AI is hungry for power, but the grid’s most precious resource isn’t just generation—it’s time. We dig into a headline‑grabbing plan to build a 1,500‑megawatt nuclear‑powered data campus in South Texas and unpack why the near‑term reality starts with on‑site gas, not fission. From regulatory approvals and factory build‑outs to fuel and financing, modular nuclear still has miles to go. Meanwhile, data center builders face a thicket of interconnection queues, uneven utility processes, and hardware lead times that stretch to 2030.
We trace the practical playbook emerging across the industry: bridge with co‑located turbines or fuel cells, pursue grid interconnection in parallel, and design for redundancy because machines fail and maintenance windows are inevitable. Even markets famous for speed are hitting constraints. Transmission megaprojects take decades, demand requests are swallowing remaining capacity, and rate pressures are pulling energy costs into the political spotlight. Against that backdrop, the smartest lever may be operational, not infrastructural.
Here’s the pivot: flexible data center loads. With better workload orchestration, curtailment commitments, and virtual power plant contracts, large campuses can shed up to 25% for multi‑hour windows, buy capacity from aggregators, or island temporarily using their own generators. Grid operators are responding in kind, offering accelerated interconnection paths for customers willing to flex, while policy signals in places like Texas clarify that curtailment is part of the deal. The payoff is systemwide—higher load factors, more megawatt hours across the same wires, and a faster route to growth than waiting for the next 765‑kV line.
If you care about how AI, cloud infrastructure, and energy policy collide, this conversation connects the dots between nuclear timelines, gas‑first strategies, interconnection reform, and the rise of demand flexibility and VPPs. Subscribe, share with a colleague who builds data infrastructure, and leave a review with your take on the best path: build more generation, or bend the load?

Support the show

🎙️ About Energy Future: Powering Tomorrow’s Cleaner World

Hosted by Peter Kelly-Detwiler, Energy Future explores the trends, technologies, and policies driving the global clean-energy transition — from the U.S. grid and renewable markets to advanced nuclear, fusion, and EV innovation.

💡 Stay Connected
Subscribe wherever you listen — including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and YouTube.

🌎 Learn More
Visit peterkellydetwiler.com
for weekly market insights, in-depth articles, and energy analysis.