Powering Data Centers in a Constrained Grid with Dave Bosco | Ep 123
From The Energy Pipeline by Josh Lowrey
March 18, 2026 · 40 min
About this episode
Josh Lowrey interviews Dave Bosco about the challenges and solutions for powering data centers in a constrained grid.
Power demand is exploding, but the grid is not ready. Live from the Daniel Energy Partners Thrive Energy Conference, host Josh Lowrey sits down with Dave Bosco to unpack why “light-switch” reliability is now mission-critical. They dive into island power, microgrids, and how ProPower is building utility-grade solutions for oil & gas and hyperscale data centers in a constrained grid, plus the tech behind it, their partnership with Caterpillar, and what most people are still getting wrong. 00:00 Live From Thrive Conference 01:17 Pro Power Origin Story 01:42 Why The Grid Cannot Keep Up 02:40 Light Switch Reliability Story 04:37 Demand Surge Data Centers 06:13 Career Built From Ground Up 06:48 From IT To Oilfield Rotations 09:24 Lessons On Growth And Discomfort 11:57 Electrification Versus ESG 13:41 Caterpillar Partnership Playbook 16:42 Service Network And Asset Care 19:04 Scaling Fast And Hybrid Tech 20:54 BESS For AI Load Swings 22:05 Skunkworks Training Lab 22:38 Consultative Power Partnerships 23:41 Hyperscaler Contract Talk 23:59 Energy Conference Shift 25:29 Reliability And Market Maturity 28:21 Island Power Explained 32:20 Why The Grid Lags 35:55 Microgrids And Scaling Up…
People in this episode
Host: Josh Lowrey
Guest: Dave Bosco
Topics covered
- data centers
- power grid
- microgrids
- island power
- utility-grade solutions
- partnerships
- energy reliability
Keywords
- power demand
- light-switch reliability
- demand surge
- electrification
- energy solutions
- hyperscale data centers
- microgrid technology
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: ProPower, Caterpillar
More episodes of The Energy Pipeline
- Molly Determan and Tim Tarpley on The Energy Challenge Behind the AI Boom | Ep. 131 · June 10, 2026 · 53 min
- Dallas McCauley & Nathan Getschel on Natural Gas-Powered Frac Operations | Ep. 130 · May 13, 2026 · 38 min
- Matt Rayson on Autonomy & Digital Oilfield Solutions | Ep. 129 · May 6, 2026 · 45 min
- Chris Combs on AI Power & Grid Constraints | Ep. 128 · April 22, 2026 · 1h 1m
- Chris Berrie on Powering AI & Behind-the-Meter Energy | Ep. 127 · April 15, 2026 · 32 min
- Karen Harbert on Natural Gas, AI Demand, and the Future of Energy | Ep 126 · April 8, 2026 · 40 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Energy Pipeline podcast page.