, TN. Kairos is developing its fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR), which pairs TRISO pebble fuel with a low-pressure molten-salt coolant (“Flibe”) and is designed for modular deployment, including a two-reactor/one-turbine configuration delivering up to ~150 MWe. The company's Oak Ridge program includes Hermes 1, the first non-water-cooled reactor to receive an NRC construction permit, and Hermes 2, a commercial-scale demonstration plant intended to supply electricity to the grid. Mike earned his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. His research included work in reactor safety, design, licensing, and code validation for advanced non-light water reactors. We were thrilled to visit with Mike. In our conversation, Mike shares the early vision behind Kairos, the company's focus on U.S. electricity markets and building a reactor that can compete on cost, and their strategy centered on iterative hardware demonstrations and vertical integration. We discuss system-level parallelization, developing upstream/downstream “balance-of-plant” elements alongside reactor work to compress timelines and de-risk full-system integration, NRC engagement dating back to 2018, safety case fundamentals, sizing and product configuration, and how the Google partnership supports a sequence of deployments toward ~500 MW by 2035 (Google announcement linked here). Mike offers a realistic view of the nuclear learning curve and what it takes to drive down cost and schedule uncertainty over successive projects, how Kairos structured the Google deployment pathway, and the importance of setting achievable targets. We touch on how SMR winners and losers will be determined by project execution and delivery, not announcements, and Mike highlights common pitfalls in the conventional U.S. nuclear project model, including fragmented roles and misaligned incentives. We discuss Kairos's centralized “hub” model with clear decision-making authority, its approach to validating partners and execution steps at smaller scale before taking on multi-billion-dollar FOAK risk, and how the organization maintains efficiency by balancing multiple deliverables and hiring “wildly competent” people comfortable with ambiguity. We also cover how commodity inflation and supply-chain depth affect planning, Kairos's focus on strategic supplier partnerships, particularly in steel, concrete, and precast concrete, the importance of public trust and earning long-term community support, how non-nuclear test systems build real operating capability and flexible operating models, how AI may eventually improve execution and reliability, and much more. We're very grateful to Mike for sharing his time and expertise with us. Mike Bradley kicked off the show by noting that the 10-year U.S. bond yield appears to have temporarily stabilized around 4.2% and is awaiting Wednesday's FOMC rate decision. Most expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged, though volatility could ensue if they don't! On the crude oil front, WTI price has inched up to $62/bbl amid continued bearishness in financial contract length and recent severe winter weather. There's speculation that this Polar Vortex (which we've dubbed the “Polar Pig”) has reduced U.S. oil production by ~1.5mmbpd. On the natural gas front, the Polar Pig has spiked prompt U.S. natural gas price to ~$6/MM

The Energy Gang
How a Texas electric co-op rebuilt for reliability | Sponsored content from Rayburn Electric

The Energy Gang

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2026 45:26


As Texas battles another bout of bitterly cold weather, Energy Gang looks at the lessons that one generation and transmission electric co-operative learned from Winter Storm Uri in 2021. The freeze and subsequent shock to energy prices showed providers how dangerous it can be to rely on the market alone.For Rayburn Electric, a not-for-profit, member-owned cooperative, incurring years of power costs in just days was a catalyst for a fundamental reset of its approach to risk and resilience.Host Ed Crooks is joined by Rayburn's President & CEO David Naylor, and General Counsel Chris Anderson, to hear the story of how they rethought how the co-op could best serve its members, and implemented its new strategy. The crucial steps included a first-of-its-kind securitization for a co-op, to spread costs over decades, and a strategic pivot toward owning generation as a natural hedge for its electricity sales. The co-op bought a power plant, now called the Rayburn Energy Station, and has RES 2 in the works, to meet reliability needs amid rapid load growth. David and Chris share what changedinside the organization too, driven by the principle that ‘status quo is not company policy.' Operating exclusively within ERCOT, Rayburn provides power to approximately 625,000 Texans across sixteen counties, working collaboratively with four local distribution co-ops. Its infrastructure includes more than 265 miles of transmission lines and more than 1,000 MW of owned generation capacity, including the Rayburn Energy Station, a combined-cycle natural gas plant added to strengthen reliability after Winter Storm Uri.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Quick Charge
Electric take on winter weather while Tesla's sales slide continues

Quick Charge

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2026


On today's icy cold episode of Quick Charge, the only thing colder than the air outside most Americans' homes is the demand for Tesla Cybertrucks – so we've got some EV-focused tips on making it through the cold while Elon begins shipping CTs overseas. We've got plenty of tips for home solar and backup battery systems today, as well as some links to older posts about vehicle-to-home capable systems and, of course, some cold weather driving tips for EV drivers who may not be used to these chilly conditions. All that, Tesla sales, and some big batteries in North Carolina – enjoy! Source Links Home solar in rural America: how much battery do you need in a winter storm? Home solar in rural America: how much battery do you need to run a well pump? It's time to start recommending some Tesla Powerwall alternatives Here are 8 tips for the best EV winter range and performance Yes, an EV really CAN power your home – if it's one of these Tesla brings Cybertruck to Middle East amid US demand collapse Xiaomi SU7 outsells Tesla Model 3 in China for the first time Duke Energy brings $100M, 50 MW battery project online Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We'll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don't miss a minute of Electrek's high-voltage podcast series. Got news? Let us know!Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show. If you're considering going solar, it's always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it's free to use, and you won't get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.  Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you'll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

The Data Center Frontier Show
Applied Digital CEO Wes Cummins

The Data Center Frontier Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2026 29:10


Applied Digital CEO Wes Cummins joins Data Center Frontier Editor-in-Chief Matt Vincent to break down what it takes to build AI data centers that can keep pace with Nvidia-era infrastructure demands and actually deliver on schedule. Cummins explains Applied Digital's “maximum flexibility” design philosophy, including higher-voltage delivery, mixed density options, and even more floor space to future-proof facilities as power and cooling requirements evolve. The conversation digs into the execution reality behind the AI boom: long-lead power gear, utility timelines, and the tight MEP supply chain that will cause many projects to slip in 2026–2027. Cummins outlines how Applied Digital locked in key components 18–24 months ago and scaled from a single 100 MW “field of dreams” building to roughly 700 MW under construction, using fourth-generation designs and extensive off-site MEP assembly—“LEGO brick” skids—to boost speed and reduce on-site labor risk. On cooling, Cummins pulls back the curtain on operating direct-to-chip liquid cooling at scale in Ellendale, North Dakota, including the extra redundancy layers—pumps, chillers, dual loops, and thermal storage—required to protect GPUs and hit five-nines reliability. He also discusses aligning infrastructure with Nvidia's roadmap (from 415V toward 800V and eventually DC), the customer demand surge pushing capacity planning into 2028, and partnerships with ABB and Corintis aimed at next-gen power distribution and liquid cooling performance.

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast
Siemens Rejects SGRE Sale, Quali Drone Thermal Imaging

