Energy Gang

AI is turning compute into a strategic resource, and the scramble to secure GPU capacity is starting to look a lot more like a commodity market than a traditional cloud-services business. As data-centre developers, lenders and energy companies try to price the next wave of AI demand, a new question is coming into focus: Can the industry build the kind of benchmark and hedging tools that already exist for oil, gas and power?
Host Ed Crooks is joined by Peter Keavey, Global Head of Energy and Environmental Products at CME Group, and Carmen Li, Founder and CEO of Silicon Data. Together, they explore the case for a futures market in GPU compute: a financial product designed to bring more transparency, liquidity and risk management to one of the fastest-growing corners of the AI economy.
Carmen explains how the market works today. Most users are not buying chips outright; they are renting access to GPU capacity by the hour, often through longer-term agreements with hyperscalers, neo-cloud providers and data-centre operators. That market is already large, global and increasingly active, but it remains fragmented and opaque, with prices varying by provider, chip type and contract structure, and much of the trading still happening through bilateral deals and requests for quotes.
Peter sets out the logic for moving from that over-the-counter world to an exchange-traded one. In his view, a GPU futures contract could do three things at once: reduce counterparty risk through central clearing, concentrate liquidity in a transparent order book, and create forward benchmark prices the wider market can use. The proposed product is financially settled against an index of spot prices, translating an hourly rental market into a standardised monthly contract that could eventually extend several years forward.
The bigger issue, though, is energy. Power is not the whole cost of GPU compute, but it is the most volatile variable input, which means a GPU hedge could eventually sit alongside gas and power hedges for data-centre operators, lenders and infrastructure investors. The discussion keeps returning to what that means for markets such as Texas and Virginia, where the AI build-out is already shaping decisions on generation, grid access and where capital should go next.
Both guests stress that this is still a young market, but already a volatile one. Rental rates have swung sharply as chip scarcity eases and then tightens again, while banks, traders and developers are trying to make long-dated decisions without a reliable forward curve. If this market develops the way Keavey and Li expect, GPU futures would not just serve traders: they could become an important signal for anyone trying to judge how durable the AI boom really is, and how much energy the system will need to support it.
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In the AI revolution, one of the critical constraints is how much additional electricity can be made available to power new data centers. And it is often argued that one of the key constraints on the growth of electricity supply is capacity in the equipment supply industry. The rate at which electricity supply can grow is determined in part by how fast the equipment industry can supply new turbines, transformers, switchgear and circuit breakers.
In this episode Roger Martella, Chief Corporate Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer at GE Vernova, one of the world’s largest suppliers of electrical equipment, joins the show to explain how the company is meeting the challenge of soaring demand. Roger talks to host Ed Crooks and regular contributor Melissa Lott, Partner for Energy at Microsoft, about his route from industrial Pennsylvania to the leadership team at GE, via the Environmental Protection Agency. And he explains why, when the old conglomerate GE broke up, he chose to go with the energy business. The company is driven by a sense of purpose, he says: bringing electricity to the world both raises living standards and supports decarbonization.
Electricity demand growth created by new data centers for AI is one driver for GE Vernova's rapidly growing order book, but not the only one. The company is also responding to other sources of growing demand around the world, including the need to strengthen energy security in Europe and to support economic growth and development in emerging Asia.
In the US, GE Vernova has announced $1.3 billion in investment and 1,800 new manufacturing jobs, to support expanded production of switchgear, circuit breakers and turbines. It plans to increase its turbine manufacturing capacity from 18 gigawatts a year to 30 gigawatts a year by 2030.
Roger rejects the idea that equipment supplies are the main bottleneck restricting electricity supply growth. Other issues, including permitting and grid interconnections, are more fundamental difficulties for project developers. If anyone has built a turbine stand, but doesn’t have a turbine to out on it, he says, he will find a turbine. Ed raises the issue of the industry's cyclicality. The gas turbine market has been through boom and bust in the past, and the uncertainty over the future of AI naturally raises the question of whether we are in another bubble today. Roger’s answer is that the company is looking at the range of needs that are driving electrification, not making a bet solely on AI.
As its production increases, GE Vernova needs to hire more workers. Roger, Ed and Melissa discuss the familiar consensus around skilled trades. Just about everyone agrees that America and other countries need more electricians, plumbers and welders to deloiver the build-out of infrastructure. But skills shortages persist. So what are the solutions that would actually increase the workforce in these sectors to meet demand? Are pay, job security, training and the status of industrial work being addressed in the right ways?
One of the more exciting technologies for meeting electricity demand in the 2030s and beyond is the new generation of nuclear plants using small modular reactors (SMRs). GE Vernova has a new nuclear plant using SMRs under construction at Darlington in Ontario, and is targeting commercial operation by 2030. Ed pushes on the key question: can SMRs move from a promising concept to a repeatable, cost-competitive business? Roger says the first project has to be a proof point. The nuclear business cannot be run as a hobby, he says. The lessons from the first-of-a-kind Darlington plant must be used to drive down costs for subsequent units.
The discussion also covers High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission and cutting-edge technologies for grid management, including uses for drones and AI. Roger ends with a message to policymakers: the missing ingredient is policy durability. If the industry is to invest enough to meet long-term needs, it has to have policy frameworks that survive political cycles, court challenges and changes of administration.

