{"podcast":{"title":"Catalyst with Shayle Kann","slug":"catalyst-with-shayle-kann-4458041","podcast_index_feed_id":4458041,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/catalyst","website_url":"https://www.latitudemedia.com/podcasts/catalyst","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/d2f3b172-3bc3-11ec-a455-6f999fef6a5d/image/fbec5c0a5554c2cf93735bd48e4c42a1.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Latitude Media","episode_count":266,"summary":"A weekly podcast featuring veteran investor Shayle Kann interviewing experts about the state of the energy sector and the technologies powering decarbonization. Shayle Kann is asking the big questions about the ways we power our world: How cheap can clean energy get? Where is the smart money going on new technologies? How will the AI boom both help and hinder us on our journey to decarbonization? Every Thursday on Catalyst, Shayle dives deep into the world of energy with prominent experts, investors, researchers, and executives to unpack both the solutions and the challenges at play in this ever-changing landscape.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-30T20:21:45.983146+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/catalyst-with-shayle-kann-4458041"},"episode":{"title":"The rise of flexible data centers","slug":"the-rise-of-flexible-data-centers","published_at":"2026-04-09T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/catalyst-with-shayle-kann-4458041/the-rise-of-flexible-data-centers","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/catalyst-with-shayle-kann-4458041","url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PSMI2675110238.mp3?updated=1775701639","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/PSMI2675110238.mp3?updated=1775701639","summary":"As the buildout of data centers accelerates on a dramatic trajectory,its strain on the electric grid has increased in turn; forecasts suggest they could consume up to 17% of all US power by 2030. To avoid higher rates and slower AI growth, the industry has embraced a promising solution: data center flexibility. In this episode, Shayle speaks with Varun Sivaram, the CEO of Emerald AI. Coming on the heels of a $25 million investment round led by Energy Impact Partners, Varun returns to the show to provide an update on the \"wickedly complicated\" challenge of aligning utilities, cloud providers, and the grid. Shayle and Varun explore topics like: Tapping into the 100+ gigawatts of unused grid capacity Why the \"Watt-Bit spread\" is shifting to make power flexibility profitable The differences between training and inference flexibility, including Google’s new \"flex\" and \"priority\" tiers The \"mini dispatch curve\" for data centers created by batteries, gas turbines and fuel cells Emerald’s plans to collaborate with NVIDIA and other partners on the world’s first 100-megawatt, truly power-flexible AI factory Resources Catalyst: The mechanics of data center flexibility Catalyst: The potential for flexible data centers Latitude Media: How the world’s first flexible AI factory will work in tandem with the grid Latitude Media: Nvidia and Oracle tapped this startup to flex a Phoenix data center Latitude Media: A reality check on flexible data centers Latitude Media: Can VPPs unlock grid capacity for data centers? Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Max Savage Levenson. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor. Catalyst is brought to you by FischTank PR, an award-winning climate and energy tech, renewables, and sustainabi…","meta_description":"As the buildout of data centers accelerates on a dramatic trajectory,its strain on the electric grid has increased in turn; forecasts suggest they could c…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2586,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/catalyst-with-shayle-kann-4458041/episodes/the-rise-of-flexible-data-centers/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/catalyst-with-shayle-kann-4458041/the-rise-of-flexible-data-centers.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}