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2026 31:59


Allen, Joel, and Yolanda discuss Siemens Energy’s decision to keep their wind business despite pressure from hedge funds, with the CEO projecting profitability by 2026. They cover the company’s 21 megawatt offshore turbine now in testing and why it could be a game changer. Plus, Danish startup Quali Drone demonstrates thermal imaging of spinning blades at an offshore wind farm, and Alliant Energy moves forward with a 270 MW wind project in Wisconsin using next-generation Nordex turbines. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast brought to you by Strike Tape, protecting thousands of wind turbines from lightning damage worldwide. Visit strike tape.com. And now your hosts, Alan Hall, Rosemary Barnes, Joel Saxon, and Yolanda Padron. Welcome to the  Allen Hall: Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. I’m your host, Alan Hall. I’m here with Yolanda Padron and Joel Saxon. Rosemary Burns is climbing the Himalayas this week, and our top story is Semen’s Energy is rejecting the sail of their wind business, which is a very interesting take because obviously Siemens CESA has struggled. Recently due to some quality issues a couple of years ago, and, and back in 2024 to 25, that fiscal year, they lost a little over 1 billion euros. But the CEO of Siemens energy says they’re gonna stick with the business and that they’re getting a lot of pressure, obviously, from hedge funds to do something with that business to, to raise the [00:01:00] valuations of Siemens energy. But, uh, the CEO is saying, uh, that. They’re not gonna spin it off and that would not solve any of the problems. And they’re, they’re going to, uh, remain with the technology, uh, for the time being. And they think right now that Siemens Gomesa will be profitable in 2026. That’s an interesting take, uh, Joel, because we haven’t seen a lot of sales onshore or offshore from Siemens lately.  Joel Saxum: I think they’re crazy to lose. I don’t wanna put this in US dollars ’cause it resonates with my mind more, but 1.36 billion euros is probably what, 1.8 million or 1.8. Billion dollars.  Allen Hall: Yeah. It’s, it’s about that. Yeah.  Joel Saxum: Yeah. So, so it’s compounding issues. We see this with a lot of the OEMs and blade manufacturers and stuff, right? They, they didn’t do any sales of their four x five x platform for like a year while they’re trying to reset the issues they had there. And now we know that they’re in the midst of some blade issues where they’re swapping blades at certain wind farms and those kind of things.[00:02:00] But when they went to basically say, Hey, we’re back in the market, restarting, uh, sales. Yolanda, have you heard from any of your blade network of people buying those turbines?  Yolanda Padron: No, and I think, I mean, we’ve seen with other OEMs when they try to go back into getting more sales, they focus a lot on making their current customers happy, and I’m not sure that I’ve seen that with the, this group. So it’s, it’s just a little bit of lose lose on both sides.  Joel Saxum: Yeah. And if you’re, if you’re trying to, if you’re having to go back and basically patch up relationships to make them happy. Uh, that four x five x was quite the flop, uh, I would say, uh, with the issues that it had. So, um, there’s, that’d be a lot of, a lot of, a lot of nice dinners and a lot of hand kissing and, and all kinds of stuff to make those relationships back to what they were. Allen Hall: But at the time, Joel, that turbine fit a specific set of the marketplace, they had basically complete control of that when the four x five [00:03:00] x. Was an option and and early on it did seem to have pretty wide adoption. They were making good progress and then the quality issues popped up. What have we seen since and more recently in terms of. The way that, uh, Siemens Ga Mesa has restructured their business. What have we heard?  Joel Saxum: Well, they, they leaned more and pointed more towards offshore, right? They wanted to be healthy in, they had offshore realm and make sales there. Um, and that portion, because it was a completely different turbine model, that portion went, went along well, but in the meantime, right, they fit that four x five x and when I say four x five x, of course, I mean four megawatt, five megawatt slot, right? And if you look at, uh, the models that are out there for the onshore side of things. That, that’s kind of how they all fit. There was like, you know, GE was in that two x and, and, uh, uh, you know, mid two X range investors had the two point ohs, and there’s more turbine models coming into that space. And in the US when you go above basically 500 foot [00:04:00] above ground level, right? So if your elevation is a thousand, once you hit 1500 for tip height on a turbine, you get into the next category of FAA, uh, airplane problems. So if you’re going to put in a. If you were gonna put in a four x or five x machine and you’re gonna have to deal with those problems anyways, why not put a five and a half, a six, a 6.8, which we’ve been seeing, right? So the GE Cypress at 6.8, um, we’re hearing of um, not necessarily the United States, but envision putting in some seven, uh, plus megawatt machines out there on shore. So I think that people are making the leap past. Two x three x, and they’re saying like, oh, we could do a four x or five x, but if we’re gonna do that, why don’t we just put a six x in? Allen Hall: Well, Siemens has set itself apart now with a 21 megawatt, uh, offshore turbine, which is in trials at the moment. That could be a real game changer, particularly because the amount of offshore wind that’ll happen around Europe. Does that then if you’re looking at the [00:05:00] order book for Siemens, when you saw a 21 Mega Hut turbine, that’s a lot of euros per turbine. Somebody’s projecting within Siemens, uh, that they’re gonna break even in 2026. I think the way that they do that, it has to be some really nice offshore sales. Isn’t that the pathway?  Joel Saxum: Yeah. You look at the megawatt class and what happened there, right? So what was it two years ago? Vestas? Chief said, we are not building anything past the 15 megawatt right now. So they have their, their V 2 36 15 megawatt dark drive model that they’re selling into the market, that they’re kind of like, this is the cap, like we’re working on this one now we’re gonna get this right. Which to be honest with you, that’s an approach that I like. Um, and then you have the ge So in this market, right, the, the big megawatt offshore ones for the Western OEMs, you have the GE 15 megawatt, Hayley IX, and GE. ISS not selling more of those right now. So you have Vestas sitting at 15, GE at 15, but not doing anymore. [00:06:00] And GE was looking at developing an 18, but they have recently said we are not doing the 18 anymore. So now from western OEMs, the only big dog offshore turbine there is, is a 21. And again, if you were now that now this is working out opposite inverse in their favor, if you were going to put a 15 in, it’s not that much of a stretch engineering wise to put a 21 in right When it comes to. The geotechnical investigations and how we need to make the foundations and the shipping and the this and the, that, 15 to 21, not that big of a deal, but 21 makes you that much, uh, more attractive, uh, offshore.  Allen Hall: Sure if fewer cables, fewer mono piles, everything gets a little bit simpler. Maybe that’s where Siemens sees the future. That would, to me, is the only slot where Siemens can really gain ground quickly. Onshore is still gonna be a battle. It always is. Offshore is a little more, uh, difficult space, obviously, just because it’s really [00:07:00] Chinese turbines offshore, big Chinese turbines, 25 plus megawatt is what we’re talking about coming outta China or something. European, 21 megawatt from Siemens.  Joel Saxum: Do the math right? That, uh, if, if you have, if you have won an offshore auction and you need to backfill into a megawatts or gigawatts of. Of demand for every three turbines that you would build at 15 or every four turbines you build at 15, you only need three at 21. Right? And you’re still a little bit above capacity. So the big, one of the big cost drivers we know offshore is cables. You hit it on the head when you’re like, cables, cables, cables, inter array cables are freaking expensive. They’re not only expensive to build and lay, they’re expensive to ensure, they’re expensive to maintain. There’s a lot of things here, so. When you talk about saving costs offshore, if you look at any of those cool models in the startup companies that are optimizing layouts and all these great things, a lot of [00:08:00] them are focusing on reducing cables because that’s a big, huge cost saver. Um, I, I think that’s, I mean, if I was building one and, and had the option right now, that’s where I would stare at offshore. Allen Hall: Does anybody know when that Siemens 21 megawatt machine, which is being evaluated at a test site right now, when that will wrap up testing, is it gonna be in the next couple of months?  Joel Saxum: I think it’s at Estro.  Allen Hall: Yeah, it is, but I don’t remember when it was started. It was sometime during the fall of last year, so it’s probably been operational three, four months at this point. Something like that.  Joel Saxum: If you trust Google, it says full commercial availability towards the end, uh, of 28.  Allen Hall: 28. Do you think that the, uh, that Siemens internally is trying to push that to the left on the schedule, bringing from 2028 back into maybe early 27? Remember, AR seven, uh, for the uk the auction round?[00:09:00] Just happened, and that’s 8.4 gigawatts of offshore wind. You think Siemens is gonna make a big push to get into that, uh, into the water there for, for that auction, which is mostly RWE.  Joel Saxum: Yeah, so the prototype’s been installed for, since April 2nd, 2025. So it’s only been in there in the, and it’s only been flying for eight months. Um, but yeah, I mean, RWE being a big German company, Siemens, ESA being a big German company. Uh, of course you would think they would want to go to the hometown and and get it out there, but will it be ready? I don’t know. I don’t know. I, I personally don’t know. And there’s probably people that are listening right now that do have this information. If this turbine model has been specked in any of the pre-feed documentation or preferred turbine suppliers, I, I don’t know. Um, of course we, I’m sure someone does. It’s listening. Uh, reach out, shoot us at LinkedIn or something like that. Let us know, but. Uh, yeah, I mean, uh, [00:10:00] Yolanda, so, so from a Blades perspective, of course you’re our local, one of our local blade experts here. It’s difficult to work, it’s gonna be difficult to work on these blades. It’s a 276 meter rotor, right? So it’s 135 meter blade. Is it worth it to go to that and install less of them than work on something a little bit smaller?  Yolanda Padron: I think it’s a, it’s a personal preference. I like the idea of having something that’s been done. So if it’s something that I know or something that I, I know someone who’s worked with them, so there’s at least a colleague or something that I, I know that if there’s something off happening with the blade, I can talk to someone about it. Right? We can validate data with each other because love the OEMs, but they’re very, it’s very typical that they’ll say that anything is, you know. Anything is, is not a serial defect and anything is force majeure and wow, this is the first time I’m seeing this in your [00:11:00] blade. Uh, so if it’s a new technology versus old technology, I’d rather have the old one just so I, I at least know what I’m dealing with. Uh, so I guess that answers the question as far as like these new experimental lights, right? As far as. Whether I would rather have less blades to deal with. Yes, I’d rather have less bilities to, to deal with it. They were all, you know, known technologies and one was just larger than the other one.  Joel Saxum: Maybe it boils down to a CapEx question, right? So dollar per megawatt. What’s gonna be the cost of these things be? Because we know right now could, yeah, kudos to Siemens CESA for actually putting this turbine out at atrial, or, I can’t remember if it’s Australia or if it’s Keyside somewhere. We know that the test blades are serial number 0 0 0 1 and zero two. Right. And we also know that when there’s a prototype blade being built, all of the, well, not all, but you know, the majority of the engineers that [00:12:00] have designed it are more than likely gonna be at the factory. Like there’s gonna be heavy control on QA, QEC, like that. Those blades are gonna be built probably the best that you can build them to the design spec, right? They’re not big time serial production, yada, yada, yada. When this thing sits and cooks for a year, two years, and depending on what kind of blade issues we may see out of it, that comes with a caveat, right? And that caveat being that that is basically prototype blade production and it has a lot of QC QA QC methodologies to it. And when we get to the point where now we’re taking that and going to serial blade production. That brings in some difficulties, or not difficulties, but like different qa, qc methodologies, um, and control over the end product. So I like to see that they’re get letting this thing cook. I know GE did that with their, their new quote unquote workhorse, 6.8 cypress or whatever it is. That’s fantastic. Um, but knowing that these are prototype [00:13:00] machines, when we get into serial production. It kind of rears its head, right? You don’t know what issues might pop up. Speaker 5: Australia’s wind farms are growing fast, but are your operations keeping up? Join us February 17th and 18th at Melbourne’s Pullman on the park for Wind energy ONM Australia 2026, where you’ll connect with the experts solving real problems in maintenance asset management and OEM relations. Walk away with practical strategies to cut costs and boost uptime that you can use the moment you’re back on site. Register now at WM a 2020 six.com. Wind Energy o and m Australia is created by wind professionals for wind professionals because this industry needs solutions, not speeches.  Allen Hall: While conventional blade inspections requires shutting down the turbine. And that costs money. Danish Startup, Qualy Drone has demonstrated a different approach [00:14:00] at the. Ruan to Wind Farm in Danish waters. Working with RDBE, stack Craft Total Energies and DTU. The company flew a drone equipped with thermal cameras and artificial intelligence to inspect blades while they were still spinning. Uh, this is a pretty revolutionary concept being put into action right now ’cause I think everybody has talked about. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could keep the turbines running and, and get blade inspections done? Well, it looks like quality drone has done it. Uh, the system identifies surface defects and potential internal damage in real time and without any fiscal contact, of course, and without interrupting power generations. So as the technology is described, the drone just sits there. Steady as the blades rotate around. Uh, the technology comes from the Aquatic GO Project, uh, funded by Denmark’s, EUDP program. RDBE has [00:15:00] confirmed plans to expand use of the technology and quality. Drone says it has commercial solutions ready for the market. Now we have all have questions about this. I think Joel, the first time I heard about this was probably a year and a half ago, two years ago in Amsterdam at one of the Blade conferences. And I said at the time, no way, but they, they do have a, a lot of data that’s available online. I, I’ve downloaded it and it’s being the engineer and looked at some of the videos and images they have produced. They from what is available and what I saw, there’s a couple of turbines at DTU, some smaller turbines. Have you ever been to Rust, Gilda and been to DTU? They have a couple of turbines on site, so what it looked like they were using one of these smaller turbines, megawatt or maybe smaller turbine. Uh, to do this, uh, trial on, but they had thermal movie images and standard, you know, video images from a drone. They were using [00:16:00] DGI and Maverick drones. Uh, pretty standard stuff, but I think the key comes in and the artificial intelligence bit. As you sit there and watch these blades go around, you gotta figure out where you are and what blades you’re looking at and try to splice these images together that I guess, conceptually would work. But there’s a lot of. Hurdles here still, right?  Joel Saxum: Yeah. You have to go, go back from data analysis and data capture and all this stuff just to the basics of the sensor technology. You immediately will run into some sensor problems. Sensor problems being, if you’re trying to capture an image or video with RGB as a turbine is moving. There’s just like you, you want to have bright light, a huge sensor to be able to capture things with super fast shutter speed. And you need a global shutter versus a rolling shutter to avoid some more of that motion blur. So there’s like, you start stepping up big time in the cost of the sensors and you have to have a really good RGB camera. And then you go to thermal. So now thermal to have to capture good [00:17:00]quality thermal images of a wind turbine blade, you need backwards conditions than that. You need cloudy day. You don’t want to have shine sheen bright sunlight because you’re changing the heat signature of the blade. You are getting, uh, reflectance, reflectance messes with thermal imagery, imaging sensors. So the ideal conditions are if you can get out there first thing in the morning when the sun is just coming up, but the sun’s kind of covered by clouds, um, that’s where you want to be. But then you say you take a pic or image and you do this of the front side of the blade, and then you go down to the backside. Now you have different conditions because there’s, it’s been. Shaded there, but the reason that you need to have the turbine in motion to have thermal data make sense is you need the friction, right? So you need a crack to sit there and kind of vibrate amongst itself and create a localized heat signature. Otherwise, the thermal [00:18:00] imagery doesn’t. Give you what you want unless you’re under the perfect conditions. Or you might be able to see, you know, like balsa core versus foam core versus a different resin layup and those kind of things that absorb heat at different rates. So you, you, you really need some specialist specialist knowledge to be able to assess this data as well. Allen Hall: Well, Yolanda, from the asset management side, how much money would you generate by keeping the turbines running versus turning them off for a standard? Drone inspection. What does that cost look like for a, an American wind farm, a hundred turbines, something like that. What is that costing in terms of power? Yolanda Padron: I mean, these turbines are small, right? So it’s not a lot to just turn it off for a second and, and be able to inspect it, right? Especially if you’re getting high quality images. I think my issues, a lot of this, this sounds like a really great project. It’s just. A lot of the current drone [00:19:00] inspections, you have them go through an AI filter, but you still, to be able to get a good quality analysis, you have to get a person to go through it. Right. And I think there’s a lot more people in the industry, and correct me if I’m wrong, that have been trained and can look through an external drone inspection and just look at the images and say, okay, this is what this is Then. People who are trained to look at the thermal imaging pictures and say, okay, this is a crack, or this is, you know, you have lightning damage or this broke right there. Uh, so you’d have to get a lot more specialized people to be able to do that. You can’t just, I mean, I wouldn’t trust AI right now to to be the sole. Thing going through that data. So you also have to get some sort of drone inspection, external drone inspection to be able to, [00:20:00] to quantify what exactly is real and what’s not. And then, you know, Joel, you alluded to it earlier, but you don’t have high quality images right now. Right? Because you have to do the thermal sensing. So if you’re. If you’re, if you don’t have the high quality images that you need to be able to go back, if, if, if you have an issue to send a team or to talk to your OE em or something, you, you’re missing out on a lot of information, so, so I think maybe it would be a good, right now as it stands, it would be a good, it, it’d be complimentary to doing the external drone inspections. I don’t think that they could fully replace them. Now.  Joel Saxum: Yeah, I think like going to your AI comment like that makes absolute sense because I mean, we’ve been doing external drone inspections for what, since 2016 and Yeah. And, and implementing AI and think about the data sets that, that [00:21:00] AI is trained on and it still makes mistakes regularly and it doesn’t matter, you know, like what provider you use. All of those things need a human in the loop. So think about the, the what exists for the data set of thermal imagery of blades. There isn’t one. And then you still have to have the therm, the human in the loop. And when we talk to like our, our buddy Jeremy Hanks over at C-I-C-N-D-T, when you start getting into NDT specialists, because that’s what this is, is a form of NDT thermal is when you start getting into specialist, specialist, specialist, specialist, they become more expensive, more specialized. It’s harder to do. Like, I just don’t think, and if you do the math on this, it’s like. They did this project for two years and spent 2 million US dollars per year for like 4 million US dollars total. I don’t think that’s the best use of $4 million right now. Wind,  Allen Hall: it’s a drop in the bucket. I think in terms of what the spend is over in Europe to make technologies better. Offshore wind is the first thought because it is expensive to turn off a 15 or 20 megawatt turbine. You don’t want to do that [00:22:00] and be, because there’s fewer turbines when you turn one off, it does matter all of a sudden in, in terms of the grid, uh, stability, you would think so you, you just a loss of revenue too. You don’t want to shut that thing down. But I go, I go back. To what I remember from a year and a half ago, two years ago, about the thermal imaging and, and seeing some things early on. Yeah, it can kind of see inside the blade, which is interesting to me. The one thing I thought was really more valuable was you could actually see turbulence on the blade. You can get a sense of how the blade is performing because you can in certain, uh, aspect angles and certain temp, certain temperature ranges. You can see where friction builds up via turbulence, and you can see where you have problems on the blade. But I, I, I think as we were learning about. Blade problems, aerodynamic problems, your losses are going to be in the realm of a percent, maybe 2%. So do you even care at that point? It, it must just come down then to being able to [00:23:00] keep a 15 megawatt turbine running. Okay, great. Uh, but I still think they’re gonna have some issues with the technology. But back to your point, Joel, the camera has to be either super, uh, sensitive. With high shutter speeds and the, and the right kind of light, because the tiff speeds are so high on a tiff speed on an offshore turbine, what a V 2 36 is like 103 meters per second. That’s about two hundred and twenty two hundred thirty miles per hour. You’re talking about a race car and trying to capture that requires a lot of camera power. I’m interested about what Quality Drone is doing. I went to that website. There’s not a lot of information there yet. Hopefully there will be a lot more because if the technology proves out, if they can actually pull this off where the turbines are running. Uh, I don’t know if to stop ’em. I think they have a lot of customers [00:24:00]offshore immediately, but also onshore. Yeah, onshore. I think it’s, it’s doable  Joel Saxum: just because you can. I’m gonna play devil’s advocate on this one because on the commercial side, because it took forever for us to even get. Like it took 3, 4, 5, 6 years for us to get to the point where you’re having a hundred percent coverage of autonomous drones. And that was only because they only need to shut a turbine down for 20 minutes now. Right. The speed’s up way up. Yeah. And, and now we’re, we’re trying to get internals and a lot of people won’t even do internals. I’ve been to turbines where the hatches haven’t been open on the blades since installation, and they’re 13 years, 14 years old. Right. So trying to get people just to do freaking internals is difficult. And then if they do, they’re like, ah, 10% of the fleet. You know, you have very rare, or you know, a or an identified serial of defect where people actually do internal inspections regularly. Um, and then, so, and, and if you talk about advanced inspection techniques, advanced inspection techniques are great for specific problems. That’s the only thing they’re being [00:25:00] accepted for right now. Like NDT on route bushing pullouts, right? They, that’s the only way that you can really get into those and understand them. So specific specialty inspection techniques are being used in certain ways, but it’s very, very, very limited. Um, and talk to anybody that does NDT around the wind industry and they’ll tell you that. So this to me, being a, another kind of niche inspection technology that I don’t know if it’s has the quality that it is need to. To dismount the incumbent, I guess is what I’m trying to say. Allen Hall: Delamination and bond line failures and blades are difficult problems to detect early. These hidden issues can cost you millions in repairs and lost energy production. C-I-C-N-D-T are specialists to detect these critical flaws before they become a. Expensive burdens. Their non-destructive test technology penetrates deep to blade materials to find voids and cracks. Traditional inspections [00:26:00] completely. Miss C-I-C-N-D-T Maps. Every critical defect delivers actionable reports and provides support to get your blades back in service. So visit cic ndt.com because catching blade problems early will save you millions. After five years of development, Alliant Energy is ready to build one of Wisconsin’s largest wind farms. The Columbia Wind Project in Columbia County would put more than 40 turbines across rural farmland generating about 270 megawatts of power for about 100,000 homes. The price tag is roughly $730 million for the project. The more than 300 landowners have signed lease agreements already, and the company says these are next generation turbines. We’re not sure which ones yet, we’re gonna talk about that, that are taller and larger than older models. Uh, they’ll have to be, [00:27:00] uh, Alliant estimates the project will save customers about $450 million over the 35 years by avoiding volatile fuel costs and. We’ll generate more than $100 million in local tax revenue. Now, Joel, I think everybody in Europe, when I talk to them ask me the the same thing. Is there anything happening onshore in the US for wind? And the answer is yes all the time. Onshore wind may not be as prolific as it was a a year or two ago, but there’s still a lot of new projects, big projects going to happen here. Joel Saxum: Yeah. If you’ve been following the news here with Alliant Energy, and Alliant operates in that kind of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, that upper. Part of the Midwest, if you have watched a or listened to Alliant in the news lately, they recently signed a letter of intent for one gigawatt worth of turbines from Nordex.[00:28:00] And, uh, before the episode here, we’re doing a little digging to try to figure out what they’re gonna do with this wind farm. And if you start doing some math, you see 277 megawatts, only 40 turbines. Well, that means that they’ve gotta be big, right? We’re looking at six plus megawatt turbines here, and I did a little bit deeper digging, um, in the Wisconsin Public Service Commission’s paperwork. Uh, the docket for this wind farm explicitly says they will be nordex turbines. So to me, that speaks to an N 1 63 possibly going up. Um, and that goes along too. Earlier in the episode we talked about should you use larger turbines and less of them. I think that that’s a way to appease local landowners. That’s my opinion. I don’t know if that’s the, you know, landman style sales tactic they used publicly, but to only put 40 wind turbines out. Whereas in the past, a 280 megawatt wind farm would’ve been a hundred hundred, [00:29:00]20, 140 turbine farm. I think that’s a lot easier to swallow as a, as a, as a local public. Right. But to what you said, Alan. Yeah, absolutely. When farms are going forward, this one’s gonna be in central Wisconsin, not too far from Wisconsin Dells, if you know where that is and, uh, you know, the, the math works out. Alliant is, uh, a hell of a developer. They’ve been doing a lot of big things for a lot of long, long time, and, uh, they’re moving into Wisconsin here on this one. Allen Hall: What are gonna be some of the challenges, Yolanda being up in Wisconsin because it does get really cold and others. Icing systems that need to be a applied to these blades because of the cold and the snow. As Joel mentioned, there’s always like 4, 5, 6 meters of snow in Wisconsin during January, February. That’s not an easy environment for a blade or or turbine to operate in.  Yolanda Padron: I think they definitely will. Um, I’m. Not as well versed as Rosie as [00:30:00] in the Canadian and colder region icing practices. But I mean, something that’s great for, for people in Wisconsin is, is Canada who has a lot of wind resources and they, I mean, a lot of the things have been tried, tested, and true, right? So it’s not like it’s a, it’s a novel technology in a novel place necessarily because. On the cold side, you have things that have been a lot worse, really close, and you have on the warm side, I mean just in Texas, everything’s a lot warmer than there. Um, I think something that’s really exciting for the landowners and the just in general there. I know sometimes there’s agreements that have, you know, you get a percentage of the earnings depending on like how many. Megawatts are generated on your land or something. So that will be so great for that community to be able [00:31:00] to, I mean, you have bigger turbines on your land, so you have probably a lot more money coming into the community than just to, to alliance. So that’s, that’s a really exciting thing to hear.  Allen Hall: That wraps up another episode of the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast. If today’s discussion sparked any questions or ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us on LinkedIn and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you found value in today’s discussion, please leave us a review. It really helps other wind energy professionals discover the show For Rosie, Yolanda and Joel, I’m Allen Hall and we’ll see you next time on the Uptime Wind Energy Podcast.

