Data Centers: Bring Your Own Capacity Instead of Building Power Plants
In this episode, host Elisa Wood sits down with Adam Scarsella, Vice President of Digital Infrastructure Sales at Voltus, to explore a new approach to accelerating data center interconnection: Bring Your Own Capacity (BYOC).This innovative model allows hyperscalers to meet their peak energy needs not by waiting years for new power plants, but by funding a virtual power plant (VPP) built from distributed energy resources (DERs) already in the community.Elisa and Adam unpack what’s driving today’s unprecedented grid strain, why VPPs are becoming indispensable, and how BYOC flips the script—turning data centers from grid liabilities into direct contributors to local resilience. They also discuss Voltus’s evolution over the past seven years, the rapid rise of emergency dispatches across markets, and how partnerships like their work with Cloverleaf Infrastructure are shaping the next era of grid planning.If you want a front-row seat to where virtual power plants, hyperscaler load growth, and grid modernization are heading, this conversation is essential listening.Why traditional power plant development no longer keeps pace with increasing load.The explosion of data centers, AI infrastructure, and large industrial loads across the U.S.Record-high capacity prices in wholesale markets such as PJM and MISO.Voltus has seen daily dispatch events for more than a year across multiple markets.How VPPs provide system flexibility during a period of accelerating retirements (coal, gas) and growing intermittent generation.Adam explains how the company has evolved:Early focus: traditional industrial demand response.Today: Batteries, Solar, EVs, Commercial + residential loads, Carbon response programsVoltus has become a comprehensive DER platform supporting grid operators every day.Data centers face multi-year interconnection delays due to capacity constraints.BYOC allows hyperscalers to fund a VPP that offsets their peak load.Voltus builds the VPP from local DERs; the hyperscaler pays for it.This provides:Faster interconnectionA new revenue stream for local businesses/residentsLess pressure on utilities to develop new power plantsInstead of extracting resources, the hyperscaler directly invests in the local grid.Paid participation for commercial/industrial loads and DER owners.A constructive alternative to community concerns around noise, water use, and energy consumption.Recent proposals from the U.S. Department of Energy recommending expedited interconnection for loads willing to be curtailed.BYOC offers a more practical version of that concept by enabling curtailment via the VPP, not the data center itself.Cloverleaf builds the physical data center campus.Voltus determines the required VPP capacity and constructs the DER aggregation.Together they provide a new model for rapid, collaborative grid integration.Adam hints at upcoming project announcements.Voltus expects BYOC to gain momentum as grid constraints grow and DER capabilities expand.Adam Scarsella is the Vice President of Digital Infrastructure Sales at Voltus, a leading provider of distributed energy resource software and solutions. Over his seven years with the company, Adam has helped lead the transition from classic demand response to sophisticated virtual power plant programs serving utilities, grid operators, commercial and industrial users, and now hyperscalers seeking rapid interconnection. His work centers on using distributed energy to solve large-scale grid challenges through flexible, market-driven programs.Voltus: https://www.voltus.coEnergy Changemakers Newsletter: https://energychangemakers.comLearn more about distributed energy and virtual power plants across U.S. markets.If you enjoyed this episode, you can also subscribe to our newsletter at energychangemakers.com and join a community working to accelerate a more local, reliable, and equitable energy future.
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