Ep 115: Joshua Rhodes on the ERCOT Data Center Bubble, Rate Pressure, and What Business Leaders Are Missing
If the data is this clear, why are so many business leaders still getting energy wrong? In this episode, Dr. Joshua Rhodes, research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, nonresident fellow at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, and CTO of IdeaSmiths, brings the kind of clarity that only comes from building the most detailed independent models of the ERCOT grid in existence.
Joshua called the data center interconnection queue a bubble in 2025, when it stood at 220 gigawatts. It's now at 435, and 90% of it is data centers trying to connect to a grid that has never delivered more than 85.5 gigawatts at one time.
Listen in as Joshua explains why that bubble is already pushing transformer costs up 200% and wire costs up 180%, why those infrastructure bills will land on ratepayers for decades, and why renewables have quietly saved Texans tens of billions in electricity costs. He also breaks down the counterintuitive relationship between oil prices, natural gas supply, and your electricity bill, and makes the case for why transmission, not generation, is the piece of the energy puzzle that most executives aren't even asking about yet.
What You’ll Learn in Today’s Episode:
Why the ERCOT data center queue is a bubble.
How infrastructure inflation is driving up energy rates.
Why renewables act as a hedge against fuel price volatility.
How oil prices can actually lower natural gas costs.
The three parts of the grid and which one matters most.
Why transmission is the hardest piece to build.
How distributed batteries are reshaping grid dynamics.
Why data centers need to become smarter energy consumers.
The real cost of blocking renewables in Texas.
What business leaders are missing about the energy transition.
Resources in Today's Episode:
Joshua Rhodes: LinkedIn
The Energy Capital Podcast
IdeaSmiths
Gareth Evans: LinkedIn
Dan Roberts: LinkedIn
VECKTA: News
You can view a video of the conversation on VECKTA's website here: https://tinyurl.com/rmwhk4p9
Joshua called the data center interconnection queue a bubble in 2025, when it stood at 220 gigawatts. It's now at 435, and 90% of it is data centers trying to connect to a grid that has never delivered more than 85.5 gigawatts at one time.
Listen in as Joshua explains why that bubble is already pushing transformer costs up 200% and wire costs up 180%, why those infrastructure bills will land on ratepayers for decades, and why renewables have quietly saved Texans tens of billions in electricity costs. He also breaks down the counterintuitive relationship between oil prices, natural gas supply, and your electricity bill, and makes the case for why transmission, not generation, is the piece of the energy puzzle that most executives aren't even asking about yet.
What You’ll Learn in Today’s Episode:
Why the ERCOT data center queue is a bubble.
How infrastructure inflation is driving up energy rates.
Why renewables act as a hedge against fuel price volatility.
How oil prices can actually lower natural gas costs.
The three parts of the grid and which one matters most.
Why transmission is the hardest piece to build.
How distributed batteries are reshaping grid dynamics.
Why data centers need to become smarter energy consumers.
The real cost of blocking renewables in Texas.
What business leaders are missing about the energy transition.
Resources in Today's Episode:
Joshua Rhodes: LinkedIn
The Energy Capital Podcast
IdeaSmiths
Gareth Evans: LinkedIn
Dan Roberts: LinkedIn
VECKTA: News
You can view a video of the conversation on VECKTA's website here: https://tinyurl.com/rmwhk4p9
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