931: Inside New York's $150B Energy Bet — And It's Bigger Than Data Centers | Doreen Harris

About this episode

Nico Johnson interviews Doreen Harris about New York's strategic approach to rising electricity demand and infrastructure investment.

Electricity demand is rising fast. But New York is asking a different question than most states: What kind of demand is actually worth building for? In this live conversation from IESNA 2026, Nico sits down with Doreen Harris, President of NYSERDA, to explore how one of the largest economies in the country is preparing for 20–25% electricity load growth over the next 15 years. From AI infrastructure and semiconductor manufacturing to distributed solar and storage, New York is making major investments while trying to ensure growth also creates long-term economic value. Doreen explains why durable policy signals matter, why transmission remains central to the next phase of grid buildout, and why "business as usual" already requires massive infrastructure investment. Expect to learn: 🔹 Why New York is planning differently for large loads like AI and manufacturing 🔹 How policy durability helps attract long-term capital 🔹 Why storage is becoming a major bright spot for reliability and affordability 🔹 How distributed solar is already reducing peak demand and consumer costs If you want to understand where energy markets, infrastructure, and economic development are headed next…

People in this episode

Host: Nico Johnson

Guest: Doreen Harris

Topics covered

• electricity demand
• energy policy
• infrastructure investment
• clean energy
• economic development
• AI and manufacturing

Keywords

• electricity load growth
• policy signals
• transmission
• grid buildout
• distributed solar
• storage
• reliability
• affordability

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NYSERDA

Places: New York

More episodes of SunCast

• 939: Former EPA Chief Michael Regan on Clean Energy and Public Health · June 11, 2026 · 27 min
• 938: The Rare Earth Problem Nobody Talks About | Mark LaVerghetta · June 9, 2026 · 21 min
• 937: What a 4-Star General Knows About Risk That Most Leaders Don't | Gen. Robert Neller · June 4, 2026 · 21 min
• 936: Which Solar Risks Actually Matter? | Jason Kaminsky, kWh Analytics · June 2, 2026 · 37 min
• 935: How (and Why) Clean Energy Wins In Red States | Monika Gerhart · May 28, 2026 · 55 min
• 934: What Makes Companies Investable Now | David Kirkpatrick · May 26, 2026 · 20 min