What if the key to building a cleaner, more reliable energy future isn’t just producing more power, but using the power we already have more intelligently? In this episode, Matthew Plante, Co-Founder and President of Voltus, Inc., shares how demand response, load flexibility, and virtual power plants are reshaping the way businesses interact with the grid. You’ll learn how commercial and industrial businesses can reduce energy costs, improve resilience, and create new revenue opportunities—all while helping accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

Listen in as Matthew takes us through his journey from studying international economic development to building power infrastructure projects in Asia, pioneering demand response at Enel X (formerly EnerNOC), and founding Voltus to unlock the full potential of flexible energy resources. You’ll discover why the future of the grid depends on distributed capacity, how batteries and AI-driven energy demand are changing the landscape, and why businesses can play a critical role in creating a more sustainable and efficient energy system.

What You’ll Learn in Today’s Episode:

• How Matt’s early career shaped his approach to energy innovation.
• Why energy efficiency is critical for economic development.
• What demand response and load flexibility really mean.
• How businesses can lower costs without reducing production.
• Why the grid needs smarter resource management.
• How Voltus helps businesses monetize energy flexibility.
• Why batteries are changing commercial energy strategies.
• How virtual power plants support renewable energy adoption.
• Why AI growth is creating new energy challenges.
• What the future of distributed energy resources looks like.

Resources in Today's Episode:

• Matthew Plante: LinkedIn
• Gareth Evans: LinkedIn
• Dan Roberts: LinkedIn
• VECKTA: News

You can view a video of the conversation on VECKTA's website here: https://tinyurl.com/2ax5z44x

435 gigawatts of data centers want to connect to a grid that has never delivered more than 85 gigawatts at one time, and they want to do it in five years.

In this highlight episode, Dr. Joshua Rhodes, research scientist at UT Austin, nonresident fellow at Columbia University, and one of the few independent experts who models the ERCOT grid for a living, explains why he called this a bubble in 2025 and why the numbers have only gotten more extreme since.

Joshua lays out exactly how the AI build-out is driving transformer costs up 200% and wire costs up 180%, why that infrastructure debt stays on ratepayer bills for decades, and how data center companies inflated the queue by filing the same project in five or six locations at once. He then makes the counterintuitive argument that Texas' aggressive build-out of solar, wind, and 20 gigawatts of battery storage is the very thing keeping the grid stable and that blocking renewables would have cost Texans tens of billions more in electricity costs than they paid.

What You’ll Learn in Today’s Episode:

• Why the ERCOT data center queue has grown to 435 gigawatts.
• Why buying infrastructure at peak prices locks in costs for decades.
• How data centers gamed a queue that had no real process.
• Why ERCOT's batch zero process is a step in the right direction.
• How Texas solar and wind are aligned to handle summer peak demand.
• Why renewables provide cost certainty that gas plants never can.

Resources in Today's Episode:

• Joshua Rhodes: LinkedIn
• The Energy Capital Podcast
• IdeaSmiths
• Gareth Evans: LinkedIn
• Dan Roberts: LinkedIn
• VECKTA: News

You can view a video of the conversation on VECKTA's website here: https://tinyurl.com/5a4rv952

Why are electricity prices rising? And what can businesses do now to protect themselves from what's coming next? In this episode, Robbie Orvis, Senior Director of Modeling and Analysis at Energy Innovation, unpacks the policy, market, and technology shifts reshaping the energy landscape. From the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to the rapid growth of AI data centers and renewable energy, Robbie explains what's really driving energy costs, why policy matters more than ever, and how businesses can build resilience in an increasingly uncertain market.

Whether you're a CFO, business leader, sustainability professional, or simply interested in the future of energy, you'll learn how energy modelling helps policymakers make smarter decisions. Listen in to hear why grid infrastructure is becoming a major cost challenge, as well as the practical strategies organizations can use to create greater price certainty in a rapidly changing world.

What You’ll Learn in Today’s Episode:

• What's driving rising electricity prices.
• How energy policy shapes the market.
• The impact of AI data centers on the grid.
• Why renewable energy continues to grow.
• The role of energy modelling in policymaking.
• Why grid infrastructure matters.
• How businesses can improve energy certainty.
• Federal vs. state energy policy differences.
• What the future holds for clean energy.
• How to plan for long-term energy costs.

Resources in Today's Episode:

• Robbie Orvis: LinkedIn
• Gareth Evans: LinkedIn
• Dan Roberts: LinkedIn
• VECKTA: News

You can view a video of the conversation on VECKTA's website here: https://tinyurl.com/y5bz8xkm