Build, Repeat. (A Paces Podcast)

Quantify what you can, intuit the rest: Engie's distributed development playbook for 2026 20.05.2026 32Min.

In this episode, James talks with Navya Gundeti, Director of Project Development at Engie North America, where she leads the distributed solar and storage development pipeline. Navya is operating in a market where five-year plans don't survive the year they were written. OBBBA, tariff whiplash, data center land competition, and reshuffled interconnection queues forced her team to rebuild its strategy in real time. Her case in this episode: rigorous quantification on what you can measure, hone...

Scaling Distributed Generation Beyond Community Solar with Bill Francis from New Energy Equity 14.04.2026 32Min.

In this episode, James talks with Bill Francis, Vice President of Emerging Markets at New Energy Equity — a distributed solar developer that has spent over a decade building community solar programs across the country. Bill joined NEE at the end of 2025 after seven years at Engie, arriving right as the traditional community solar model is showing real strain. Programs are saturating. Development capital is tighter. The ITC safe harbor clock is ticking. His mandate: figure out what comes next ...

A mile deep, not wide: NineDot's case for going all-in on one market with Sam McGarvey 31.03.2026 31Min.

In this episode, James talks with Sam McGarvey, Director of Origination at NineDot Energy — a developer, owner, and operator of front-of-meter battery storage systems across New York City's five boroughs. NineDot made a deliberate bet: ignore every other market and go all-in on the single hardest place to build energy storage in the country. That focus has taken them from 3 employees to 84, and toward 400–500 megawatts of distributed storage across New York City by the end of the decade. Sam ...

How virtual power plants became a daily grid resource with Matt Plante 18.03.2026 32Min.

In this episode, James talks with Matt Plante, President of Voltus, about what it actually takes to build a virtual power plant that grid operators call on every single day. Voltus aggregates distributed energy resources, including industrial loads, batteries, commercial buildings, and now residential assets, into virtual power plants that participate in wholesale electricity markets. Since April 2024, Voltus has been dispatched by a grid operator every single day, a milestone that signals de...

Learning from the last grid build-out (and why VPPs are the answer) with Mark Dyson 03.03.2026 34Min.

The grid has been here before. Between 1960 and 2000, US utilities grew demand 4–5x while cutting real electricity prices by 20%, and the lessons from that era are more relevant than ever. Mark Dyson is Managing Director of Electricity at RMI, where he's spent nearly two decades working on grid modernization, distributed energy resources, and the policy and market design that holds it all together. Before returning to RMI, he led analytics at Ascend Analytics, giving him a rare vantage point...

Why grid planning is the hardest problem in energy right now with Derek Stenclik 17.02.2026 32Min.

In this episode, James talks with Derek Stenclik, Founding Partner at Telos Energy. Derek shares his path into the power sector, starting at GE where he spent nearly a decade working on grid planning, resource adequacy, and early studies on integrating wind and solar at scale, before co-founding Telos to tackle some of the grid’s most complex planning challenges. The conversation focuses on how utilities and grid operators are navigating an era of unprecedented uncertainty, driven by rapid lo...

Bridging the power gap: The fuel-flexible future for data centers with Craig Gordon 21.01.2026 32Min.

In this episode, James talks with Craig Gordon, Head of Global Policy, Regulatory Affairs, and Business Development at Mainspring Energy. Craig brings deep experience in clean energy—from scaling Invenergy’s wind and solar projects to shaping U.S. energy policy with the American Clean Power Association. Today, he’s helping Mainspring redefine dispatchable generation for a rapidly electrifying world. They discuss how Mainspring’s linear generator technology offers a modular, dispatchable solut...

Fixing the Grid-Data Center Disconnect with Tony Wagler and Alex Oort Alonso 03.12.2025 32Min.

In this episode, James talks with Tony and Alex from the Paces team about their recent white paper exploring the mismatch between data center growth projections and actual grid planning. Tony, a seasoned power developer, and Alex, a researcher focused on data center flexibility, dive into how speculative load growth is driving transmission investments that may never serve real projects. They discuss how Paces analyzed over 14 million Texas land parcels to identify where data centers could fea...

From Wall Street to Clean Energy: Investing in the AI-Powered Power Grid with Shanu Mathew 20.11.2025 43Min.

In this episode, James talks with Shanu Mathew, Senior Vice President at Lazard, where he co-leads a U.S. sustainable equity strategy. With a background in traditional finance and a passion for climate and sustainability, Shanu blends data-driven investing with macro-level insight into energy and technology transitions. They explore how Shanu’s career evolved from M&A banking to managing portfolios at the intersection of sustainability, power, and AI. The conversation ranges from the tran...

Building Clean Data Center Infrastructure with Gabe Messercola 04.11.2025 34Min.

In this episode, James talks with Gabe Messercola, Director of Data Center Solutions at EDF. Gabe shares his journey from studying environmental policy and working as a rock climbing instructor to building renewable energy projects at Nexamp and leading innovative data center strategies at EDF. With deep experience in asset management and power markets, Gabe now focuses on aligning renewable generation with high-demand loads like data centers and flexible industrial users. They discuss the ev...

