ABOUT THIS EPISODE
When the behind-the-meter power generation company Intersect launched a decade ago, the playbook for setting up renewable generation was pretty straightforward: secure power purchase agreements with your customers, then build your generation.
But Intersect took a different -- and far riskier – path. They built generation infrastructure before anyone signed up to buy it. Without buyers, the company would have sunk. But a spike in U.S. energy demands fueled by massive data centers put Intersect in the perfect spot. It had a product nobody else had: immediately deployable power.
Intersect built 14 generation projects, and this spring, Alphabet bought the company for nearly $5 billion. (The deal did not include operable projects, only those in development).
In this episode, Alfred sits down with Sheldon Kimber, founder and CEO of Intersect, to unpack the financial frameworks and market insights that drove both Intersect’s growth and their remarkable acquisition by Alphabet. They explore why Intersect’s merchant approach proved so effective, how "bring your own power" is becoming the gold standard for data center development, and why the future grid will rely on a "flywheel" of renewables, batteries, and gas.
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Critical Capital is a co-production of Crux and Latitude Studios. Learn more about how Crux is financing the future of energy.