The POWER Podcast
203. Five Years After Winter Storm Uri, a Texas Co-op Shares Its Lessons Learned

The POWER Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 20, 2026 27:03


Rayburn Electric Cooperative faced three years of power costs in five days during the 2021 storm. The experience transformed the organization's approach to risk, generation assets, and long-term planning. When Winter Storm Uri swept across Texas in February 2021, Rayburn Electric Cooperative found itself staring down a crisis that would reshape the organization's entire operational philosophy. The generation and transmission cooperative, which serves approximately 625,000 Texans across 16 counties northeast of Dallas, incurred three years' worth of power costs in just five days. “Bankruptcy was certainly one of the options on the table,” David Naylor, president and CEO of Rayburn Electric Cooperative, said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. “We were thankful we didn't have to go that route. We were able to come up with a solution where we paid everything we owed—and then we took a hard look in the mirror and asked ourselves what we needed to do differently.” That self-evaluation led to strategic decisions that fundamentally shifted Rayburn's power supply operations, transforming the cooperative from an organization with minimal owned generation resources into one that now owns and operates a major power plant—with another under construction. From Crisis to Acquisition Within two years of Uri, Rayburn acquired the Panda Sherman Power Plant, a 758-MW natural gas–fired combined cycle facility located just outside the cooperative's service territory. The acquisition doubled Rayburn's balance sheet, but Naylor said the plant checked critical boxes that emerged from the cooperative's post-Uri analysis. “When we looked at who benefited from Uri—or at least came out of it in a solid situation—it was the people who owned generation assets, and whose units ran,” Naylor explained. “The Panda Sherman plant performed great during Winter Storm Uri. It had room for additional capacity if we wanted to expand in the future. And for someone that was staring bankruptcy in the face a couple years earlier, winning that auction over several private equity companies was a tremendous success.” Building for Growth One concern Rayburn had when acquiring the Panda Sherman plant—now called Rayburn Energy Station (RES)—was its size. Leadership initially projected the cooperative wouldn't grow into the plant's capacity until 2030 or later. That timeline proved wildly optimistic. “We're projecting 25% growth over the next 10 years, and that's not counting any data centers or large loads—just normal organic growth,” Naylor said. “We grew into Rayburn Energy Station a lot faster than we anticipated.” That rapid growth prompted Rayburn to begin construction on a second gas plant at the same site. The cooperative secured turbines and transformers under contract in late 2024, with a commercial operation date targeted for June 2028. According to Naylor, the timing proved fortuitous: suppliers indicated that waiting just a couple more months would have resulted in significantly higher costs and delivery dates pushed out by three to four years. The project is supported in part by the Texas Energy Fund, a $10 billion pool of low-cost loans created by the Texas Legislature after Uri to incentivize new dispatchable generation. Of more than 125 initial applicants, only 17 were selected to advance—and Rayburn is the only cooperative among them.

