Generative AI and data proliferation will continue to drive the demand for ALL energy sources!
- Susan Mcleod
- Jul 8
- 1 min read
In March, I attended a great event at UNC-Chapel Hill: the UNC Cleantech Summit 2025. Thank you to Greg Gangi and Kelly A. Dittmann, MBA for bringing this incredible group together.
From the keynote address by Anthony Allard of Hitachi Energy and all of the panel discussions, the theme was clear: "Generative AI and data proliferation will continue to drive the demand for ALL energy sources!".
The continued theme in panels focused on the pressing challenge in North America: While energy sources, including renewables, are being developed, we face significant barriers in the transmission of both energy and data.
North America’s aging infrastructure struggles to keep pace with the growing demand for efficient energy distribution. The expanding volume of data generated by technologies like AI and IoT creates bottlenecks in transmission networks, making our challenges even worse.
The US and our fragmented regulatory landscape across states and regions add to this complexity and our need to modernize the grid.
As more decentralized energy solutions emerge, seamless interconnection and scalability become critical. This challenge only intensifies with the growing backlog of data waiting to be transmitted and the heightened demand for secure, resilient systems.
With all of the challenges we face, investment in smart grid technology, improved data routing, and edge computing IS essential for future-proofing our infrastructure!
Was a great event!