Eliot Assimakopoulos, CEO of Realizse and former GE microgrid pioneer, discusses a critical barrier to clean energy deployment: "stranded abundance." Despite available capital and valuable incentives, friction in finance prevents these resources from connecting, limiting microgrid and DER project development.

Eliot Assimakopoulos

• CEO, Realizse

• Former Marine Corps Captain

• 20 years at General Electric leading microgrid solution development

• Early pioneer in the microgrid space

The Stranded Abundance Problem

• Valuable incentive programs (ITC, 179D, state incentives) exist but remain underutilized

• Capital exists but doesn't trust complex value streams

• Example: Heat pump programs can access 50% ITC but developers avoid it due to complexity and risk

Historical Parallels

• Printing press and the democratization of knowledge

• Gold rush: connecting stranded gold with stranded capital through infrastructure (Wells Fargo)

The Solution: Web3 and Decentralized Finance

• Using blockchain, smart contracts, and automation to create trusted data frameworks

• Integrating compliance data with insurance (similar to telematics in fleet vehicles)

• Removing ITC recapture risk through data-driven insurance products

• Creating investible assets from energy data

Two Sides of Abundance

• Removing friction to build (permits, interconnection, supply chain)

• Removing friction to finance (trust, complexity, risk management)

• Energy abundance requires both reducing building barriers AND financing barriers

• Trusted data infrastructure can unlock stranded capital pools

• Tokenization and alternative investments are creating new opportunities

• The shift toward private markets and granular asset transparency enables liquidity

• Democratization of both energy AND finance is the ultimate goal

• Ezra Klein's work on abundance agenda

• Larry Fink's 2025 investor letter on tokenization

• Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives

• 179D building energy efficiency tax incentive

For more information, visit energychangemakers.com

The explosive growth of AI training centers is creating unprecedented challenges for the electric grid. In this eye-opening conversation, Kay Aikin reveals why gigawatt-scale data centers like Stargate aren't just about needing more power—they're creating stability threats that could collapse entire grid systems. Learn why virtual power plants can't solve this problem, what new technologies are needed, and how the regulatory landscape must adapt to handle loads that can spike by several gigawatts in seconds.

Key Topics

• Introduction
• Three Types of Data Centers
• AI Training Centers: The Game Changer
• The Ramp Rate Problem
• Why Virtual Power Plants Can't Help
• What Solutions Could Work
• The Battery Challenge
• Interconnection Roadblocks
• Microgrid Alternatives
• The Regulatory Challenge
• Broader Infrastructure Crisis
• The Incentive Problem
• Systems Thinking Approach

Resources mentioned

• NERC Study: National Electricity Reliability Corporation report on large load impacts

• Energy Hub VPP White Paper: Recent publication on virtual power plant capabilities

• Previous Podcast: "Are We Expecting Too Much From Virtual Power Plants?" with Kay Aikin, Mark Patterson, and Lorenzo Kristov

• GridWise Architecture Council: Organization focused on power systems architecture

• Kay's Website: www.innovate8futures.com (Regenerative Futures - systems thinking resources)

Kay Aikin is CEO of Dynamic Grid and a systems engineer specializing in electrical grid architecture. She serves on the GridWise Architecture Council and is known for her forward-thinking approach to grid transformation challenges. Kay focuses on distribution network challenges, DER integration, and holistic systems design.

Elisa Wood is the host of the Energy Changemakers Podcast, which features conversations with industry leaders about building the decentralized grid. She can be reached at [email protected].

Have thoughts on this episode? Reach out to Elisa at [email protected] or use the thumbs up/down buttons to provide feedback.

Listen to the Energy Changemakers Podcast on your favorite platform to stay informed about the latest developments in grid transformation and distributed energy.

This episode explores "speed to power" - the urgent need for data centers to access electricity quickly to support AI infrastructure growth. Anna Demeo explains why the fast-moving world of hyperscalers (Google, Meta, Microsoft) is colliding with the cautious, regulated utility industry, and what innovative solutions might bridge this gap.

Guest Bio: Anna Demeo

Anna Demeo, PhD is an industry executive at the intersection of energy and decarbonization with 30 years of experience integrating hardware and software to develop, commercialize, and scale sustainable energy solutions. She is the Managing Partner at Clean Tech Strategy Advisors, where she advises corporations, startups, and investors navigating the clean tech landscape.

