Shows
Watt It TakesCloverleaf Infrastructure Co-Founder and CCO Brian JanousAs we’ve covered in other recent episodes, the growth of data centers and the massive amount of power they require is reshaping the energy landscape. Today, I want to zero in on a specific challenge at the heart of it all: the watt bit spread, a phrase coined by this month’s guest. The Watt Bit Spread is the gap between the cost of electricity and the value of computing—computing meaning, the processing power behind AI, cloud services, and digital infrastructure. Bridging that gap is one of the keys to unlocking both data center growth and new...
2025-09-251h 10
Catalyst with Shayle KannWhen to colocate data centers with generationThe idea of colocating data centers with behind-the-meter generation is picking up steam, including large projects in Memphis, Texas, and Utah developing significant on-site capacity, mostly from combined-cycle gas plants. The main argument is speed to power. Building your own generation allows data centers to sidestep the challenges involved in grid upgrades, transmission, and permitting.
But when does a good idea jump the shark?
In this episode, Shayle brings Brian Janous back on the show to talk about why a data center might not want to colocate generation. Brian is co-founder and chief commercial officer a...
2025-09-1236 min
Grid Forward ForumAnalyzing Data Center Flexibility to Meet Growing Power DemandsPower demand from data centers is clearly increasing faster than current electric infrastructure and markets can accommodate. Therefore, data centers and grid operators are exploring one workaround: flexing data center loads during peak demand times. Brian Janous, of Cloverleaf Infrastructure, and Chris Pennington, of Iron Mountain Data Centers, discuss the current opportunities and challenges to data center flexibility. For example, there are options for moving workloads among facilities and leveraging the improving capabilities of battery storage. On the other hand, demand response is not a major business driver. The industry needs to define relatively simple solutions that can be...
2025-08-2539 min
Smart Energy VoicesGrid Chaos and Data Centers: Where To Go From HereIn this episode of Plugged In, host Chuck Hanna welcomes Brian Janous, Co-founder of Cloverleaf Infrastructure and former leader of Microsoft’s global energy team. They explore the energy sector’s changing dynamics, driven by skyrocketing demand from data centers and a shift in emphasis from buying energy to securing capacity. Janous shares insights from his 25-year career in the power and utilities industry, highlighting the current strain on the grid, the role of utilities, and the importance of building energy resilience.
You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...
Janous’s career journey...
2025-08-0826 minCatalyst with Shayle KannExplaining the ‘Watt-Bit Spread’Editor’s note: The uncertainties of data center construction — like when, where, and how much to build — are as pressing as ever. So we’re revisiting a conversation with Brian Janous, co-founder and chief commercial officer at data center developer Cloverleaf Infrastructure. In this episode, he explains his theory of the ‘Watt-Bit Spread’, which offers insightful heuristics for understanding how data centers are driving change in the power sector.
Every data center company is after one thing right now: power. Electricity used to be an afterthought in data center construction, but in the AI arms race access to power has...
2025-08-0742 min
Build, Repeat. (A Paces Podcast)Orchestrating Power for Data Centers with Brian Janous of CloverleafIn this episode, James talks with Brian Janous, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Cloverleaf Infrastructure and former Head of Energy at Microsoft. With 25+ years in the utility space — including a decade leading Microsoft’s cloud energy strategy — Brian shares what it was like to scale power procurement during the hyperscale boom and why he founded Cloverleaf to solve the next frontier: grid-aligned power delivery for data centers.They explore the transition from fiber-first to power-first infrastructure, the myth of exponential energy growth, and the real reason AI is accelerating demand at an unprecedented pace. Brian unpacks the gr...
2025-07-0833 minCatalyst with Shayle KannExplaining the 'Watt-Bit Spread'Every data center company is after one thing right now: power. Electricity used to be an afterthought in data center construction, but in the AI arms race access to power has become critical because more electrons means more powerful AI models.But how and when these companies will get those electrons is unclear. Utilities have been inundated with new load requests, and it takes time to build new capacity.Given these uncertainties, how do data center companies make the high-stakes decisions about how much to build? How sustainable is the rate of construction? And how...
2024-12-0540 min
Cool VectorHow Energy Became 'Existential' to Data CentersDigital infrastructure has a voracious appetite for energy, but the electric utility industry is filled with apprehension and lacks 'muscle memory' to 'build big things,' according to Brian Janous, co-founder of sustainable energy specialist Cloverleaf Infrastructure, as well as the former head of data center energy for Microsoft.