This episode of Energy Gang is brought to you by ENGIE, the smarter energy supplier. ENGIE doesn't just provide the power to run your business — they supply the energy to move it forward, with reliable, flexible solutions built for what's next. Learn more at engieresources.com.
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As the renewable energy and storage industries grow, and enter more hostile geographies, asset resilience is becoming an increasingly pressing concern. Developers, owners and lenders want to know how solar, storage and other facilities can increase their resilience to the growing risks of physical threats such as hailstorms and wildfires. The rush to add capacity to meet surging demand from new data centres is adding to the pressure, making calculations about the value of asset reliability increasingly complex.
In this special episode, host Ed Crooks speaks with Mike Perron, Renewable Energy Market Lead at FM, and Cassian Walker, Operations Vice President and Renewables Engineering Manager at FM, one of the world’s largest commercial property insurers. They explain how insurers are starting to build resilience into renewable project design far earlier in the development process, and why that has become a financing issue as much as a technical one.
For solar power, that means understanding the inherent physical risks such as hail, then deciding what combination of tracker systems, stowing technology and panels is right for the location. The same equipment that performs adequately in California or New Jersey can become a major liability in Texas or Arizona.
Cassian explains how modern trackers can tilt panels away from an incoming storm to turn a direct hit into a glancing blow. Mike contrasts a devastating nine-figure loss at one Texas site with a far smaller loss at another facility that successfully stowed. Those resilience strategies can work only if the system is designed for the local wind and hail conditions, and the performance of the equipment has been tested and verified.
From there, the conversation broadens to the economics. Insurance can account for a large share of a project’s operating costs, and lenders are asking harder questions about resilience before they finance new builds. FM’s case is that better engineering, better hazard modelling and earlier involvement from insurers and independent engineers can lower lifetime risk and improve financial performance, even if they raise up-front costs.
Today, renewable developers still often treat insurance as a late-stage procurement exercise, after key technology decisions have already been locked in. Mike and Cassian argue that that is changing, but the industry is still early in that learning curve. As renewables become more important to the power system, those questions will only get harder to avoid.