Right now, the term "energy abundance" seems to be everywhere. It springs from Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's book Abundance, which argues that we have too many rules and procedures bogging down the construction of clean energy, housing, and other needed infrastructure. While the book has created debate in both the power industry and political arenas, this episode moves away from the politics of abundance to focus on the economics of abundance.

Host Elisa Wood sits down with energy economist Mariko Geronimo Aydin to explore how the abundance agenda fits into an industry where markets traditionally make money via scarcity, not abundance. Mariko offers unique insights into thinking about energy abundance from an economist's perspective and shares the innovative work happening at the Earthshot Foundation through their Gridiron Dialogues.

Guest Bio

Mariko Geronimo Aydin is an energy economist with 20 years of experience working as a consultant to regulators, utilities, and developers across the country. She specializes in resource planning (including generation and transmission portfolios), cost-benefit analysis, market design, and incorporating resilience measures into grid planning. Currently serving as Chief Economist and Senior Fellow at the Earthshot Foundation, Mariko focuses on advancing economic frameworks that support sustainable and abundant energy systems, with recent work concentrated on California's resource planning challenges.

Rooftop solar is far more affordable in other countries than it is in the United States, and the gap has little to do with technology. In this conversation, Elisa talks with Nick Josefowitz, Chief Executive of Permit Power, about why American families pay so much more for rooftop solar and how outdated permitting, utility requirements and fragmented local rules create unnecessary barriers.

Nick explains what “soft costs” are, why they account for nearly 80 percent of the cost of residential solar in the US, and how automated permitting could dramatically lower costs, reduce delays, and help millions of households save on their utility bills. They discuss state-level solutions, the potential for nationwide standardization, and the real economic benefits of making solar installation easier, faster and more predictable.

If your company works in distributed energy or home electrification, this episode offers a practical look at policy tools that can expand the solar market, reduce customer churn, and support installers who are struggling under inconsistent local rules.

Nick Josefowitz is the Chief Executive of Permit Power, a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to making home solar and batteries more affordable and accessible. Permit Power works to cut through the red tape that keeps installation costs high in the United States by advancing automated permitting, streamlined interconnection, and state-level policy reform. The organization conducts research, provides policy guidance, and partners with lawmakers, installers, and local governments to modernize outdated systems.

Relevant Links

• Permit Power: https://permitpower.org

• Automated permitting resources via the SolarAPP+ initiative (DOE)

• Brown University Climate Solutions Lab research on local government efficiency

• Energy Changemakers community: https://energychangemakers.com

Call to Action

If you are an installer, developer, or policymaker working in distributed energy, Permit Power wants to hear from you. Your stories and real-world experience help shape policy solutions that make rooftop solar more accessible for every American family.

Connect with Elisa and the Energy Changemakers community at energychangemakers.com and subscribe for updates, insights, and upcoming episodes.

In this episode, host Elisa Wood sits down with Adam Scarsella, Vice President of Digital Infrastructure Sales at Voltus, to explore a new approach to accelerating data center interconnection: Bring Your Own Capacity (BYOC).

This innovative model allows hyperscalers to meet their peak energy needs not by waiting years for new power plants, but by funding a virtual power plant (VPP) built from distributed energy resources (DERs) already in the community.

Elisa and Adam unpack what’s driving today’s unprecedented grid strain, why VPPs are becoming indispensable, and how BYOC flips the script—turning data centers from grid liabilities into direct contributors to local resilience. They also discuss Voltus’s evolution over the past seven years, the rapid rise of emergency dispatches across markets, and how partnerships like their work with Cloverleaf Infrastructure are shaping the next era of grid planning.

If you want a front-row seat to where virtual power plants, hyperscaler load growth, and grid modernization are heading, this conversation is essential listening.

• Why traditional power plant development no longer keeps pace with increasing load.

• The explosion of data centers, AI infrastructure, and large industrial loads across the U.S.

• Record-high capacity prices in wholesale markets such as PJM and MISO.

• Voltus has seen daily dispatch events for more than a year across multiple markets.

• How VPPs provide system flexibility during a period of accelerating retirements (coal, gas) and growing intermittent generation.

Adam explains how the company has evolved:

• Early focus: traditional industrial demand response.

• Today: Batteries, Solar, EVs, Commercial + residential loads, Carbon response programs

• Voltus has become a comprehensive DER platform supporting grid operators every day.

• Data centers face multi-year interconnection delays due to capacity constraints.

• BYOC allows hyperscalers to fund a VPP that offsets their peak load.

