Data Centers, the Grid, and the Assumptions That Don’t Hold Up

The power sector is grappling with a fundamental mismatch: hyperscale data centers demand electricity at unprecedented speed and scale, while the infrastructure to serve them operates on timelines measured in years, not months. According to Stephen Empedocles, PhD, founder and CEO of Clark Street Associates (CSA), an advisory firm specializing in government funding for technology companies, the industry may be getting some of its assumptions wrong—and the consequences could ripple through grid planning, su ...