How Much Should We Worry About Data Centers?
Credit: Cisco
One of the things that everyone seemed to agree about fairly recently is that AI compute at data centers was going to drive crazy load growth over the next several years and put a lot of stress on the grid. Here’s recent coverage about how utilities are essentially flying blind on large new data center build outs.
However, while there will undoubtedly be load growth driven by data centers, how big of a challenge it will be is much more complicated – that article above references research from the Bipartisan Policy Center focused on this very subject. In some areas (like Virginia, where a lot of the fiber for internet traffic runs through), there’s a whole lot; in other areas it has not yet materialized.
Additionally, because of the way interconnection queues work, there’s a bit of a phantom buildout dynamic, where folks developing data centers are trying to get in line for power, to see where they can plug in and have access to affordable power most quickly, but they aren’t actually to build all of the proposed projects (just as not every solar project in the interconnection queue is going to get built). At the same time, there are changing market dynamics (including macroeconomic conditions and the emergence of Deepseek) that is already leading to data center developments being paused.
My former colleague Tyler Norris has also done interesting research showing that if data centers are able to be slightly flexible and leverage demand response (or storage), there’s plenty of overall grid capacity most of the time. Other industry leaders are making similar points.
Credit: BYD
Ultra Fast Charging
Chinese EV company BYD unveiled one megawatt charging stations that can add 250 miles of range to a car in 5 minutes, which would presumably eliminate range anxiety concerns for drivers. Here in the US, charging company Gravity has been deploying 500 kilowatt chargers for a year, and claims 100% uptime. They claim they can add 200 miles of range in 5 minutes, although that top end rate is limited by the vehicles right now (they can dish it all out, but the vehicles can’t take it all yet). This is all very impressive, although for most use cases 10-15 minute charging is probably going to be fine and where I think things will shake out, since this matches the dwell times at rest stops (because people also use the bathroom and buy coffee). A 10 minute charge is also quick enough that folks could accommodate it even if they don’t live with charging at home, which is currently a significant adoption barrier. And truth be told, we’re not actually that far away from that – right now newer mainstream models like a Kia EV6 can add a bit over 200 miles of range in 18 minutes at a 350 kilowatt level 3 charger.
Credit: Richmond BizSense
Crop of Indoor Ag Companies is Spoiling
Indoor farming company Plenty filed for bankruptcy. It’s the latest indoor ag company to bite the dust. These businesses focused on premium ag products with shorter shelf lives (like micro greens and strawberries), but have had trouble scaling. Some had closed system issues: growing indoors means plants are not exposed to some natural pest and pathogens, but if they do get in, there aren’t natural predators to counterbalance them.
It’s easy to say now, but I was always a little confused why so much venture money went into this space. If companies can actually automate and deliver high quality products cost effectively at scale, that has exciting potential, although in practice, electricity and labor costs prove to be significant (outdoor farms by comparison get free light, and a lot of specialty crops are harvested by immigrant laborers who receive extremely modest wages). In addition, there are approaches to growing more specialty crops (like using hoop houses) that are simpler and cheaper than custom buildings.
At the end of the day, some of this is probably just a model fit thing – building out an indoor agricultural warehouse facility is hugely capital intensive and complicated, paired with significant operational costs, which are just not a great fit for venture dollars (which are best suited to solutions that can scale extremely quickly).
Other News
Credit: Invenergy
Chicago based Invenergy launched commercial operations of its first hydrogen production facility in Illinois.
Volkswagen revealed their affordable mass market electric vehicle concept, the ID.Every1, which is expected to go on sale in Europe in 2027 for about $22K, which is around the same price point as an entry level Toyota Corolla today.
CTVC highlights major supply constraints and long lead times for natural gas turbines.
The group of House Republicans interested in defending IRA tax breaks has grown.
Evanston, Illinois, recently passed an ordinance to decarbonize large buildings by 2050
EV truck company Rivian spun out a new micro mobility startup called Also, part of a Precambrian explosion of micro mobility companies and models over the last couple of years.
Pitchbook analysis shows high levels of dry powder (unallocated capital) at venture capital funds (across all sectors)
Research highlighted by Scientific American suggests microplastics can screw up biological mechanisms in plants, cutting their ability to photosynthesize by around 10%
While there is a lot of uncertainty regarding the DOE’s Loan Programs Office, the Trump administration did pay out the loan to re-open the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, which had been finalized and partially funded last year.
