<p>The boom in artificial intelligence has become entangled with the clean energy industry over the past 18 months. Tech companies are willing to pay a lot for electricity — especially reliable zero-carbon electricity — and utilities and energy companies have been scrambling to keep up.</p><br><p>But is that boom more like a bubble? And if so, what does that mean for the long-term viability of AI companies and data center developers, and for the long-term health of decarbonization? </p><br><p>On this week’s Shift Key, we’re talking to Advait Arun, a senior associate for capital markets at the Center for Public Enterprise, about his new report on the market dynamics at play in the data center buildout. What kind of bets are these AI companies making? How likely are they to pay off? And if they don’t, who stands to lose big? Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University.</p><br><p><strong>Mentioned:</strong></p><br><p>Advait’s report: <a href="https://publicenterprise.org/wp-content/uploads/Bubble-or-Nothing.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bubble or Nothing</a>: Data Center Project Finance</p><br><p><a href="https://www.levyinstitute.org/people/hyman-p-minsky/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hyman Minsky</a></p><br><p>Previously on Shift Key: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shift-key-with-robinson-meyer-and-jesse-jenkins/id1728932037?i=1000651345737" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Skeptic’s Take on AI and Energy Growth</a></p><br><p>Jesse’s <a href="https://ember-energy.org/latest-updates/solar-and-wind-growth-meets-all-new-electricity-demand-in-the-first-three-quarters-of-2025/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">upshift</a>; Rob’s <a href="https://heatmap.news/energy/leading-light-canceled-invenergy-offshore-wind" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">downshift</a>.</p><br><p>--</p><p>This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by …</p><br><p><strong>Hydrostor</strong> is building the future of energy with Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage. Delivering clean, reliable power with 500-megawatt facilities sited on 100 acres, Hydrostor’s energy storage projects are transforming the grid and creating thousands of American jobs. Learn more at <a href="https://hydrostor.ca/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">hydrostor.ca</a>.</p><br><p><strong>Uplight</strong> is a clean energy technology company that helps energy providers unlock grid capacity by activating energy customers and their connected devices to generate, shift, and save energy. The Uplight Demand Stack — which integrates energy efficiency, electrification, rates, and flexibility programs — improves grid resilience, reduces costs, and accelerates decarbonization for energy providers and their customers. Learn more at <a href="https://uplight.com/heatmap/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">uplight.com/heatmap</a>.</p><br><p>Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