Master Planning the Energy Future with Nat Sahlstrom 09.10.2025 37Min.

In this episode, James talks with Nat Sahlstrom, Chief Energy Officer at Tract, a data center developer enabling the next generation of digital infrastructure. Nat shares his unconventional journey from Seattle’s punk rock scene to leading energy strategy at Amazon and now Tract. With over two decades in energy, he brings deep insight into the intersection of data center growth, power planning, and sustainable infrastructure. They explore the critical challenges and opportunities facing the e...

Building Community Trust in Clean Energy with Hilary Clark 22.07.2025 32Min.

In this episode, James talks with Hilary Clark, Senior Director of Social Licensing at the American Clean Power Association (ACP). With over two decades in permitting and regulatory affairs, Hilary brings deep expertise on how clean energy developers can effectively engage communities and navigate the complex siting landscape in the U.S. They discuss the evolving challenges in local and state-level permitting for wind, solar, and battery projects. Hilary explains the rise of moratoria and ban...

Orchestrating Power for Data Centers with Brian Janous of Cloverleaf 08.07.2025 33Min.

In this episode, James talks with Brian Janous, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Cloverleaf Infrastructure and former Head of Energy at Microsoft. With 25+ years in the utility space — including a decade leading Microsoft’s cloud energy strategy — Brian shares what it was like to scale power procurement during the hyperscale boom and why he founded Cloverleaf to solve the next frontier: grid-aligned power delivery for data centers. They explore the transition from fiber-first to pow...

Real-Time Clean Energy Insights 24.06.2025 34Min.

In this episode, James talks with Michael Thomas, Founder of CleanView and creator of Distilled. Michael has built a career around impactful storytelling and actionable data, aiming to accelerate clean energy adoption. From tech marketing to climate entrepreneurship, he has channeled his curiosity into initiatives that demystify energy trends and empower decision-makers. They discuss the evolution and impact of CleanView, a real-time platform offering unmatched visibility into clean energy pr...

Inside the Rapid Rise of Data Centers with Pat Lynch 10.06.2025 35Min.

In this episode, James talks with Pat Lynch, Executive Managing Director and Global Head of Data Center Solutions at CBRE. With 30+ years in digital infrastructure, Pat shares his journey from early fiber builds in the 90s to leading CBRE’s global data center strategy. They discuss how CBRE’s data center business scaled from 3% to 10% of company revenue through strategic talent and investment, and how today's growth is shaped by shifting from “bringing power to the site” to “bringing the site...

Al and Early De-Risking: The Future of Solar Development 15.05.2025 37Min.

In this episode, James sits down with Paces colleagues Kyle Baranko and Tony Wagler to discuss their new white paper, “Pre-Development at Scale: Modeling Risk in Early-Stage Solar Development”. They dive into how AI, probabilistic methods, and standardized development workflows can dramatically reduce soft costs and increase project success rates. Kyle shares how Monte Carlo simulations were used to model development risks and timelines, while Tony outlines the four key archetypes—environment...

Investing in Early-Stage Energy Developers with Christine Larson 29.04.2025 32Min.

In this episode, we sit down with Christine Larson, Head of Strategy & Operations at Modern Energy and interim COO at Industrial Sun, to explore how early-stage developers can thrive in a landscape defined by high complexity, capital intensity, and shifting market signals. Christine shares how Modern’s model goes beyond funding—providing hands-on operational support like IT and accounting—so founders can focus on what really matters: building and scaling transformative energy projects. We...

The AI Power Puzzle: Grid Flexibility vs. Off Grid Microgrids 15.04.2025 44Min.

The power demands of AI data centers are skyrocketing—but how will we meet them? In this episode, James sits down with Tyler Norris (Duke University) and Kyle Baranko (Paces) to dig into two influential white papers offering different solutions. One explores off-grid, solar-plus-storage microgrids as a fast, clean option. The other highlights how we can better utilize existing grid capacity by embracing flexible interconnections and load curtailment. Together, they explore: The case for behin...

Beyond the Grid: The Race to Reimagine Energy with Nan Ransohoff & Duncan Campbell - E140 01.04.2025 33Min.

In this episode, we sit down with Nan Ransohoff and Duncan Campbell to discuss the evolving landscape of solar microgrids, AI data centers, and the urgent need for climate-driven innovation. Duncan reflects on how today’s energy solutions are just the beginning, predicting a future where bold, disruptive action reshapes the grid. We dive into: How Stripe and Paces are driving groundbreaking projectsWhy the electricity sector needs faster adaptation to climate challengesThe role of AI and next...

Unlocking Land for Solar with Scott Aaronson - E139 18.03.2025 30Min.

In this episode, we sit down with Scott Aaronson, founder and CEO of Demeter Land Development, to explore his unexpected path from criminal defense attorney to renewable energy land origination expert. Scott recounts how his real estate ventures led him to community solar development, shedding light on the evolving challenges of securing land for distributed generation (DG) projects. He discusses the industry's transformation from old-school, door-knocking tactics to a highly strategic, data-...