In a wide-ranging interview with Cool Vector, Janous describes how his mandate at Microsoft went from relative obscurity to a top-order concern among the company's leadership. He discusses how data center sites are identified, evaluated and the importance of finding a willing counter-party in the local utility.
2024-09-1836 min
Energy GangThe rise of AI means surging investment in electricity supply. What will that mean for customers?The need to meet increased demand while cutting emissions is exposing some fundamental issues in the industry.It’s common knowledge that data centers use a lot of energy, and will use even more in the future as AI applications develop. One thing is not clear, though: who will end up paying for all that extra electricity?US utilities typically used to receive perhaps one or two large customer requests – meaning 20 megawatts or more – each year. Now, they may be receiving one or two of those requests every week. The need for increased electricity supply means...
2024-09-031h 08
Hidden ForcesHow to Remake the Electric Grid for AI | Brian JanousIn Episode 368 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Brian Janous. Brian is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Cloverleaf Infrastructure. With over 20 years of experience in the electricity and data center industries, Brian is the perfect person to talk to about the growth in electricity demand being forecasted by North American grid planners as they try to get ahead of several converging trends in the energy space, including the rapid buildout of AI data centers, the onshoring of new industrial capacity, and the introduction of more intermittent sources of energy like wind and solar onto the grid.
2024-06-2450 minCatalyst with Shayle KannUnder the hood of data center power demandDriven by the AI boom, data centers’ energy demand could account for 9% of U.S. power generation by 2030, according to the Electric Power Research Institute. That's more than double current usage.So how do we meet that demand? And what impacts will it have on the grid and decarbonization?In this episode, Shayle talks to Brian Janous, former vice president of energy at Microsoft and current co-founder of Cloverleaf Infrastructure. Brian talks through the options for meeting data center demand, including shaping computational loads to avoid system peaks and deploying grid-enhancing technologies. He and Shayle als...
2024-06-1342 min
The Green BlueprintEnergy is now the ‘primary bottleneck’ for AIData centers are an impressive energy success story. Over the last 25 years, internet traffic has climbed more than 500x while data center electricity use has remained flat. The servers and energy infrastructure have gotten wildly more efficient, and the biggest tech companies have focused on powering those warehouse-scale computers with renewables.But a lot of people are suddenly alarmed about data centers again, as energy demand for AI surges.Data centers are getting built so fast, many utilities are pushing for lots of new fossil gas plants to serve them. And while tech c...
2024-05-2256 min
Odd LotsHow Electric Utilities Will Handle Booming AI Datacenter DemandFor years and years, utilities in the US haven't seen much growth in electricity demand. The economy is generally mature and has been able to grow even without needing much more electrical power. But all that's changing now and a big contributing factor is the boom in datacenter demand. It's particularly acute for AI datacenters, which need more power than traditional datacenters, and are growing like crazy ever since ChatGPT brought generative AI to everyone's collective consciousness. So how will utilities handle the sudden surge in load growth? On this episode, we speak with Brian Janous, co-founder and chief...
2024-04-1554 minThe Green BlueprintNew demand is straining the grid. Here’s how to tackle it.When Brian Janous took charge of Microsoft’s clean energy strategy in 2011, the company’s data center demand was modest. He was measuring new demand in the tens of megawatts.Over the years, that grew to hundreds of megawatts of new demand as hyperscale computing expanded. And then everything changed in the spring of 2023, with the public launch of ChatGPT 3.5, which ran on Microsoft’s data centers.“That was the moment that I realized we were going to need a bigger boat. This is a massive leap in a period of like six months – and the amount...
2024-03-0629 min
When Science SpeaksCrafting Compelling Narratives: A Deep Dive into Atomic Storytelling Techniques with Chris HareOn this episode of When Science Speaks, host by Mark Bayer dives into the world of storytelling with guest Chris Hare, exploring the impact and importance of a high-impact storytelling approach Chris has developed and used with his clients called "Atomic Storytelling." Episode Highlights: The Quest for Effective Storytelling: Mark and Chris kick off the episode discussing the widespread discussion on storytelling and the lack of informed advice. Chris introduces the concept of Atomic Storytelling and its transformative power. Chris's Journey with Microsoft: Chris shares a pivotal moment in his career, working on...
