Utilities are struggling to provide enough capacity to meet the needs of data centers and other large loads. To address this challenge, GridCARE performs an "MRI" of the grid and finds unused capacity in utility systems, cutting utility costs and helping avoid building fossil-fired plants. For example, for Portland General Electric, GridCARE identified 400 MW of existing infrastructure to meet the needs of five data centers, and the data centers signed flexible interconnection agreements with the utility. GridCARE is also working with National Grid.

Data centers, large loads and developers pay GridCARE, which partners with utilities and doesn't charge them.

About the guest:

Cariana Morales is chief of staff at GridCARE.

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The Sunrise Toyota dealership on Long Island achieved 55% energy savings and reduced peak demand by 101 kW with a microgrid comprised of energy storage and solar, and is expected to ultimately cut utility costs by 90%.

Guests Maria Fields and Dennis Quinn, co-founders at Sprocket Power, describe the "unpredictable and shocking" demand charges car dealerships and other businesses experience when they install electric vehicle charging, and how to lower those charges with clean energy. They also share their thoughts on how more utilities are open to using distributed energy resources to help address their power shortages.

Partners in the project include Sprocket Power, which installed the microgrid, Evo Power , which provided the battery energy storage and Ranial Systems ,which supplied the controller.

Background information

Evo Power and Ranial Systems recently formed a partnership to provide battery storage and controls to commercial and industrial sites like the Toyota dealership.

Sprocket is taking advantage of New York State's Value of Distributed Energy Resources program to lower energy costs.

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At The Great Transformation conference in Bend, Oregon in July, a panel addressed the question: How much will the creation of the new grid be in the hands of utilities versus the customers?

Moderated by Elisa Wood, founder and Editor at Energy Changemakers, the panel included Cameron Brooks, executive director, Think Microgrid, Greg Castle, commercial leader, power & grid segment, Schneider Electric and Michael Grenier, president at Elexity.

The panel also discussed how the energy industry can help address opposition to data centers by delivering community benefits.

Moderator: Elisa Wood, founder, editor and publisher at Energy Changemakers.

Panelists:

Cameron Brooks, executive director at Think Microgrid.

Greg Castle, commercial leader, power and grid segment at Schneider Electric.

Michael Grenier, president at Elexity.

Also discussed in this episode is a separate panel about creative interconnection ideas. David Namura, Google's government affairs and public policy manager for the Pacific Northwest, described the company's Clean Transition Tariffs.

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A report from consultant Wood Mackenzie pointed to the dangers of bursts of power demand in AI data centers.

ZincFive says it has an answer. The company's nickel-zinc energy storage provides short, high-power dischages for data centers to address AI power surges and also provides outage backup. The Oregon-based business has deployed 2 GW of its product, saw its annual revenue doubling from 2024 to approximately $66.9 million in 2025 and has plans to go public.

Tod Higinbotham, CEO of ZincFive, explains the company's technology, describes its partnership with Spark I Acquisition and says why the company believes ZincFive's storage is less expensive than lithium-ion based batteries.

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In Iceland, which has vast geothermal resources, Syntholene Energy, with support from Idaho National Laboratory, is testing synfuel production that combines geothermal heat with high-temperature electrolysis. The company says its synfuel is 70% less expensive than synfuels produced using other clean energy options and could reach price parity with fossil fuels in about 10 years.

While Iceland has plenty of water resources, the company says water management will be critical as it rolls out its product commercially to other, less water-rich regions.

About the guest:

Dan Sutton, co-founder and CEO at Syntholene Energy.

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In December 2023, a winter storm hit Highland Park, Michigan, and the ensuing power outage lasted four days – a common occurrence in the community, which has a high poverty rate.

Partially in response to the outages, Juan Shannon created Parker Village, with plans to provide clean, low-cost local energy to the residents, including net zero homes, two solar microgrids and an electric transportation loop.

Another goal is to keep wealth in Highland Park, which covers three square miles close to Detroit and ranks in the 94th percentile for low-income status in the U.S., with 45% of the population living at or below the poverty line.

About the Guest:

Juan Shannon, executive director, Parker Village Foundation

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Under the first-of-a-kind Oregon Power Act, data centers served by the state's two investor-owned utilities can't drive up utility bills or undermine Oregon's clean energy goals. The law has attracted interest from other states considering similar measures.

While Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp are required to follow the provisions of the law, the state's public utilities do not, and in Umatilla Electric Cooperative territory--home to many data centers--emissions have increased by about 570% over the last 15 years, said Joshua Basofin, Oregon clean energy program director at Climate Solutions.

Oregon is attracting data center development because it has relatively low energy costs, access to undersea data cables and offers incentives to draw businesses to the state. Data centers hae been a major factor in driving up utility rattes by 50% since 2021, said Charlotte Shuff, communications director at the Oregon Citizens' Utility Board.

Ideas for helping Oregon meet clean energy goals include asking data centers to deploy energy storage during peak hours. Another proposal offered by Rewiring America: Require data centers to pay for residential customers' heat pumps and rooftop solar to free up capacity on the grid for data centers.

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