Powering the AI Inference Wave with EPRI's Ben Sooter - Ep. 292

Powering the AI Inference Wave with EPRI's Ben Sooter - Ep. 292

From NVIDIA AI Podcast by NVIDIA

March 4, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

Ben Sooter discusses the impact of AI on electricity demand and the role of micro data centers in enhancing grid resilience.

AI is reshaping electricity demand. What does increased demand, and the shape of that demand, mean for the electric grid? Ben Sooter, Director of R&D at EPRI joins the podcast to explain why most of an AI model’s lifetime energy use comes from inference rather than training, and how micro data centers located near underutilized substations can help deliver low‑latency AI services while strengthening grid resilience.

People in this episode

Host: NVIDIA

Guest: Ben Sooter

Topics covered

  • AI inference
  • electricity demand
  • electric grid
  • micro data centers
  • grid resilience

Keywords

  • AI
  • inference
  • electricity
  • grid
  • data centers
  • resilience
  • EPRI

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: EPRI

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