This episode of Energy Gang is sponsored by FM. As one of the world's leading commercial property insurers, FM combines engineering expertise, scientific research, and data-driven insights to help organizations understand, mitigate, and prevent loss before it occurs. From utility-scale solar and battery storage projects to thermal power generation, manufacturing operations, and other critical infrastructure, FM helps organizations build stronger, more resilient businesses.
To learn more about FM's engineering-based approach to resilience, visit FM.com. For additional insights on risk, resilience, and business continuity, subscribe to FM's Sound Policy podcast.
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Gas is back at the center of the energy debate. Surging demand for electricity to power new data centres, and growing fears about global energy security resulting from the conflict in the Middle East, are raising some urgent questions for the US gas industry. Consumers want to know whether the US can produce enough gas for the world without losing the price advantage that has benefited American consumers for many years? Can a new era of gas growth strengthen energy security abroad and support cutting-edge technological innovation at home, while also maintaining affordability for most Americans?
Host Ed Crooks and regular contributor Amy Myers Jaffe of NYU are joined by Toby Rice, Chief Executive of EQT, one of the largest natural gas producers in the US. Toby argues that America has the resources both to meet rising domestic demand and to supply much more gas to international markets, without sending prices soaring. He sets out EQT’s case for US gas to drive growth, affordability, reliability and geopolitical influence. He also makes the case for the environmental benefits of gas as a replacement for coal in power generation.
The Trump administration often talks about “energy dominance”. Toby says. He prefers to describe the goal as “energy abundance”.
US gas prices have been low by international standards for most of the past 20 years. The big question is whether that price advantage can persist, in the face of rising LNG exports and growing power demand from AI. Ed raises the prospect that continued growth in demand for gas could eventually push up domestic prices, weakening one of the US economy’s biggest competitive advantages.
Toby’s answer is that the shale resource base is deep enough to respond. He argues that at the right price signal, producers can bring on enough supply to support both the domestic market and a much larger export system. He also makes the case that increased US LNG export capacity can strengthen American energy security by creating more flexibility in times of stress, rather than simply exposing Americans to global volatility.
Amy highlights the increased global focus on energy security. If countries are becoming more anxious about imported energy after recent geopolitical shocks, will they still want more LNG, even if it comes from a reliable supplier such as the US? Or will they step up investment in domestic alternatives, including renewables, batteries, nuclear, and even coal?
Finally, Toby talks about his work with Energy Corps, the nonprofit organization he founded to bring energy abundance to emerging markets. It aims to deploy technologies including renewables, gas and propane for clean cooking, to increase access to modern energy, and demonstrate ways to improve the quality of life for billions of people around the world.
More information about Energy Corps is available at its website: www.energycorps.com

This episode of Energy Gang is brought to you by ENGIE, the smarter energy supplier. ENGIE doesn't just provide the power to run your business — they supply the energy to move it forward, with reliable, flexible solutions built for what's next. Learn more at engieresources.com.
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US electricity prices are rising at well above the general rate of inflation. The data center investment boom, by adding to electricity demand, points to further upward pressure in the future. Consumers are feeling the strain, and they want politicians and regulators to do something about it. One proposed solution is that the rules around competitive power markets need radical reform. In this episode, the Energy Gang looks at PJM, the largest power market in the US, and debates a possible way to add to electricity supplies without pushing bills even higher.
Host Ed Crooks and regular contributor Amy Myers Jaffe of NYU are joined by Carim Khouzami, Executive Vice President for Transmission and Development at Exelon, one of the largest US utility groups. Carim explains why the landscape of the US power industry has changed fundamentally over the past five years: electricity demand is rising at a pace the sector has not seen in decades, driven by data centres, electrification, and broader economic growth. And that demand surge is colliding with an electricity system that was designed for a very different era.
Competitive markets such as PJM were meant to bring down costs for consumers and send the right signals to the industry for new investment. But Carim argues that in many markets, those signals are no longer working as intended. Customers are seeing higher bills and the reliability of the system is under threat. Reserve margins are getting tighter, and the industry is struggling to bring new generation online quickly enough.
PJM offers one of the clearest examples of how those tensions are playing out. The region is grappling with soaring demand, especially from data centres, while trying to manage affordability and reliability at the same time. Carim, Amy and Ed explore why PJM has raised concerns with among state governors, federal regulators and the White House. And they explain why its challenges echo similar problems elsewhere.
The central issue is about the market structures that will be best able to meet those challenges in the future. How can the next wave of infrastructure can be built in ways that support both the reliability and the affordability of electricity supplies? Carim makes the case that regulated utilities such as Exelon, which are often prevented by state rules from owning generation capacity, should be allowed to run their own power plants.
His proposal opens up a wider debate about the future of power markets and electricity systems generally. There is plenty of evidence that competitive markets have delivered benefits for consumers. But can they meet the needs of the new world of AI-driven demand growth? And if not, is utility ownership of power plants the right solution? Amy highlights the risks of overbuilding new power plants, and asks whether alternative solutions such as batteries are being given a fair chance to compete.
Carim defends his proposal as the best way to secure reliability and value for customers. The current model is not working, he says, and reform is now the best option. PJM, as it has operated until now, may not be ready for the demands that AI, electrification and the energy transition are about to place on it. Politicians and regulators across the US and around the world will be watching to see how it responds.

This episode of Energy Gang is brought to you by ENGIE, the smarter energy supplier. ENGIE doesn't just provide the power to run your business — they supply the energy to move it forward, with reliable, flexible solutions built for what's next. Learn more at engieresources.com.
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