Turning Data Centers into Flexible Power Grid Assets
Today's show is about flexible data centers. Simply delivering more energy to data centers — the fastest-growing source of new electricity demand in the US — isn't the solution. Emerald AI's Emerald Conductor platform dynamically interacts with local power grids to manage AI workloads: pausing work during grid stress, rerouting it elsewhere, and ramping back up when capacity frees up.
In this episode, Lisa sits down with Varun Sivaram, Founder and CEO of Emerald AI, to discuss how Emerald AI is turning data centers into flexible grid assets by orchestrating real-time workloads and introducing power flexibility. Most of the data center conversation has been about the supply side — delivering more power, where and when data centers need it. Emerald AI is flipping that on its head and going after the demand side.
Lisa and Varun discuss:
- Emerald Conductor and data center flexible load
- Grand bargain between data centers, the power grid, and customers
- Early product and customer demonstrations
- 100 GW potential for flexible load
- The two grids - power and AI
- Investors and commercial scaling
- The power of conviction
- Fun energy fact
Credits:
Host and Executive Producer, Lisa Wood
Associate Producer, Adam Cooper
Episode recorded: September, 2026
Find us at: https://podcast.energytransitiondesk.com/
Host and Executive Producer, Lisa Wood
Associate Producer, Adam Cooper
Episode recorded: September, 2026
Find us at: https://podcast.energytransitiondesk.com/
