The case for colocating data centers and generation

Sheldon Kimber says the grid is broken — at least for new data centers and other large, industrial loads that need lots of clean power, fast. 

But the founder and CEO of Intersect Power believes there’s a workaround that enables larger data centers and speeds up time to power: colocating behind-the-meter generation and storage on megasites rich with renewable resources. 

In short, instead of bringing clean generation to load, bring load to clean generation. Major partners are on board with the strategy. Last December Intersect announced $800M in investment from Google and private equity firm TPG, along with a goal of catalyzing $20B in projects by 2030.

So how does colocation work? And how far does it go?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Sheldon about how colocation can help sidestep the challenges associated with grid upgrades, transmission, and permitting. They dig into topics like:

• Major forces shaping the market, like AI demand, the IRA, and tariffs
• Optimal PPA prices and tenures
• The right mix of grid-connected and behind-the-meter power
• The extreme version of colocation: off-grid data centers
• Megasite developers for hydrogen and crypto and how they took advantage of the AI boom
• Whether DeepSeek will cause energy demand to temper or accelerate

Recommended resources

• Latitude Media: Google’s new data center model signals a massive market shift
• Latitude Media: Load growth is changing how Silicon Ranch develops solar projects
• Latitude Media: Amazon’s data center strategy: ‘Get back to being grid-tied’
• Catalyst: The US power demand surge: The electricity gauntlet has arrived

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor.

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