OM DENNE EPISODE
The U.S. is facing a major energy challenge. AI data centers are driving electricity demand higher, grid infrastructure takes years and billions of dollars to expand, and communities need reliable power. Could microgrids and distributed energy resources help bridge the gap?
In this episode of The Clean Power Hour, host Tim Montague speaks with Lester Crafton of Ovanova about the evolution of solar, battery storage, and microgrids, and why he believes homes and businesses could play a much bigger role in America's energy future.
Lester shares the story behind Ovanova's unconventional beginnings, from a solar marketing model built around supporting schools and community organizations to deploying integrated energy systems designed for resilience and grid support.
The conversation explores Ovanova's microgrid project at the Isha Institute of Inner Sciences in Tennessee, where limited grid capacity threatened to delay a major community development. Lester explains how a combination of battery storage, solar generation, and dispatchable backup power can help address that challenge while reducing dependence on costly grid upgrades.
Tim and Lester also discuss a bigger question: As data centers and AI increase electricity demand, should homes and businesses remain passive electricity consumers, or could they become local power plants that help support the grid?
In this episode, you'll learn:
• How Ovanova evolved from residential solar into integrated microgrid and energy resilience projects.
• Why Lester believes solar and battery storage should be designed to work together.
• How a buffer battery can help a community develop when the local grid cannot initially supply enough power.
• What the Isha Institute microgrid project reveals about the challenges of developing new infrastructure.
• How distributed energy resources could help utilities access reliable, dispatchable power.
• Why cybersecurity and communications reliability matter as more distributed energy assets connect to the grid.
• How homeowners and businesses could potentially earn revenue by supplying power during periods of peak demand.
• Why data center developers could help finance distributed energy infrastructure in the communities they affect.
• What it will take to scale microgrids, battery storage, and local energy resilience across the United States.
Connect with Lester Crafton, Ovanova
Website: https://ovanova.co/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lestercrafton/
Connect with Tim
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The Clean Power Hour is produced by the Clean Power Consulting Group and created by Tim Montague. Contact us by email: CleanPowerHour@gmail.com
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The Clean Power Hour is brought to you by CPS America, maker of North America’s number one 3-phase string inverter, with over 6GW shipped in the US. With a focus on commercial and utility-scale solar and energy storage, the company partners with customers to provide unparalleled performance and service. The CPS America product lineup includes 3-phase string inverters from 25kW to 275kW, exceptional data communication and controls, and energy storage solutions designed for seamless integration with CPS America systems. Learn more at www.chintpowersystems.com
UDSKRIFT 🔗
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We just wanted to give money away to help people learn about solar, but if you look at one Louisiana data center for Meta is five gigawatts. Yeah, do you think they're not going to want to build 100 of those? Okay, well that's 500, and assuming it runs continuously, then if the average now is four or 500, and then we throw up 500 more, but you only have a tiny little buffer between us and disaster.
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