Late Confirmation by CoinDesk
The Blockspace Pod: Galaxy's 830 MW Expansion, BitGo's $1.96B IPO, BitMine's $200M Bet on MrBeast

Late Confirmation by CoinDesk

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2026 32:44


Galaxy Digital landed a 830 MW approval from ERCOT, and MrBeast gets a $200M investment from BitMine. Subscribe to the Blockspace newsletter! Welcome back to The Blockspace Podcast! Today, Colin and Charlie dig into Galaxy's 830 MW ERCOT approval for its Helios site, CleanSpark's latest land acquisition in Texas, BitGo's $1.96B IPO prospectus, Semler shareholders voting yes on the merger with Strive, and the first change to Bitcoin's BIP process in 9 years. Finally, for this week's (truly odd) cry corner: BitMine is investing $200M into YouTuber MrBeast (yes, really). Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: * Galaxy Helios: 830MW approved * Clean Spark: 447 acres acquired * BitGo IPO: $1.96B valuation aim * BitMine: $200M to Beast Industries * Bitcoin Price: $97,000 recorded * Hash Price: Above $40/PH/Day Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:17 Difficulty Report by Luxor 06:42 Galaxy 830 MW approval 10:30 CLSK land acquisition 15:37 BitGo IPO 19:00 ASST - SMLR deal approved 21:32 New BIP, who dis? 25:39 Cry corner: BMNR invests in MrBeast

Ordinarily Extraordinary - Conversations with women in STEM
143. Vinayasri Nidadavolu - Wind Engineer

Ordinarily Extraordinary - Conversations with women in STEM

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 14, 2026 42:58


In this episode, Kathy sits down with Vinayasri Nidadavolu, a specialist engineer in offshore wind energy at Siemens Energy. Vinaya's story spans continents, megawatts, and life stages — from earning a rare degree in wind engineering to climbing offshore turbines hundreds of kilometers out at sea, and now navigating her career as a new mother.Vinaya takes us inside the fascinating world of offshore wind turbines — explaining how today's turbines have grown from 2–3 megawatts to an astonishing 14–15 megawatts, and what it actually looks like to work on machines that can produce enough energy for two households with a single blade rotation.We talk about what it really takes to work offshore: the extensive safety and survival training, life aboard service vessels for weeks at a time, and what it feels like to climb, ride lifts, and work inside turbines that are now larger than many apartments. Vinaya shares vivid details about the physical, mental, and emotional demands of the job — and why she still considers it the best career decision she's ever made.The conversation also explores Vinaya's path into engineering, beginning with childhood curiosity and fixing broken appliances, through being the only woman in her mechanical engineering class, to choosing sustainability and renewable energy as her long-term focus. Her story is a powerful reminder that representation matters — and that girls belong everywhere curiosity leads them.As a new mom, Vinaya reflects on balancing motherhood with a demanding technical career, why she chose not to “compromise herself” professionally, and how leading by example matters more than ever. Her reflections on identity, resilience, and modeling possibility for the next generation are honest, thoughtful, and deeply relatable.In the Ask the (Not) Expert segment, Vinaya shares practical, no-nonsense advice on how to ask for a raise — especially for women — emphasizing documentation, advocacy, and the importance of asking more than once.We wrap up with rapid-fire questions that touch on self-care (never underestimate a single cup of coffee), courage, and why Vinaya believes her own life story may one day become her favorite STEM “book.”This is a wide-ranging, inspiring conversation about engineering at scale, renewable energy, confidence, and choosing not to shrink — even when life changes.Topics We Cover:What offshore wind engineers actually doHow wind turbines have evolved from 2 MW to 15 MWLife, safety training, and work on offshore service vesselsThe physical reality of climbing and working inside turbinesChoosing sustainability and renewable energy as a career pathBeing the only woman in the room — and staying anywayMotherhood, identity, and not compromising your careerHow (and why) to ask for a raiseLeading by example for the next generation of girls in STEMMusic by Kay PaulusSupport the show

The Money Show
SARS tightens tax rules for multinationals, Sim swap and fraud deepen telecom losses and the future of African business schools 

The Money Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2026 73:37 Transcription Available


Stephen Grootes speaks to Chris Yelland, Energy Expert and Journalist about whether Eskom’s legal challenge to NERSA over licenses granted to five private power producers has been stayed or paused. They also touch on Eskom’s Generation Recovery Plan, which has added 4,400 MW of capacity, and whether this boost makes electricity supply sustainable The Money Show is a podcast hosted by well-known journalist and radio presenter, Stephen Grootes. He explores the latest economic trends, business developments, investment opportunities, and personal finance strategies. Each episode features engaging conversations with top newsmakers, industry experts, financial advisors, entrepreneurs, and politicians, offering you thought-provoking insights to navigate the ever-changing financial landscape.    Thank you for listening to a podcast from The Money Show Listen live Primedia+ weekdays from 18:00 and 20:00 (SA Time) to The Money Show with Stephen Grootes broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj and CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show, go to https://buff.ly/7QpH0jY or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/PlhvUVe Subscribe to The Money Show Daily Newsletter and the Weekly Business Wrap here https://buff.ly/v5mfetc The Money Show is brought to you by Absa     Follow us on social media   702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702   CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/Radio702 CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Late Confirmation by CoinDesk
The Blockspace Pod: Hut 8 Eyes 500MW Site, MSCI Keeps MSTR, Florida Revisits a BTC Reserve

Late Confirmation by CoinDesk

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2026 32:07


For today's roundup, Hut 8 waits on approval for a 500 MW site in Illinois, MSCI keeps MSTR in indices, and Florida tries again for a strategic bitcoin reserve. Subscribe to the Blockspace newsletter! Welcome back to The Blockspace Podcast! Today, Colin and Charlie give a temperature check on bitcoin mining stats, highlighting stats that show non-monetary transactions currently account for nearly 50% of all Bitcoin transactions. We also dig into Hut 8's plans for a 500 MW data center in Illinois, the latest hiring spree at Cipher Mining, Riot's updated compensation plan as they expand into AI, and MSCI's decision to keep Strategy (MSTR) in its indices. Finally, for this week's cry corner, Florida's renewed attempt at a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.  Subscribe to the newsletter! https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com Notes: * Runes: 6.1M txs, 42% of volume last month * Hash price: $39/PH/day, fees near zero * Hut 8: 500MW, $4-5B site in Logan County, IL, pending zoning approval * Difficulty: 4 negative adjustments out of last 5 * Riot: Jason Chung in as CFO *Florida makes a second attempt at a strategic bitcoin reserve Timestamps 00:00 Start 02:37 Difficulty Report by Luxor 06:06 Hut 8 new data center 11:15 MSCI decision 13:26 Cipher adds Drew Armstrong, Lee Bratcher 18:07 Riot compensation changes, new CFO 22:33 Cry corner: Are SBRs back?

Clean Power Hour
The Clean Power Hour: Best of 2025 #326

Clean Power Hour

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2025 23:03 Transcription Available


#EP326 Happy Holidays! Today on the Clean Power Hour, Tim Montague breaks down his top 5 episodes of 2025, featuring conversations that shaped how we think about solar, storage, virtual power plants, microgrids, and AI. From Jigar Shah's call for the industry to become a political force to Spark AI's permitting breakthroughs, these episodes capture where clean energy is headed.Key Episodes Covered:Episode 304 - Jigar Shah85% of new grid capacity will be solar, wind, and batteriesFossil fuels outspend clean energy 10:1 on political lobbyingVPPs could shift 20% of peak load by 203020% of Americans struggle to afford their electricity billsEpisode 274 - Ryan Mayfield and Jayson Smith CPS America's Gonzo containerized battery (125-256 kWh)20-millisecond switchover for grid-forming capabilityDaisy chain up to 12 units for megawatt-scale deployments60% of CPS workforce dedicated to serviceEpisode 307 - Peter Kelly-Detwiler 1,500 MW of data center load disconnected in Virginia incidentPJM capacity prices jumped from $30 to $329 per MW-dayCalifornia VPPs dispatched 535 MW from 100,000 homesEpisode 310 - Jeff St. John (Canary Media) 93% of new U.S. grid additions were solar, batteries, and windTexas ERCOT grid now 50% solar, wind, and batteriesCalifornia VPPs show 2:1 cost-benefit ratioTexas allocated $1.8B for microgrids after Winter Storm UriEpisode 322 - Julia Wu and Anuj Saigal (Spark AI) Platform compresses 4-10 hours of research to secondsStandard Solar reduced acquisition diligence from months to one weekThree core use cases: site selection, regulatory monitoring, acquisition due diligenceBonus: Episode 296 - Mark Palmer (Conductor Solar)Most listened to and shared episode on SpotifyCovers PPAs, project finance, and tax credit swappingDiscusses tariffs, supply chain pressures, and state policy importanceEpisodes MentionedEp 304 - https://youtu.be/lGv6NoDlf70Ep 274 - https://youtu.be/QxLIzBSM-lQEp 307 - https://youtu.be/apMrWUz7TV8Ep 310 - https://youtu.be/76PDeZ7ZGpsEp 322 - https://youtu.be/B3t0cpvTT-YEp 296 - https://youtu.be/aj_zNnpAUk8 Support the showConnect with Tim Clean Power Hour Clean Power Hour on YouTubeTim on TwitterTim on LinkedIn Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com Review Clean Power Hour on Apple PodcastsThe Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America's number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

Energizing Bitcoin
Is AI Pricing Bitcoin Mining Out of North America?

Energizing Bitcoin

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2025 61:01


Is Bitcoin mining getting squeezed out of North America or is it about to evolve into its next, off-grid chapter?In this episode, Jake Corley (@jacobcorley) and Justin Ballard (@JLB_Oso) sit down with Matt Williams (Luxor) to unpack what's changing in the mining and power markets and why Luxor just launched an energy business inside ERCOT to become a true “one-stop shop” for miners.From netting mining rewards against power bills to using BTC as collateral, from AI/HPC demand pressuring grid capacity to the comeback of smaller 5–20 MW sites, this conversation connects the dots between power markets, miner survival, and the next wave of infrastructure.We explore: ⚡ Why Luxor launched an ERCOT retail power offering and how it integrates with pools, firmware, and hash-rate derivatives ⚡ The miner pain point nobody stops talking about: deposits, cash drag, and capital efficiency (BTC collateral, automated payments, reward netting) ⚡ What AI/HPC demand is doing to energy pricing, grid stability, and North American hashrate growth (plateau vs migration) ⚡ Why “mega-sites” may permanently shift to AI and where Bitcoin mining still wins (flexible load, grid services, speed-to-energize) ⚡ The market reality: 50+ MW sites are hard to energize fast, and 10–20 MW sites are back in play ⚡ Hash price cycles, breakevens, and why disciplined operators with low overhead can stack through the ugly periods ⚡ The on-grid vs off-grid tradeoff and why oil & gas companies with stranded gas may be the best-positioned to scale off-grid mining ⚡ A quick reality check on AI infrastructure economics: margin compression, monetization uncertainty, and why the “bubble” debate isn't going awayIt's Power x Bitcoin x AI and the operators who understand all three will have the edge.

The POWER Podcast
202. Amazon Data Centers Aren't Raising Your Electric Bills—They May Be Lowering Them

The POWER Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2025 26:42


As electricity demand from data centers continues to surge, a persistent question has dogged the industry: Are residential ratepayers footing the bill for massive tech infrastructure? According to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and an independent study it commissioned, the answer is a definitive no. As a guest on The POWER Podcast, Mandy Ulrich, senior manager of energy and water for Americas East at AWS, outlined the company's energy strategy and discussed findings from a study by Energy and Environmental Economics Inc. (E3) that examined how Amazon data centers impact local power systems. Study Finds Data Centers Generate Surplus Revenue The E3 study evaluated Amazon data centers across a diverse set of utility territories, including large investor-owned utilities such as Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) and Dominion Energy, mid-size utilities like Entergy, and cooperatives such as Umatilla Electric Cooperative in the Pacific Northwest. “The simple answer is that Amazon data centers are not being subsidized by other utility customers,” Ulrich said. The study projects that Amazon's data centers will generate $33,500/MW of surplus value in 2025, increasing to $60,650/MW by 2030. For a typical 100-MW Amazon data center, that translates to $3.4 million in surplus revenues in 2025 and approximately $6.1 million by 2030. These surplus funds—revenues above the utility's regulated rate of return—can be used by utilities to modernize grid infrastructure, improving reliability for all customers. Grid Investment Benefits All Customers The study found that Amazon data centers are driving investments in grid infrastructure that support not just their own operations but also local residential and commercial growth. Ulrich pointed to Entergy Mississippi as a prime example, where the utility is using investments from Amazon and other large customers to fund a $300 million “Superpower Mississippi” grid reliability campaign—at no cost to residential customers—targeting a 50% reduction in outages within five years. Innovative Rate Structures Prevent Cost-Shifting While the E3 study validates that existing rate policies have been effective in preventing cross-subsidization, Ulrich emphasized that AWS continues to work with utilities on innovative approaches to ensure large industrial customers pay their fair share. She highlighted a Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO) project as a “groundbreaking model.” Under this first-of-its-kind agreement, Amazon is investing in 3 GW of electrical capacity, with 2.4 GW dedicated to data center operations and 600 MW reserved specifically to support grid reliability for all NIPSCO customers. The structure creates a separate generation company (GenCo) that operates under a “commercial contract term,” Ulrich explained. By operating as a separate entity, GenCo isolates the cost of new growth to data centers. “The data center companies that drive new demand for electricity will fund the generation and transmission infrastructure they require, ensuring that regular customers don't shoulder those costs, even if the customer leaves before contract completion,” NIPSCO said in a Nov. 24 press release. “NIPSCO's existing customers will have no financial responsibility for powering Amazon data centers,” Ulrich said. NIPSCO said, “This structure is expected to provide value to customers by generating approximately $1 billion in cost savings that will be returned to current NIPSCO customers as credits on monthly electric bills over the project's 15-year duration.”

