Episode
Why AI and Oil Are Fighting Over the Same Turbines
- Published
- May 18, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4110
- Processing state
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Summary
Micro turbines hitting 83% efficiency could replace flares and turn stranded wells into tiny neighborhood power plants. Mark Ronkin of Grid Energy Solutions came down from Edmonton to talk with Jacob and guest host Britt Breaux about jumping from five years in the Canadian Army to wireline to running his own MWD shop, then stumbling into the tech at a gas show in Milan. Plus getting sick next to a flare, the oilfield marketing problem in eastern Canada, and why a 9 to 5 and entrepreneurship can coexist. Click here to watch a video of this episode. Join the conversation shaping the future of energy. Collide is the community where oil & gas professionals connect, share insights, and solve real-world problems together. No noise. No fluff. Just the discussions that move our industry forward. Apply today at collide.io Click here to view the episode transcript. 0:00 Intro and the FDE model at Collide 5:46 Mark's path through the Canadian Army 9:25 Oil and gas as a polarizing industry across Canada 13:19 Louisiana refineries, Cancer Alley, and Alberta boomtowns 19:08 Living downstream of a flare 21:18 Military to wireline to MWD 25:09 Going independent and the entrepreneurship bug 28:14 Peak oil and modern directional drilling 32:44 Turning your day job into your business 36:54 Career advice and finding the Collide community 43:14 Imposter syndrome and the entrepreneur grind 45:59 Stumbling into micro turbines at Gastech Milan 52:46 Commercializing the tech in Canada 1:00:02 Replacing flares with neighborhood power plants 1:01:29 What the next 5 to 10 years look like 1:06:18 Grid Energy Solutions and what's next https://twitter.com/collide_ai https://www.tiktok.com/@collide.io https://www.facebook.com/collide.io https://www.instagram.com/collide.io https://www.youtube.com…