• Voltus builds the VPP from local DERs; the hyperscaler pays for it.

• This provides:

• Faster interconnection

• A new revenue stream for local businesses/residents

• Less pressure on utilities to develop new power plants

• Instead of extracting resources, the hyperscaler directly invests in the local grid.

• Paid participation for commercial/industrial loads and DER owners.

• A constructive alternative to community concerns around noise, water use, and energy consumption.

• Recent proposals from the U.S. Department of Energy recommending expedited interconnection for loads willing to be curtailed.

• BYOC offers a more practical version of that concept by enabling curtailment via the VPP, not the data center itself.

• Cloverleaf builds the physical data center campus.

• Voltus determines the required VPP capacity and constructs the DER aggregation.

• Together they provide a new model for rapid, collaborative grid integration.

• Adam hints at upcoming project announcements.

• Voltus expects BYOC to gain momentum as grid constraints grow and DER capabilities expand.

Adam Scarsella is the Vice President of Digital Infrastructure Sales at Voltus, a leading provider of distributed energy resource software and solutions. Over his seven years with the company, Adam has helped lead the transition from classic demand response to sophisticated virtual power plant programs serving utilities, grid operators, commercial and industrial users, and now hyperscalers seeking rapid interconnection. His work centers on using distributed energy to solve large-scale grid challenges through flexible, market-driven programs.

• Voltus: https://www.voltus.co

• Energy Changemakers Newsletter: https://energychangemakers.com

• Learn more about distributed energy and virtual power plants across U.S. markets.

If you enjoyed this episode, you can also subscribe to our newsletter at energychangemakers.com and join a community working to accelerate a more local, reliable, and equitable energy future.

In this special crossover episode, Energy Changemakers host Elisa Wood joins Jennifer Zajac on Clean Energy Shorts to talk about the most exciting innovations reshaping the electric grid. From mega-microgrids to driveway solar, Elisa reveals what’s really happening behind the headlines—and why the clean-energy story is about more than politics.

They unpack the myths driving public perception, explore new business models making microgrids affordable, and discuss why flexibility—not nuclear—defines the future of energy. The conversation also highlights inspiring examples of resilience, from Ukraine’s grid recovery efforts to local U.S. communities taking ownership of energy.

This is an optimistic, insight-packed conversation that celebrates innovation, collaboration, and a more distributed, consumer-controlled grid.

Episode Breakdown

Introduction

Elisa introduces the crossover episode and sets the stage for her discussion with Clean Energy Shorts host, Jennifer Zajac.

Misconceptions About Clean Energy

Why the public conversation about energy often misses the real story—and what’s actually driving today’s grid transformation.

Politics and Power

Elisa and Jennifer discuss the political polarization around renewables and why the market ultimately dictates the future of energy.

The Coolest Innovations on the Grid

From Eaton and Siemens’ large-scale modular microgrids to a family-run company developing driveway solar, Elisa shares her favorite new technologies.

The Rise of the Microgrid

How Hurricane Sandy, resilience needs, and entrepreneurial innovation made “microgrid” a household word—and how businesses are adopting them faster than ever.

Making Microgrids Affordable

The evolution of business models—like “microgrid as a service”—that make distributed energy accessible to communities and companies alike.

Supply Chain Realities

Elisa explains how microgrids are sidestepping the bottlenecks that plague large power plants and the transmission grid.

Investment Trends

Why investors remain confident in microgrids and solar despite shifting tax policies and tariffs.

Why Nuclear Won’t Lead the Future

A candid discussion on small modular reactors (SMRs) and why nuclear energy doesn’t fit a software-driven, flexible grid.

Data Centers’ Growing Pains

Inside the data-center boom: power shortages, desperate solutions, and NIMBY resistance from communities nationwide.

Lessons from Ukraine

What the ongoing war teaches about grid vulnerability, cascading failures, and the need for distributed, resilient systems.

Footprint Project & Disaster Recovery

Profiles of organizations deploying mobile solar microgrids to restore power after disasters—and what utilities can learn from them.

The Next Energy Frontier: Local Control

Elisa shares her excitement for community-owned solar and microgrids, and how local energy control can lower costs and increase reliability.

Real Stories of Community Solar

Why even the most innovative models sometimes require old-school door-knocking to make community energy projects work.

Wrapping Up: Hope for the Future

Elisa reflects on her new venture, Energy Changemakers, and the inspiring innovations shaping a decentralized, equitable energy landscape.