Idaho Sports Talk
PRATER & THE BALLGAME, DEC. 23: TYSON DEGENHART, BOISE STATE & NIL, MW BOWL GAMES, STEELHEADS ON STRIKE, HOLIDAY GIFTS

Idaho Sports Talk

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2025 119:11


HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES - OUR FINAL SHOW OF CHRISTMAS WEEK ... Former Boise State basketball star Tyson Degenhart joins the show to talk about his start in the NBA G-League and expectations for his pro career, should Boise State's athletic department disclose NIL payment details to the public/media, Mountain West off to 0-2 start in bowl games - what's going to happen with the final five games involving MW teams, ECHL players (including the Idaho Steelheads) planning to go on strike Friday - what does that mean for the short-term schedule, what's your favorite sports-related Christmas giftSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prater & The Ballgame
PRATER & THE BALLGAME, DEC. 23: TYSON DEGENHART, BOISE STATE & NIL, MW BOWL GAMES, STEELHEADS ON STRIKE, HOLIDAY GIFTS

Prater & The Ballgame

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2025 119:11


HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES - OUR FINAL SHOW OF CHRISTMAS WEEK ... Former Boise State basketball star Tyson Degenhart joins the show to talk about his start in the NBA G-League and expectations for his pro career, should Boise State's athletic department disclose NIL payment details to the public/media, Mountain West off to 0-2 start in bowl games - what's going to happen with the final five games involving MW teams, ECHL players (including the Idaho Steelheads) planning to go on strike Friday - what does that mean for the short-term schedule, what's your favorite sports-related Christmas giftSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

De vive(s) voix
"La poésie permet de se lever, malgré la blessure" Gabriel Okoundji

De vive(s) voix

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2025 28:59


Gabriel Mwénè Okoundji est considéré comme l'une des grandes voix de la poésie africaine francophone contemporaine. Le nom est l'autre visage des êtres, écrit Gabriel Mwéné Okoundji. «Okoundji» en langue bantoue, cela veut dire chef et «Mwéné» porteur de la spiritualité du peuple. Son deuxième nom, «Mwéné», il l'a hérité à la mort de son père, à ses neuf ans. Un nom qui a marqué sa vie, son enfance et probablement une destinée de poète !  La poésie permet à l'homme de faire confiance en sa fragilité Gabriel Mwéné Okoundji est né en 1962 dans le petit village de Okondo en République du Congo, village qui a fait naître en lui «toute la sensibilité qu'il porte». Adolescent, il rejoint Brazzaville pour aller au lycée. Puis, il part à Bordeaux, en France, pour suivre des études de médecine. Il y vit désormais depuis près de 40 ans. Parallèlement, il écrit beaucoup de poésie pour porter la parole de l'écriture.  Il se décrit comme un «enfant de la négritude» mais se sent aussi comme un descendant de troubadour.  L'écriture pour moi vient parfois par effraction, d'une rencontre, d'un mot, d'une lecture, d'un chant. Mais cette rencontre peut aussi venir en langue tékée comme elle peut venir en langue française. Ce sont ces deux langues qui me nourrissent. Quand l'une donne, l'autre reçoit, quand l'une reçoit, l'autre invoque, l'autre évoque. Ce sont mes deux langues maternelles. Parfois, je ne trouve pas de mot équivalent en français alors, je le laisse en langue tékée.  Gabriel Okoundji  Invité : Gabriel Mwéné Okoundji, psychologue de métier et poète franco-congolais. Son recueil L'âme blessée d'un éléphant noir, suivi de Stèles du point du jour, est à retrouver dans la collection Poésie aux éditions Gallimard.  Programmation musicale : L'artiste Ours avec le titre Le spleen d'une vie sublime.

De vive(s) voix
"La poésie permet de se lever, malgré la blessure" Gabriel Okoundji

De vive(s) voix

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 23, 2025 28:59


Gabriel Mwénè Okoundji est considéré comme l'une des grandes voix de la poésie africaine francophone contemporaine. Le nom est l'autre visage des êtres, écrit Gabriel Mwéné Okoundji. «Okoundji» en langue bantoue, cela veut dire chef et «Mwéné» porteur de la spiritualité du peuple. Son deuxième nom, «Mwéné», il l'a hérité à la mort de son père, à ses neuf ans. Un nom qui a marqué sa vie, son enfance et probablement une destinée de poète !  La poésie permet à l'homme de faire confiance en sa fragilité Gabriel Mwéné Okoundji est né en 1962 dans le petit village de Okondo en République du Congo, village qui a fait naître en lui «toute la sensibilité qu'il porte». Adolescent, il rejoint Brazzaville pour aller au lycée. Puis, il part à Bordeaux, en France, pour suivre des études de médecine. Il y vit désormais depuis près de 40 ans. Parallèlement, il écrit beaucoup de poésie pour porter la parole de l'écriture.  Il se décrit comme un «enfant de la négritude» mais se sent aussi comme un descendant de troubadour.  L'écriture pour moi vient parfois par effraction, d'une rencontre, d'un mot, d'une lecture, d'un chant. Mais cette rencontre peut aussi venir en langue tékée comme elle peut venir en langue française. Ce sont ces deux langues qui me nourrissent. Quand l'une donne, l'autre reçoit, quand l'une reçoit, l'autre invoque, l'autre évoque. Ce sont mes deux langues maternelles. Parfois, je ne trouve pas de mot équivalent en français alors, je le laisse en langue tékée.  Gabriel Okoundji  Invité : Gabriel Mwéné Okoundji, psychologue de métier et poète franco-congolais. Son recueil L'âme blessée d'un éléphant noir, suivi de Stèles du point du jour, est à retrouver dans la collection Poésie aux éditions Gallimard.  Programmation musicale : L'artiste Ours avec le titre Le spleen d'une vie sublime.

In The Vineyard With Podcast
Episode 65 - Cathy Van Zyl MW - South African Wines in 2026 - her own projects and life in wine

In The Vineyard With Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2025 58:23


An episode that was a long time in the making. Cathy is my wine mentor and a great friend. I am a big fan of the modern wines coming out of South Africa. So after a very long time away from the podcast, I was delighted when Cathy said yes to this interview. Cathy has been a Master of Wine for 20 years, the first from the African continent to become an MW. After a few years on the IMW committee, mainly heading the educational committee, Cathy served as the Chair of the Institute of Masters of Wine for two years, finishing her role just over a year ago, in Autumn 2024. She regularly lectures and judges wines internationally. For the last 20 years, Cathy has been involved with producing the fantastic Platter's Guide to the Wines of South Africa. First, as a taster and about 12 years ago, as an Associate Editor, alongside the Editor, her Husband, Philip Van Zyl. More recently, Cathy has taken the role of Director of The Old Vine Project. She has started a company called Master-Classes, with her friend and business partner, Natasha Hughes MW, where they run seminars preparing candidates and students who are already on the programme to the demands of the Master of Wine studies. Their site can be reached at www.master-classes.org In our conversation, we chatted about her role as Associate Editor of the Platter's Wine Guide, Her involvement with the Old Vine Project, her latest venture of Master Classes, and things she recommends to look out for from South Africa's vineyards in 2026! As it is a week before Christmas, I was curious as to what would grace Cathy and Philip's table. Enjoy and happy holidays! Moshe

Full Court Press
Breaking down USU basketball's win over Illinois State / A look around the Mountain West in MBB - Dec. 15, 2025

Full Court Press

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2025 59:00


Jason Walker and Eric Frandsen talk the latest in local Cache Valley sportsUtah State got a five-point win over Illinois State. Was it a let-down of a performance for the MW title-hopeful Aggies? What were the positives and not-so-positives from the game?A closer look at Utah State women's basketball's win over Idaho.A look around the Mountain West in men's basketball, how are the teams doing in computer metrics and in getting crucial wins?

VOV - Sự kiện và Bàn luận
Tiêu điểm - EVNGENCO2 sẵn sàng các bước chuẩn bị khởi công 2 dự án điện gió vào ngày 19/12/2025

VOV - Sự kiện và Bàn luận

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2025 4:13


VOV1 - Hai dự án điện gió Hướng Phùng 1 (30 MW) và Công Hải 1 – Giai đoạn 2 (25 MW) có ý nghĩa rất quan trọng cho hệ thống điện quốc gia bổ sung hơn 160 triệu KWh điện sạch mỗi năm (trong đó, nhà máy Hướng Phùng 1 đóng góp khoảng 88,55 triệu kWh và nhà máy Công Hải 1 đóng góp 73,037 triệu kWh).

Inside Data Centre Podcast
Tim Heidel, CEO VEIR: Power Delivery for AI Data Centers.

Inside Data Centre Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2025 27:40


Send us a textIn this episode of the Inside Data Centre Podcast, Andy Davis is joined by Tim Heidel, CEO and Co-Founder of VEIR. Tim shares how his background in electrical engineering, MIT, ARPA-E, and Breakthrough Energy led him to tackling the sector's toughest power delivery challenges. The conversation centres on the scale of the data centre power crisis, why infrastructure can't keep up, and how Veir's superconducting technology aims to change what's possible.Key Topics:• Why data centre power demand is set to more than double by 2030• How megawatt-scale racks are transforming power delivery inside facilities• The limits of copper and aluminium cables as densities and distances grow• What Veir's superconducting technology achieves at low and medium voltage• How their 3 MW live demo proves readiness for real-world deployment• Why speed, labour shortages and safety drive interest in new solutions• The growing need for flexible, future-proof data centre designTune in to hear Tim's outlook on power, grid expansion, and how the industry can rethink long-held assumptions to meet unprecedented demand.Support the showThe Inside Data Centre Podcast is recorded in partnership with DataX Connect, a specialist data centre recruitment company based in the UK. They operate on a global scale to place passionate individuals at the heart of leading data centre companies. To learn more about Andy Davis and the rest of the DataX team, click here: DataX Connect

Sustainability In The Air
From geothermal to green jet fuel: How Iceland could become aviation's SAF bridge

Sustainability In The Air

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2025 43:17


In this episode, we speak with Nanna Baldvinsdottir, co-founder of IðunnH2, about how Iceland's unique energy system could turn the country into a green fuel bridge between Europe and North America. A veteran of Iceland's power sector, Nanna has spent two decades working in renewables before turning to hydrogen and e-fuels development.Nanna shares how IðunnH2 is developing a 300 MW, ~70,000 tonne-per-year e-SAF project near Keflavík International Airport, designed first to decarbonise Icelandic aviation and only then supply the wider world via book-and-claim. She explains why social licence for new wind power, local energy security, and predictable permitting make Iceland a testbed for scaling e-fuels where other regions are still stuck on the drawing board.Nanna discusses:Why SAF, not hydrogen export, came out on top in IðunnH2's feasibility work – and how switching mid-study unlocked a path to true commercial scale rather than niche pilot projects.The Helguvík project: locating a commercial-scale e-kerosene facility a stone's throw from Iceland's main international airport, using 100% renewable power contracted via long-term PPAs.Book-and-claim as a strategic tool: using it to serve committed early partners like Luxaviation and other motivated buyers outside Iceland, while keeping the bulk of production for Icelandic decarbonisation.Moving beyond “Jet A price parity”: why chasing price parity with fossil jet fuel misses the point since jet fuel is heavily subsidised and untaxed, and how 15-year price stability can be more valuable to airlines than simply being the cheapest.Her role as a “system builder”: why e-fuel plants are far more complex than traditional power projects, and what it takes to keep partners aligned on timelines, risk, margins, and ambition.The wider Icelandic hydrogen roadmap: how aviation, maritime, and road transport could all draw on the same hydrogen and e-fuels backbone as the market matures.Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry's challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book “Sustainability in the Air: Volume 2.” Click here to learn more.Feel free to reach out via email to podcast@simpliflying.com. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It's about time.Links & more:IðunnH2Why Iceland? - IðunnH2SAF – IðunnH2Hydrogen and E-fuels Roadmap for IcelandNanna Baldvinsdottir - LinkedInEU ReFuelEU Aviation Mandate

