This insightful, wide-ranging conversation with Ali Chehrehsaz (TerraVerde Energy) explores how solar, storage, and new forms of flexible load (AI, data centers, Bitcoin) are reshaping the grid. Ali walks through the economics of distributed generation, why California’s energy costs are so high, and what happens as solar tips into overproduction. Along the way, the discussion dives into the exploding power needs of AI, the rise of off-grid data centers, and Bitcoin mining not just as an energy sink but as a flexible buyer of last resort.

The episode closes with a look toward the Type I Summit, a gathering for ~50 entrepreneurs, investors and solar pirates building the path to terawatt-scale energy and a true Kardashev Type I civilization. Apply below if you’re interested in joining!

📍 San Francisco, CA

📅 November 2025

Apply now: https://tally.so/r/wglrVM

Learn more: https://type1summit.org/

Read more: https://www.hivemind.vc/grid

Hear more:

Timestamps

0:00 Opening

2:30 Ali’s background

9:57 Distributed generation explained

13:47 Solar + storage crossing the tipping point & why it took so long

18:24 Why electricity costs are soaring in California

24:28 Rising transmission & distribution costs

33:36 Overbuilding solar, microgrids, and natural gas backup

41:03 Batteries as the grid’s high-frequency traders

45:35 AI demand shock & the rise of off-grid data centers

58:14 Solar first, but not only: mixing natgas, storage, and geography

01:11:22 Overproduction as opportunity: Bitcoin, AI, and new flexible loads

01:22:12 Why Bitcoin as buyer of last resort hasn’t scaled

01:27:30 Promise of home overbuilds: rooftop solar and small-scale mining

01:31:14 Is Bitcoin energy-backed or belief-backed? “The age of the photon” idea

01:37:09 Practical Bitcoin x Energy applications: waste heat, settlement, stranded energy, mining models

01:46:44 Building the new grid: macrogrids, terawatt data centers, frontier ideas and scaling challenges

2:02:00 Announcing the Type I Summit

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