In this episode, James talks with Tony and Alex from the Paces team about their recent white paper exploring the mismatch between data center growth projections and actual grid planning. Tony, a seasoned power developer, and Alex, a researcher focused on data center flexibility, dive into how speculative load growth is driving transmission investments that may never serve real projects.

They discuss how Paces analyzed over 14 million Texas land parcels to identify where data centers could feasibly be built, incorporating constraints like power access, zoning, water, and community sentiment. The conversation reveals a fundamental disconnect: the grid is being built for data centers that may never exist, while truly viable sites often lack the needed power capacity. By taking a “land-first” approach, Paces offers a bottom-up, data-driven framework to inform smarter, faster, and more collaborative infrastructure decisions.

• Why ERCOT (Texas) was the ideal case study for this white paper.
• The speculative nature of current interconnection requests and its ripple effects.
• Key site viability criteria: power, topography, ownership, fiber, and water.
• Why only 17% of viable land near substations in Texas has withdrawal capacity.

A must-listen for anyone building in clean energy, this episode offers a practical framework to better align developer needs with grid planning.

Paces helps developers find and evaluate the sites most suitable for renewable development. Interested in a call with James, CEO @ Paces?

In this episode, James talks with Shanu Mathew, Senior Vice President at Lazard, where he co-leads a U.S. sustainable equity strategy. With a background in traditional finance and a passion for climate and sustainability, Shanu blends data-driven investing with macro-level insight into energy and technology transitions.

They explore how Shanu’s career evolved from M&A banking to managing portfolios at the intersection of sustainability, power, and AI. The conversation ranges from the transformation of ESG investing, to the macroeconomic impact of AI on energy demand, and how public markets are trying to keep up with private innovation in data infrastructure. Shanu also unpacks what’s real (and what’s hype) in the current AI-capex boom.

• The evolution of ESG investing into a bottom-up, alpha-first approach
• Why AI is driving unprecedented power demand and reshaping energy markets
• The "chip to grid" value chain and where public market opportunities lie
• Physical bottlenecks like land, power, and permitting—and how they impact AI deployment

If you want a deeply informed view on how capital markets are adapting to the climate-tech and AI megatrends, this episode is a must-listen.

Paces helps developers find and evaluate the sites most suitable for renewable development. Interested in a call with James, CEO @ Paces?

In this episode, James talks with Gabe Messercola, Director of Data Center Solutions at EDF. Gabe shares his journey from studying environmental policy and working as a rock climbing instructor to building renewable energy projects at Nexamp and leading innovative data center strategies at EDF. With deep experience in asset management and power markets, Gabe now focuses on aligning renewable generation with high-demand loads like data centers and flexible industrial users.

They discuss the evolving relationship between renewables, load growth, and AI-driven data center demand. Gabe explains how EDF is solving curtailment and congestion challenges by co-locating load at underutilized wind and solar sites. He highlights EDF's work with Soluna on a 166 MW behind-the-meter data center and dives into the regulatory, technical, and financial structures enabling this model. The conversation also tackles the critical role of market incentives, competitive retail, and grid flexibility to unlock fast deployment and sustainable scale.

• How co-located data centers are unlocking value from stranded renewable assets
• The ERCOT PUN model and its role in hybrid project design
• The tension between AI uptime requirements and grid flexibility
• Why competitive retail markets like Texas are leading clean energy innovation

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of data centers, clean energy, and infrastructure innovation.

Paces helps developers find and evaluate the sites most suitable for renewable development. Interested in a call with James, CEO @ Paces?