Idaho Sports Talk
BRONCO GAME NIGHT - MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION: BOISE STATE 38, UNLV 21

Idaho Sports Talk

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2025 78:35


POST-GAME CALL-IN SHOW: Boise State won its third straight Mountain West Championship Game, all against UNLV, with a celebration victory Friday night at Albertsons Stadium. The Broncos jumped out to a 21-0 lead and clinched their seventh MW title in their 15th and final season in the league. QB Maddux Madsen and S Ty Benefield turned in MVP performances as Boise State secured a spot in the LA Bowl on Dec. 13, against the Washington Huskies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prater & The Ballgame
BRONCO GAME NIGHT - MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION: BOISE STATE 38, UNLV 21

Prater & The Ballgame

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2025 78:35


POST-GAME CALL-IN SHOW: Boise State won its third straight Mountain West Championship Game, all against UNLV, with a celebration victory Friday night at Albertsons Stadium. The Broncos jumped out to a 21-0 lead and clinched their seventh MW title in their 15th and final season in the league. QB Maddux Madsen and S Ty Benefield turned in MVP performances as Boise State secured a spot in the LA Bowl on Dec. 13, against the Washington Huskies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

VOV - Sự kiện và Bàn luận
Tiêu điểm - Trung tâm Điện lực Quảng Trạch động lực phát triển cho các tỉnh miền Trung

VOV - Sự kiện và Bàn luận

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2025 4:23


VOV1 - Trung tâm điện lực Quảng Trạch có 4 dự án: Dự án Cơ sở hạ tầng Trung tâm điện lực Quảng Trạch; Dự án Nhà máy nhiệt điện Quảng Trạch I; Dự án Nhà máy nhiệt điện LNG Quảng Trạch II; Dự án Nhà máy nhiệt điện LNG Quảng Trạch III, với tổng công suất trên 4.400 MW

The Opening Drive
Rider Wednesday

The Opening Drive

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2025 41:05


Sean Rider, Lobo football beat writer for the Albuquerque Journal, shares his thoughts on MW awards, the Lobos season and Jason Eck's contract extension. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

VOV - Sự kiện và Bàn luận
Tiêu điểm - Nhà máy điện LNG Nhơn Trạch 3 và 4: Bước ngoặt quan trọng trong chuyển dịch năng lượng Quốc gia

VOV - Sự kiện và Bàn luận

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2025 4:18


VOV1 - Với tổng mức đầu tư khoảng 1,4 tỷ USD, Nhà máy điện Nhơn Trạch 3 và 4 là dự án đầu tiên của chuỗi LNG (PV GAS) - điện Power (PV Power) trong tiến trình chuyển dịch năng lượng của Petrovietnam.Khi vận hành ổn định, NMĐ NT3&4, với tổng công suất 1.624 MW, dự kiến cung cấp trên 9 tỷ kWh điện/năm

Jon and Jim
2pm Not the best weekend for San Diego sports

Jon and Jim

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2025 43:21


Aztecs don't get picked by computers for MW title game .SDFC loses at home in the WCF. Mason Miller the starter? He “said he wants to do it” according to MLB network

Gwynn & Chris On Demand
Gwynn & Chris Full Show

Gwynn & Chris On Demand

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2025 85:03


Tony, Chris, and Skraby were all back in studio together but had some not so fun things to talk about. Dylan Cease is a Blue Jay, SDFC goes down to Vancouver, SDSU football loses and misses out on the MW title game.

Kaplan and Crew
SDSU & SDFC Miss Out on Championships | Mike Shildt NOT Retired | Rams Shocking Loss to Panthers

Kaplan and Crew

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2025 115:55


The Chargers beat the Raiders but Justin Herbert broke his left hand and could miss time. The Rams shockingly lost to the Panthers. NFL Week 13 recap. SDSU lost to New Mexico, and the MW computer rankings did not have them in the championship. SDFC gets blasted by Vancouver in the MLS Western Finals.Support the show: http://kaplanandcrew.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scott and BR - Interviews
SDSU & SDFC Miss Out on Championships | Mike Shildt NOT Retired | Rams Shocking Loss to Panthers

Scott and BR - Interviews

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2025 115:55


The Chargers beat the Raiders but Justin Herbert broke his left hand and could miss time. The Rams shockingly lost to the Panthers. NFL Week 13 recap. SDSU lost to New Mexico, and the MW computer rankings did not have them in the championship. SDFC gets blasted by Vancouver in the MLS Western Finals.Support the show: http://kaplanandcrew.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Clean Energy Show
Al Gore is Angry at COP30 Fossil Fuel Lobbyists

The Clean Energy Show

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2025 41:42


The COP30 climate conference ended without references to fossil fuels after lobbying pressure. Al Gore criticized petrostates for blocking progress and argued the world has reached "Peak Petrostate." Outside the UN process, 24 countries have agreed to coordinate on fossil-fuel phaseout efforts, with Colombia and the Netherlands hosting the first international conference in 2026. An archival look back at Gore's 1992 Earth Summit warnings underscores the longstanding concerns. Support The Clean Energy Show on Patreon for exciting perks! Arkansas has launched its first-ever wind project: a 135 MW installation using 32 U.S.-made turbines. The project delivers significant local benefits, including $950,000 annually to Cross County and over $50 million to landowners over its lifetime. Microsoft has committed to purchasing all generated power under a 20-year agreement. Insurance companies are expanding into climate-risk consulting, offering inspections and adaptation guidance before disasters occur. Zurich Insurance now employs dozens of climate risk engineers, reflecting a growing industry segment. According to S&P Global, the world's 1,200 largest public companies face an estimated $1.2 trillion annually in climate-related physical risk by 2050. Some firms cannot obtain coverage without taking mitigation steps. Tehran Faces Possible Relocation Iran's president warned that Tehran may no longer be viable due to severe ecological strain, including chronic water shortages, sinking land, frequent power cuts, and hazardous air quality. The government has discussed relocating the capital to the Makran coast, though significant financial, infrastructural, and security challenges remain. Lightning Round Electric heavy trucks are expanding rapidly in China, reducing lifetime operating costs by 10–26 percent and contributing to an 11 percent drop in diesel demand.  And more! Contact Us cleanenergyshow@gmail.com or leave us an online voicemail: http://speakpipe.com/clean Support The Clean Energy Show Join the Clean Club on our Patreon Page to receive perks for supporting the podcast and our planet! Our PayPal Donate Page offers one-time or regular donations. Store Visit The Clean Energy Show Store for T-shirts, hats, and more!. Copyright 2025 Sneeze Media.    

The Opening Drive
Lobo Weekend

The Opening Drive

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2025 42:03


The Lobos defeated Air Force to keep their MW title hopes alive. How did they do it? Lobo basketball bounced back against Mississippi State, what stood out? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Vint Podcast
Five Questions with Geoffrey Moss, MW

The Vint Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2025 11:02


In this episode of Five Questions, host Billy Galanko sits down with Geoffrey Moss, MW, marketing strategist, DTC specialist, founder of Lithica Wine Marketing, and the mind behind his own wine label, Søren Wine, to explore the ideas shaping today's wine industry.Geoffrey shares how he helps wineries grow direct-to-consumer channels, the climate challenges facing the Okanagan Valley, the surprising magic of Baja California wines, why “organic but not certified” claims drive him crazy, and a recent vineyard hike in the Douro that reshaped his perspective. As both a Master of Wine and a producer himself through Søren Wine, Geoffrey brings an insider's view from both the business and cellar sides of the industry.What You'll LearnHow Geoffrey Moss approaches DTC sales, digital marketing, and wine club strategyThe two biggest issues threatening the wine industry todayWhy the Okanagan and Baja California deserve more global attentionThe problem with “organic” claims, and what he wishes wineries would do insteadWhat mouse taint is (and why he never wants to taste it again)How a hike through Portugal's Douro Valley vineyards reshaped his understanding of the regionA powerful recent wine experience that renewed his optimismEpisode Chapters00:00 – Introduction to Vent Wine Podcast00:19 – Welcome to Five Questions00:44 – Meet Geoffrey Moss00:53 – Geoffrey's Role in the Wine Industry01:28 – Key Issues in the Wine World03:10 – Underrated Wine Regions05:35 – Wine Trends Geoffrey Dislikes09:02 – Memorable Wine Experiences10:49 – Conclusion and FarewellThe Vint Wine Podcast is hosted and produced by Billy Galanko. For more content follow Billy on Instagram @BillyGalanko_wine_nerd and for partnerships and collaborations please email billy@sommeliermedia.com. Cheers!

Christopher Gabriel Program
Cam Worrell: Can Fresno State Make it to the Mountain West Championship Game

Christopher Gabriel Program

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2025 10:39


Cam Worrell is the sideline reporter for Fresno State Football and a former safety on the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins. In the first of two segments, Cam discusses Fresno State; their resurgence, odds on getting to the MW championship game and how the Matt Entz era is beginning to materialize. The Christopher Gabriel Program ----------------------------------------------------------- Please Like, Comment and Follow 'The Christopher Gabriel Program' on all platforms: The Christopher Gabriel Program is available on the KMJNOW app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever else you listen to podcasts. --- The Christopher Gabriel Program | Website | Facebook | X | Instagram | --- Everything KMJ KMJNOW App | Podcasts | Facebook | X | Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Clean Power Hour
How Electric Co-ops Drive Tennessee Solar + Battery Storage Growth

Clean Power Hour

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2025 19:20 Transcription Available


#320Today on the Clean Power Hour, Brandon Wagoner, Vice President of Strategy at Middle Tennessee Electric, explains how the second largest cooperative in America manages explosive EV adoption, deploys 32 megawatts of battery storage, and builds 113 megawatts of solar arrays while keeping rates low. His secret weapon: load factor optimization.Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) serves 350,000 meters south and east of Nashville and leads Tennessee utilities in electric vehicle adoption. As the largest co-op in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) service territory, MTE operates through strategic partnerships rather than vertical integration, working directly with TVA to solve generation and distribution challenges together.Key Discussion Points:• Load factor optimization as the primary metric for grid infrastructure decisions and rate management• 32 megawatts of two-hour battery storage deployment scheduled for Q1 2026 across their service territory• 3.25 MW tracking solar array operational, with 110 MW TVA solar project launching in 2028• Night Flex rate program incentivizing EV charging during six six-hour overnight windows• Community solar programs serving renters and members without rooftop installation options• Pro Solar advisory team provides trusted third-party guidance for members evaluating solar developers• Strategic approach to serving diverse demographics from high-income first adopters to conservative rural members• Co-op structure enables focus on member service rather than shareholder profits• Partnership model with TVA replaces traditional utility customer relationship• Programmatic rebates, including $50 EV charger installation incentivesConnect with Brandon WagonerWebsite: https://mte.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/midtnelectric/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-brandon-wagoner-pe-2822146/ Support the showConnect with Tim Clean Power Hour Clean Power Hour on YouTubeTim on TwitterTim on LinkedIn Email tim@cleanpowerhour.com Review Clean Power Hour on Apple PodcastsThe Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com Corporate sponsors who share our mission to speed the energy transition are invited to check out https://www.cleanpowerhour.com/support/The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America's number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com

The Opening Drive
Another Rough Night

The Opening Drive

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 19, 2025 41:37


The Mountain West took another hit during non-conference play. What's on deck for Lobo basketball Thursday? So many scenarios are still in play for the MW football title game. Sanders time in Cleveland? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Data Center Frontier Show
Flexential CEO Ryan Mallory Discusses Power, AI, and Bending the Physics Curve

The Data Center Frontier Show

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2025 21:00


In this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show, we sit down with Ryan Mallory, the newly appointed CEO of Flexential, following a coordinated leadership transition in October from Chris Downie. Mallory outlines Flexential's strategic focus on the AI-driven future, positioning the company at the critical "inference edge" where enterprise CPU meets AI GPU. He breaks down the AI infrastructure boom into a clear three-stage build cycle and explains why the enterprise "killer app"—Agentic AI—plays directly into Flexential's strengths in interconnection and multi-tenant solutions. We also dive into: Power Strategy: How Flexential's modular, 36-72 MW build strategy avoids community strain and wins utility favor. Product Roadmap: The evolution to Gen 5 and Gen 6 data centers, blending air and liquid cooling for mixed-density AI workloads. The Bold Bet: Mallory's vision for the next 2-3 years, which involves "bending the physics curve" with geospatial energy and transmission to overcome terrestrial limits. Tune in for a insightful conversation on power, planning, and the future of data center infrastructure.