2024-01-1933 min
The Storied FutureBuilding the Biggest Machine in History w/ Brian Janous, Former Microsoft VP of EnergyToday's guest, Brian Janous, is the former VP of Energy at Microsoft. In fact, he was their first ever energy hire back in 2011. Until his departure earlier this year, Brian oversaw energy strategy and sourcing for all of Microsoft’s cloud and AI infrastructure, including procuring renewable energy for the company to meet its carbon objectives.Since the earliest days of his career, Brian has sought to answer the question, “How do we build markets around the complex machine of the electric grid to drive behaviors that shift the future?” As you’ll hear, Microsoft gave him the oppo...
2023-11-161h 05
Smart Energy VoicesThe Electrification of General Motors, with Rob ThrelkeldThis episode of Smart Energy Voices features a keynote conversation host John Failla had with Rob Threlkeld, Global Manager of Sustainable Energy, Supply, and Reliability at General Motors. In Episode 25, they talked about the future of General Motors, EVs, and Renewables. Listen in for this update on the dramatic changes at GM since their last conversation, including GM’s commitment to an electric future and how energy is driving the reinvention of the company.You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...
Rob’s current role at GM [02:45]
Transformations in GM [06:10]
Becoming more...
2022-04-0826 min
Smart Energy VoicesMicrosoft and the Art of the Possible, with Brian Janous Ep #59This episode of Smart Energy Voices presents the keynote speaker from the recent Renewable Energy Forum, Brian Janous - General Manager of Energy at Microsoft. As one of the world’s preeminent leaders in the energy transition, Microsoft is constantly innovating. Listen in as Brian provides a glimpse into the mindset and culture at Microsoft that has enabled its unique approach to innovation, including efforts to drive collaboration between peers, suppliers, and customers to enable broader adoption of renewable energy.You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...
Microsoft’s climate commitments [02:09]
Star...
2022-02-2523 min
InevitableEp. 179: Brian Janous, General Manager of Energy and Renewables at MicrosoftToday's guest is Brian Janous, General Manager of Energy and Renewables at Microsoft.Brian is responsible for leading the development and execution of Microsoft's global data center energy strategy, including oversight of all energy supply agreements, renewable energy purchasing, distributed generation, and strategic partnerships to ensure a power supply that is reliable and sustainable. Brian joined Microsoft in 2011 after 12 years in the energy industry, where he worked as a Sr. Consultant at Brubaker & Associates, assisting Fortune 500 companies with energy procurement, policy, and sustainability matters. Brian holds an MBA from Webster University, a Bachelor of Science in Finance...
2021-10-181h 01
Grid Forward ForumEp 2-13 Getting to Carbon Negative By 2030 -- How Does Microsoft Plan to Get There with Brian JanousMajor corporate entitles, in particular the big tech companies, are rapidly accelerating their positions in expanding clean energy and supporting the energy transition. Microsoft ramped up its commitment earlier this year to 100% clean energy for the entire reach of its company, 100% of the time, by 2030. That is certainly an ambitious target and meeting it will bring a diversity of lessons for the industry along the way. Listen is as we talk with Brian Janous, General Manager of Energy and Renewables at Microsoft on the role of their partners (including utilities), what they are learning along the way, and how...
2021-09-2831 min
Talking tech with TechielassWeekly Update #57 - All about the prep This week has again been all consumed with prep for Microsoft Ignite, it's been awesome meeting and catching up with the people that I will be interviewing during the event and also preparing for the session that I will be delivering.
My team and I have set up a Discord Server where we as a community can have some chats and also during Ignite try and set up some of those hall way conversations that we all love at in person events, sign up to the Discord Server and get involved with the community.
If you...
2020-09-1809 min
Interchange RechargedGoogle and Microsoft Are Shaping Energy MarketsSince 2015, large corporations have signed deals for more than 7 gigawatts of renewable energy. As activity picks up, these companies are grappling with increasingly complex deals. They're no longer just thinking about renewable energy credits or average consumption over the year; they're now looking at matching wind, solar and hydro supply directly with their on-site demand in a more granular way. Consequently, energy storage is becoming more attractive.This week, we're talking with two leading buyers of renewable energy, Google and Microsoft.We'll talk with Neha Palmer, Google's head of energy strategy, about hitting 100 per...
2018-03-131h 04