 Relevant Links

• Energy Changemakers: https://energychangemakers.com

• Clean Energy Shorts Podcast: (Search wherever you get your podcasts)

Why do many energy companies struggle to connect with stakeholders despite strong technical credentials? Why is it so hard for them to tell their story, and what could make it easier?

Elisa Wood brings together two communications experts who have helped a range of organizations find their stories: energy writer-editor Jay Hodgkins and podcast strategist Scott Smith. 

• Why stories are remembered and spec sheets are not

• How to frame renewables amid misinformation and political headwinds

• When to avoid acronyms and insider terms

• Ways to adapt your message across formats like podcasts, blogs, and webinars

• The simple, human description of “spinning reserves” and why it matters

• Three quick rules any subject matter expert can use to communicate better

• How consistent narratives build credibility through government policy cycles 

• Why imperfection reads as human, especially in an AI-polished world.

Listeners come away with concise rules for subject matter experts, guidance on differentiation in crowded B2B markets, and examples of translating technical precision into benefits that matter to customers, regulators, and community leaders. 

The throughline is simple communication that is truthful, human and focused on outcomes.

• “People do not remember facts. They remember stories.”

• “Fight fire with water. Lead with facts and aim them at the people who can act.”

• “Your customer is the hero. You are the guide.”

• “Acronyms are the enemy of attention.”

• “There is always a way to tell the same truth in a way that fits the moment.”

• “Keep it short. Your audience does not care as much as you do.”

• “Pick the channel after you define the message.”

• “Imperfections read as human. That is an advantage now.”

• “If we add renewables without stability tools, the grid can wobble. Batteries fix the wobble.”

• “Differentiate by benefit, not by feature.”
  

Elisa Wood

Journalist and host of Energy Changemakers. She covers distributed energy, microgrids, and the decentralized grid and leads Energy Changemakers Content Services.

Jay Hodgkins

Freelance energy writer and editor who helps companies translate complex energy topics into messages that customers and regulators understand. Jay and Elisa are long-time collaborators, previously at Real Energy Writers and now at Energy Changemakers.

Scott Smith

President and Chief Podcasting Officer at Penbury Consulting. Formerly with Gartner, where he led podcasts and moderated prospect-facing webinars. Specializes in spoken-word strategy and helping experts tell memorable stories.

What You’ll Learn
Notable QuotesWho’s On The Mic

Are data center forecasts overblown? Will energy efficiency trim megawatts and even gigawatts off predictions? And if so, what must data centers do to significantly curb their energy use? 

In this episode, host Elisa Wood talks with Mike Slevin of Fluke about what it really takes to make data centers more efficient. They discuss how small, everyday improvements in equipment performance add up to big savings, the growing role of solar and microgrids, and how the shift to DC power could change the game for the industry.

• Why “micro gains” in maintenance can lead to major energy savings

• The difference between short-term fixes and long-term technology shifts

• How solar, microgrids, and DC systems are reshaping power strategies

• Regional differences in sustainability and innovation

• What grid operators can do right now to prepare for rising data center demand
  

Mike Slevin is a Business Unit Manager at Fluke, a company known worldwide for its electronic test and measurement tools. Mike works with data centers and industrial clients to improve energy efficiency, safety, and reliability through better monitoring and maintenance practices.

• Fluke Corporation

• EnergyChangemakers.com

Call to Action

If you found this episode helpful, follow The Energy Changemakers Podcast and leave a review. Join the conversation about grid edge innovation at EnergyChangemakers.com.

Key TopicsGuest BioResources

Utility monopolies were meant to keep the lights on, but have they also opened the door to corruption that slows energy innovation?

Elisa talks with Dick Munson, veteran clean-energy advocate and author of Power Corrupts, about the scandals that rocked utilities like Commonwealth Edison and FirstEnergy, why the century-old monopoly structure invites abuse, and how bribery and dark money can stall the transition to cleaner, distributed power.

• How billion-dollar bailouts in Illinois and Ohio exposed deep utility corruption

• Why state-sanctioned monopolies create perverse incentives and resist prosumer tech

• Practical reforms—from transparency to shareholder-funded lobbying—that could break the cycle

• Why “clean government” is essential for a clean-energy future

• Dick Munson’s book: Power Corrupts

• More on Elisa Wood and Energy Changemakers: energychangemakers.com

• Follow Elisa on LinkedIn: Elisa Wood

• Related reading: Citizens United decision overview | Environmental Defense Fund
  

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