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast
Terra-Gen, Nordex & Siemens Gamesa Improve

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2025 5:13


Terra-Gen's 238.5 MW project in Texas is now fully operational and the Philippines just awarded approvals for more than 10 GWs of renewables. Plus Nordex and Siemens Gamesa are optimistic about their future. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! There's news from the wind industry this week. And for once... the headlines tell a story of growth. Down in Hidalgo County, Texas... something worth celebrating happened this week. Terra-Gen commissioned the Monte Cristo ONE Windpower Project. Two hundred thirty-eight-point-five megawatts. Fully operational. The wind facility will generate more than 850 gigawatt-hours of clean electricity every year. Enough to power roughly 81,000 homes. And the power? Already sold. Long-term purchase agreements with two corporate customers. Construction created about 280 jobs at peak activity. More than 490,000 work hours. Not one lost-time incident. They upgraded 11 miles of state roads. Twenty-five miles of county roads. Over its lifetime... the project will deliver more than 100 million dollars to the local community. Property taxes. Landowner payments. Other economic contributions. "It is an honor," said John O'Connor, Chief Financial Officer for Terra-Gen, "to celebrate the hard work and dedication of the hundreds of men and women who made the commissioning of the Monte Cristo wind project possible." Meanwhile... halfway around the world in the Philippines... the government just awarded approvals for more than 10 gigawatts of renewable power. That's ten-point-two gigawatts, to be exact. One hundred twenty-three winning bidders. Solar. Storage. And wind. Onshore wind alone claimed two-point-five gigawatts of that capacity. Twenty-one projects. All set to deliver power by 2029. The Philippines is targeting 50 percent renewable generation by 2040. And they're not waiting around. The "overwhelming response," said the department of energy, "reflects the growing confidence of investors." Back in Europe... in Germany... Nordex is making moves. The turbine manufacturer just secured orders for 123 megawatts from Denkerwulf. Twenty-five onshore wind turbines. Installation begins in 2027. Commissioning in 2028. And Nordex shares? They're climbing. Hit a multi-year high this week. Trading at 28 euros and 2 cents. Denkerwulf'S orders for Nordex in 2025 now total nearly 144 megawatts. And last week... Mingyang signed a contract with ORE Catapult... a state-owned British test center. They're going to test main bearings for Mingyangs offshore 18.5MW turbines in the United Kingdom. "A major milestone," said Mingyang'S chief technology officer for Europe, Marc Sala. "A decisive breakthrough for our local operations." Mingyang has big plans for Britain. One-point-five billion pounds in investments. Half for factories. Half for the offshore wind supply chain. Now... over at Siemens Gamesa... things are looking up. The wind business has been struggling. Over four fiscal years... losses totaled eight-point-six billion euros. But Chief Executive Officer Christian Bruch confirmed this week... they're still targeting profitability by 2027. Break-even by 2026. Revenue for full-year 2025 rose 5 percent to ten-point-three-seven-five billion euros. Losses improved slightly. "The journey towards profitability is going to take time," said Chief Financial Officer Maria Ferraro. "But I think the team is doing a great job." They expect a positive fourth quarter in 2026. So there you have it. The wind industry is pushing forward. Two hundred thirty-eight-point-five megawatts commissioned in Texas. One hundred twenty-three projects approved in the Philippines. One hundred twenty-three megawatts ordered in Germany. Eighteen-point-five megawatt turbines heading to Britain for testing. And Siemens Gamesa ... now seeing light at the end of the tunnel. The numbers tell the story. Things are beginning to stabilize – and there's hope for the future. That's the state of the wind industry on the 17th of November 2025. Join us tomorrow for the Uptime Wind Energy podcast.

The Vint Podcast
Five Questions with Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW

The Vint Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2025 8:08


In this episode of Five Questions, host Billy Galanko sits down with one of the most influential and trusted voices in the modern wine world: Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW, former Editor-in-Chief of Robert Parker Wine Advocate and founder of the newly launched TheWinePalate.com, a platform designed to help drinkers find wines that truly match their personal palate.In this quick, high-impact conversation, Lisa shares her perspective on the rapidly evolving wine landscape, why communication is the industry's biggest challenge, the emerging regions drinkers should be paying attention to, and why stylistic “wine tribes” do more harm than good. She also discusses a sobering recent experience that underscored the challenges facing Bordeaux and the wider wine world.Whether you're a collector, a casual drinker, or wine-curious, this episode offers clarity, candor, and grounded insight from one of the industry's most respected critics.What You'll LearnHow Lisa thinks about her role as a critic and consumer guideWhy wine must evolve its communication tools to stay relevant in an AI-driven worldThe regions and subregions worth exploring next, from the West Sonoma Coast to GeorgiaWhy she rejects wine “gatekeeping” and embraces stylistic diversityWhat the 2024 Bordeaux en primeur season revealed about the industry's challengesChapters00:00 Introduction to Vint Wine Podcast00:19 Welcome to Five Questions00:44 Interview with Lisa Perrotti-Brown00:51 Lisa's Role in the Wine Industry01:24 Current Issues in the Wine World03:03 Underrated Wine Regions04:29 Wine Trends Lisa Dislikes05:36 Memorable Wine Experiences07:57 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsThe Vint Wine Podcast is hosted and produced by Billy Galanko. For more content follow Billy on Instagram @BillyGalanko_wine_nerd and for partnerships and collaborations please email billy@sommeliermedia.com. Cheers!

The Data Center Frontier Show
DartPoints CEO Scott Willis on Building the Regional Edge for the AI Era

The Data Center Frontier Show

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2025 31:12


On this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show, DartPoints CEO Scott Willis joins Editor in Chief Matt Vincent to discuss why regional data centers are becoming central to the future of AI and digital infrastructure. Fresh off his appearance on the Distributed Edge panel at the 2025 DCF Trends Summit, Willis breaks down how DartPoints is positioning itself in non-tier-one markets across the Midwest, Southeast, and South Central regions—locations he believes will play an increasingly critical role as AI workloads move closer to users. Willis explains that DartPoints' strategy hinges on a deeply interconnected regional footprint built around carrier-rich facilities and strong fiber connectivity. This fabric is already supporting latency-sensitive workloads such as AI inference and specialized healthcare applications, and Willis expects that demand to accelerate as enterprises seek performance closer to population centers. Following a recent recapitalization with NOVA Infrastructure and Orion Infrastructure Capital, DartPoints has launched four new expansion sites designed from the ground up for higher-density, AI-oriented workloads. These facilities target rack densities from 30 kW to 120 kW and are sized in the 10–50 MW range—large enough for meaningful HPC and AI deployments but nimble enough to move faster than hyperscale builds constrained by long power queues. Speed to market is a defining advantage for DartPoints. Willis emphasizes the company's focus on brownfield opportunities where utility infrastructure already exists, reducing deployment timelines dramatically. For cooling, DartPoints is designing flexible environments that leverage advanced air systems for 30–40 kW racks and liquid cooling for higher densities, ensuring the ability to support the full spectrum of enterprise, HPC, and edge-adjacent AI needs. Willis also highlights the importance of community partnership. DartPoints' facilities have smaller footprints and lower power impact than hyperscale campuses, allowing the company to serve as a local economic catalyst while minimizing noise and aesthetic concerns. Looking ahead to 2026, Willis sees the industry entering a phase where AI demand becomes broader and more distributed, making regional markets indispensable. DartPoints plans to continue expanding through organic growth and targeted M&A while maintaining its focus on interconnection, high-density readiness, and rapid, community-aligned deployment. Tune in to hear how DartPoints is shaping the next chapter of distributed digital infrastructure—and why the market is finally moving toward the regional edge model Willis has championed.

The Data Center Frontier Show
Harnessing Gravity: RRPT Hydro's Modular Power Vision

The Data Center Frontier Show

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 11, 2025 36:35


In this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show, DCF Editor-in-Chief Matt Vincent speaks with Ed Nichols, President and CEO of Expanse Energy / RRPT Hydro, and Gregory Tarver, Chief Electrical Engineer, about a new kind of hydropower built for the AI era. RRPT Hydro's piston-driven gravity and buoyancy system generates electricity without dams or flowing rivers—using the downward pull of gravity and the upward lift of buoyancy in sealed cylinders. Once started, the system runs self-sufficiently, producing predictable, zero-emission power. Designed for modular, scalable deployment—from 15 kW to 1 GW—the technology can be installed underground or above ground, enabling data centers to power themselves behind the meter while reducing grid strain and even selling excess energy back to communities. At an estimated Levelized Cost of Energy of $3.50/MWh, RRPT Hydro could dramatically undercut traditional renewables and fossil power. The company is advancing toward commercial readiness (TRL 7–9) and aims to build a 1 MW pilot plant within 12–15 months. Nichols and Tarver describe this moonshot innovation, introduced at the 2025 DCF Trends Summit, as a “Wright Brothers moment” for hydropower—one that could redefine sustainable baseload energy for data centers and beyond. Listen now to explore how RRPT Hydro's patented piston-driven system could reshape the physics, economics, and deployment model of clean energy.

The Hydrogen Podcast
Hydrogen's Real-World Wins — Ohio, Denmark & Solar-Powered Drones Leading the Way

The Hydrogen Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2025 10:51 Transcription Available


In this episode of The Hydrogen Podcast, Paul Rodden highlights three powerful stories proving that hydrogen's progress is driven by innovation, economics, and real-world execution. From the U.S. Midwest to Northern Europe to high-tech drone applications, the hydrogen industry is showing tangible momentum.

The Wonderful World of Wine (WWW)
Episode 302-The Umami King Tim Hanni MW

The Wonderful World of Wine (WWW)

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2025 47:24


The Wonderful World of Wine (WWW) Episode 302 Hosts Kim Simone and Mark Lenzi explore all things wine with you! The Umami King Tim Hanni MW Join hosts Kim and Mark as they welcome a true icon of the wine world: Master of Wine (MW)Tim Hanni. Tim, the first American to earn the prestigious MW title in 1990, shares his incredible journey from chef and retailer to importer and a key figure at Beringer. He explains how his diverse background led him to become a pioneer in sensory and perceptional science, fundamentally changing how we understand taste. The Science of Taste and Wine The episode dives deep into Tim's groundbreaking work, highlighted in his book, "Why You Like the Wines You Like." He introduces the concepts of vertical versus horizontal models of taste, offering a fresh perspective on how we perceive flavors and aromas. Tim also provides a sneak peek into his upcoming book, which promises to build on these revolutionary ideas. Tim explains his Vinotype foundation. Champagne and a Master's Perspective The conversation isn't all theory; Kim and Tim share a lively discussion about the nuances of Champagne, exploring its history and unique characteristics. Tim also offers his take on the current state of the wine industry, providing a candid and insightful look at where it's headed. Personal and Professional Insights In a particularly moving segment, Tim opens up about his personal journey to sobriety since 1993 and how he has successfully navigated a career in the wine business without consuming alcohol. This heartfelt discussion reveals his dedication and passion for the industry. You'll also learn why Tim has earned the nickname "The Umami King", a testament to his 45 years of expertise in the science of taste. Whether you're a wine enthusiast, a food lover, or simply curious about the world of flavor, this episode is a must-listen. Find Tim on: www.winebusinesseducation.com www.myvinotype.com Cheers Kim And Mark

The Aztec Breakdown Podcast
The Freshman can play!

