How AI, Policy and Distributed Energy Are Reshaping America’s Energy Infrastructure
Jonathan Shieber is Senior Strategist and climate tech storyteller at LaunchSquad.
He was previously Chief Editor and a Venture Partner at Robert Downey Junior’s FootPrint Coalition and was Climate Editor, Contributors Editor and a Senior Editor and writer at TechCrunch. Before TC he covered venture investment in the U.S. and China at Dow Jones & Co. with work published in Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
Dr. Venayagamoorthy is the Duke Energy Distinguished Professor of Power Engineering as well as Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Clemson University.
In addition to a variety of other teaching positions, he is also Founder and Director of the Real-Time Power and Intelligent Systems Laboratory, a pioneer and frontier lab for advancing, developing, and implementing artificial intelligence-based algorithms for power systems and smart grids.
Andy Berke has spent two decades improving American lives through impactful policies and projects. As Mayor of Chattanooga, he spearheaded initiatives like universal broadband and economic growth with Volkswagen. Now in the federal government, he focuses on bringing high-quality infrastructure to rural America, leveraging the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fund clean energy and broadband projects.
Adam is a program builder and innovator who believes in the power of network effects. He leads a clean tech startup incubator and accelerator supporting Virginia's energy transition. He collaborates with local entrepreneurs and startups nationwide focused on renewables, grid modernization, EVs, carbon storage, and IoT. Through mentoring, education, and networking, Adam helps entrepreneurs advance to the next stage of growth, fostering a cleaner, more reliable grid.
Energy and policy leaders — including Clemson’s Kumar Venayagamoorthy, USDA’s Andy Berke, Dominion Energy Innovation Center’s Adam Sledd and strategist Jonathan Shieber — examined the rapidly transforming U.S. power grid. With electric demand soaring from AI, electric vehicles and industrial reshoring, the panel laid out a vision for modernizing grid infrastructure while addressing policy gaps, investment needs and technology trade-offs.
Demand Surge: A Grid Built for the Past Meets a Future It’s Not Ready For
The U.S. power grid is under pressure like never before. Demand is rising at a rate today’s utility engineers haven’t seen in decades — driven not only by electrification but by the exponential energy needs of AI models and data centers. Panelists warned that this explosive growth requires a fundamental mindset shift among utilities. Once accustomed to steady or declining load, utilities must now embrace a dynamic role: proactively managing both supply and demand across a decentralized landscape.
AI: The Paradox of Power
Artificial intelligence emerged as both culprit and solution. On one hand, large-scale AI models are voracious energy consumers with their infrastructure rivaling that of industrial-scale users. On the other, AI can optimize grid performance — improving forecasting, enabling real-time load balancing and identifying hidden inefficiencies. One speaker advocated for “brain-like” AI models that operate more sustainably by learning from fewer data points and consuming less energy.
Rethinking Grid Design: From Central Control to Distributed Resilience
Distributed energy resources (DERs) like rooftop solar, battery storage, and microgrids were highlighted as scalable near-term solutions. These behind-the-meter technologies can reduce grid strain, shift peak loads and enhance resilience, especially in rural or disaster-prone regions. A panelist noted that enabling local generation empowers customers and reduces the need for costly and time-intensive transmission upgrades.
The evolving grid must move from a hub-and-spoke model to a networked architecture where localized power generation supports centralized infrastructure, not competes with it.
Technology Is Ready — Policy Is Not
While the technology to upgrade the grid exists — from dynamic line rating to drone-assisted cable installation and even carbon fiber conductors — regulatory frameworks often lag behind. Panelists emphasized that permitting delays and outdated rules are preventing utilities from investing at the necessary scale and speed. The group called for bipartisan, long-term energy policies that allow for proactive planning and remove disincentives to innovation.
Without regulatory clarity, utilities face uncertainty that hampers investment in both infrastructure and next-generation technologies.
Data Centers: Uncertainty with Massive Impacts
One of the most urgent planning challenges is the explosive (and often speculative) growth of data centers. Panelists noted that many proposed projects may never materialize, yet even a fraction of that growth demands the equivalent of multiple nuclear plants in new capacity. Planning for this uncertain future will require flexible grid strategies, risk modeling and greater transparency from tech-sector developers.
A Realistic Mix: Central, Distributed and Next-Gen
While the conversation praised distributed generation, panelists were clear: large-scale centralized generation is still critical. The scale of industrial and AI-related demand cannot be met with solar rooftops alone. That said, diversification is key. Some states may prioritize nuclear or SMRs, others wind and solar, others distributed microgrids. The goal is not one solution but a smart mix tailored to each region’s strengths.
SMRs and fusion were mentioned as promising but not immediate solutions. Their long development timelines mean they must complement, not replace, current investments in renewables, storage and grid flexibility.
Public Trust and the Politics of Power
Perhaps the most resonant message was the need for public trust. The grid transition — like all major infrastructure shifts — entails trade-offs: between cost, reliability, speed, and climate risk. Clear communication, community engagement and workforce investment are essential to making these trade-offs transparent and manageable.
Panelists agreed that without stable policy, flexible regulation and public support, even the best technologies will fall short.
Building Resilience Through Innovation and Policy Alignment
The session made one thing clear: building a 21st-century power grid is not just a technical challenge — it’s a systems challenge. From AI and distributed energy to public policy and workforce development, the grid of the future demands collaboration across sectors and ideologies. The tools are here. What’s needed now is clarity of purpose, regulatory modernization and sustained public investment.
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