The Aztec Breakdown Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2025 43:57


On today's episode Kyle takes a look at the breakout performances of Elzie Harrington and Tae Simmons. We also discuss the new questions facing the team after the emergence of those freshman. At the end of our show we take a look at the underwhelming performances of the MW teams in the opening week of the season.

The MAD Podcast with Matt Turck
Intelligence Isn't Enough: Why Energy & Compute Decide the AGI Race – Eiso Kant

The MAD Podcast with Matt Turck

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2025 66:28


Frontier AI is colliding with real-world infrastructure. Eiso Kant (Co-CEO & Co-Founder, Poolside) joins the MAD Podcast to unpack Project Horizon— a multi-gigawatt West Texas build—and why frontier labs must own energy, compute, and intelligence to compete. We map token economics, cloud-style margins, and the staged 250 MW rollout using 2.5 MW modular skids.Then we get operational: the CoreWeave anchor partnership, environmental choices (SCR, renewables + gas + batteries), community impact, and how Poolside plans to bring capacity online quickly without renting away margin—plus the enterprise motion (defense to Fortune 500) powered by forward deployed research engineers.Finally, we go deep on training. Eiso lays out RL2L (Reinforcement Learning to Learn)— aimed at reverse-engineering the web's thoughts and actions— why intelligence may commoditize, what that means for agents, and how coding served as a proxy for long-horizon reasoning before expanding to broader knowledge work.PoolsideWebsite - https://poolside.aiX/Twitter - https://x.com/poolsideaiEiso KantLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/eisokant/X/Twitter - https://x.com/eisokantFIRSTMARKWebsite - https://firstmark.comX/Twitter - https://twitter.com/FirstMarkCapMatt Turck (Managing Director)Blog - https://www.mattturck.comLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/turck/X/Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattturck(00:00) Cold open – “Intelligence becomes a commodity”(00:23) Host intro – Project Horizon & RL2L(01:19) Why Poolside exists amid frontier labs(04:38) Project Horizon: building one of the largest US data center campuses(07:20) Why own infra: scale, cost, and avoiding “cosplay”(10:06) Economics deep dive: $8B for 250 MW, capex/opex, margins(16:47) CoreWeave partnership: anchor tenant + flexible scaling(18:24) Hiring the right tail: building a physical infra org(30:31) RL today → agentic RL and long-horizon tasks(37:23) RL2L revealed: reverse-engineering the web's thoughts & actions(39:32) Continuous learning and the “hot stove” limitation(43:30) Agents debate: thin wrappers, differentiation, and model collapse(49:10) “Is AI plateauing?”—chip cycles, scale limits, and new axes(53:49) Why software was the proxy; expanding to enterprise knowledge work(55:17) Model status: Malibu → Laguna (small/medium/large)(57:31) Poolside's Commercial Reality today: defense; Fortune 500; FDRE (1:02:43) Global team, avoiding the echo chamber(1:04:34) Next 12–18 months: frontier models + infra scale(1:05:52) Closing

Late Confirmation by CoinDesk
THE MINING POD: CoreWeave-Core Scientific Deal Fails, CleanSpark Eyes 285 MW AI Site, TeraWulf's $9.5B Fluidstack Deal

Late Confirmation by CoinDesk

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2025 43:25


Core Scientific shareholders voted no on CoreWeave's $9 billion acquisition proposal, and CleanSpark acquired a Texas site for a 285 MW AI site. Subscribe to the Blockspace newsletter for market-making news as it hits the wire! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! For this week's roundup, we break down Core Scientific shareholders voting NO on the $9B CoreWeave acquisition, CleanSpark's plans for a new 285 megawatt Texas site for AI workloads, and TeraWulf's record 25-year contract with FluidStack. Plus, Ethan Vera from Luxor joins to analyze the ASIC market and where hash rate growth is really coming from. And for this week's cry corner, why the filter soft fork is doomed to fail. Notes:  • Core Scientific shareholders rejected CoreWeave deal • Hashprice dropped to $43.73 per petahash daily • Difficulty adjusted upward 6.3% • Hashrate reached 1.1 zettahash on 7-day average • CleanSpark acquired Texas site with 300 MW pipeline • TeraWulf signed 25-year deal with FluidStack Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:09 Difficulty Report by Luxor 07:47 ASIC market update 12:01 CORZ deal fails 22:14 CleanSpark data center acquisition 27:51 WULF $9.5B FS extension 33:36 Cry Corner: Fork time?

Hashr8 Podcast
Core Scientific-CoreWeave Deal Fails, CleanSpark Eyes 285 MW AI Site, TeraWulf's $9.5B Fluidstack Deal

Hashr8 Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2025 43:25


Subscribe to the Blockspace newsletter for market-making news as it hits the wire! Welcome back to The Mining Pod! For this week's roundup, we break down Core Scientific shareholders voting NO on the $9B CoreWeave acquisition, CleanSpark's plans for a new 285 megawatt Texas site for AI workloads, and TeraWulf's record 25-year contract with FluidStack. Plus, Ethan Vera from Luxor joins to analyze the ASIC market and where hash rate growth is really coming from. And for this week's cry corner, why the filter soft fork is doomed to fail. Notes:  • Core Scientific shareholders rejected CoreWeave deal • Hashprice dropped to $43.73 per petahash daily • Difficulty adjusted upward 6.3% • Hashrate reached 1.1 zettahash on 7-day average • CleanSpark acquired Texas site with 300 MW pipeline • TeraWulf signed 25-year deal with FluidStack Timestamps: 00:00 Start 02:09 Difficulty Report by Luxor 07:47 ASIC market update 12:01 CORZ deal fails 22:14 CleanSpark data center acquisition 27:51 WULF $9.5B FS extension 33:36 Cry Corner: Fork time?

C.O.B. Tuesday
"The Middle East is Positioning Itself As A Switzerland Of AI Infrastructure" Featuring Obinna Isiadinso, IFC

C.O.B. Tuesday

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2025 64:26


Today we had the pleasure of hosting Obinna Isiadinso, Global Sector Lead for Data Center Investments at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Obinna leads investment teams on valuation and execution considerations, reviews private equity and credit transaction structures, and participates in transaction negotiations in the Data Center and Cloud sectors in emerging markets globally. He is also the author of the Global Data Center Hub on Substack (linked here). His career spans private equity, infrastructure, and real assets. We were thrilled to host Obinna and learn from him on one of today's most dynamic topics. In our discussion, Obinna outlines the IFC's role as the private financing arm of the World Bank, shares his background in private equity and digital infrastructure, and describes his current global portfolio focus. He explains the IFC's structure and mission to achieve commercial returns while ensuring developmental impact, its ~$100 billion balance sheet, and dual role as a lender and equity investor. We cover the IFC's role in digital infrastructure and data centers, why data centers matter for emerging market development, the IFC's investment approach and capital structure, and Obinna's Substack, which tracks and summarizes global data center activity. We discuss global market sizing (U.S. ~30 GW; Northern Virginia 3–4 GW; Europe FLAP-D ~1-1.5 GW each; South America ~1 GW; Africa ~500 MW, ~250 MW in South Africa; India ~1.2-1.3 GW; China ~3-4 GW; Malaysia ~250 MW with ~1 GW pipeline in 3-5 years), the growth outlook with hyperscalers planning to add 30-50 GW in 3-5 years and roughly ~$400 billion capex this year, cost benchmarks ($10-12 million/MW plus chips), build times, EBITDA economics, current valuation multiples, the evolving fuel mix, and the IFC's sustainability criteria. Obinna summarizes the IFC's market-by-market approach to energy sourcing, rising power demand in emerging markets (and potential competition for scarce power), the IFC's initiatives to expand generation and grid capacity in Africa, and the Middle East's bid to be a ‘Switzerland of AI Infrastructure.' We ended by asking Obinna for key trends he's watching including diversification of AI models, continuous training workloads, and growing private credit participation. It was a fascinating conversation and we can't thank Obinna enough for joining and sharing his insights. We look forward to staying in touch. Mike Bradley noted that this will be a pivotal week for markets, with the FOMC rate decision on Wednesday, a slew of Q3 reports from Big AI/Tech and Energy/Electricity companies throughout this week, and an OPEC+ meeting being held over the weekend. In the bond market, the 10-year bond yield continues to be stuck in the 4% range. The Fed is expected to cut interest rates by 25bps both this week and again in December. On the oil market front, WTI price has slipped back to ~$60/bbl as oil traders seem fixated again on the 2026 oil supply surplus rather than Russian oil sanctions. OPEC+ is expected to raise November oil production by another 137kbpd (similar to October) at this weekend's OPEC+ meeting. At Veriten, we still envision oil markets in 2026 being a “tale of two markets” with 1H26 being challenged and 2H26 being pretty constructive. In global market news, President Javier Milei's party scored a major win in Argentina's legislative elections, sending bond yields lower, the peso modestly higher, and a 20%+ surge in the Argentina stock market. On the broader equity market front, the S&P 500 continues to reach new highs with this week's move mostly due to optimism of a China-U.S. trade deal. A handful of Big AI/Tech names will be reporting this week (AAPL, AMZN, GOOG, META & MSFT) which could increase broader marke

Solar Maverick Podcast
SMP 244: The Science of Solar Site Selection

Solar Maverick Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2025 32:51


Episode Summary: In this special crossover episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, host Benoy Thanjan sits down with Ana Conde from PVcase  originally featured on her Watt Matters Podcast to break down one of the most critical stages of solar project development: site selection and feasibility. From choosing the right land and navigating interconnection hurdles to understanding permitting, moratoriums, and evolving market dynamics, Benoy shares hard-earned lessons from developing over 100 MW of solar projects across the U.S. He also discusses how technology, AI, and relationships all play a role in finding and executing the right solar sites. This conversation is packed with practical insights for developers, EPCs, investors, and anyone who wants to understand how the best projects actually get built. Topics Covered: What truly defines a “good” solar site and how to spot red flags early How developers can evaluate flat land, proximity to three-phase power, and interconnection feasibility The growing challenges in saturated markets like New York and New Jersey How to navigate solar moratoriums, endangered species issues, and permitting Real-world lessons from community solar and rooftop projects, including NYCHA's Harlem portfolio The role of AI, GIS tools, and automation in speeding up site selection and design Why relationships, transparency, and trust still matter more than ever How the “Big Beautiful Bill” and regulatory uncertainty are reshaping the solar landscape Trends shaping the future: solar + storage, repowering assets, and new market geographies Notable Quote: “At the end of the day, you can have all the technology in the world, but if you can't build relationships, it's a lot harder to develop great projects. People do business with those they know, like, and trust.” Key Takeaway: Solar success starts long before construction. Smart site selection, community engagement, and disciplined feasibility analysis separate projects that thrive from those that never get off the ground.   Biographies Benoy Thanjan Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy, solar developer and consulting firm, and a strategic advisor to multiple cleantech startups. Over his career, Benoy has developed over 100 MWs of solar projects across the U.S., helped launch the first residential solar tax equity funds at Tesla, and brokered $45 million in Renewable Energy Credits (“REC”) transactions. Prior to founding Reneu Energy, Benoy was the Environmental Commodities Trader in Tesla's Project Finance Group, where he managed one of the largest environmental commodities portfolios. He originated REC trades and co-developed a monetization and hedging strategy with senior leadership to enter the East Coast market. As Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners, Benoy crafted project finance solutions for commercial-scale solar portfolios. His role at Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund with 125 MWs of U.S. renewable assets, involved evaluating investment opportunities and maximizing returns. He also played a key role in the sale of the firm's renewable portfolio. Earlier in his career, Benoy worked in Energy Structured Finance at Deloitte & Touche and Financial Advisory Services at Ernst & Young, following an internship on the trading floor at D.E. Shaw & Co., a multi billion dollar hedge fund. Benoy holds an MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from NYU Stern, where he was an Alumni Scholar.   Ana Conde Ana Conde is a seasoned product marketing leader with over 15 years in renewable energy. Known for her strategic mindset and passion for innovation, Ana brings clarity, curiosity, and deep industry knowledge to every conversation. As host of Watt Matters, she explores the ideas, people, and breakthroughs moving solar forward   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: info@reneuenergy.com  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Ana Conde      Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-conde-df/ Website:  https://pvcase.com/podcast/s1e2-podcast-science-solar-selection-benoy-thanjan