In this episode of the Cerulean Network Podcast, host Matthew Stotts, General Partner at Cerulean Ventures, talks with Tom Nudell, co-founder and CEO of Piq Energy. They discuss how Piq Energy is accelerating the renewable energy transition by efficiently connecting renewable sources to the grid. The conversation covers insights from the recent RE+ Conference, challenges and opportunities in grid transformation, and the complexity of the current energy landscape. Tom also shares how Piq Energy's software and data systems are streamlining the process of integrating renewables and dynamic loads like data centers into the grid. With a focus on innovation, Piq Energy is tackling the critical issue of electricity generation and distribution in the face of rising demand.

In recent years, the digital transformation of our economy has become a catalyst for substantial shifts in the demand and production of electricity. As artificial intelligence and data centers drive this transformation, they too are ushering in an era of heightened electricity needs. How this electricity is generated has become a critical issue, demanding urgent solutions for sustainable growth.

**Confronting Energy Demand and Grid Capacity**

Tom Nudell, CEO and co-founder of Piq Energy highlights the pressing issue of connecting renewable energy projects to the grid, a barrier often caused by legacy utility infrastructures and misaligned incentives. Large grid interconnections coupled with increasing demand from data centers and new technologies are posing significant challenges to existing systems. However, Piq Energy seeks to mitigate these challenges with its cutting-edge grid planning software and data systems.

**Insights from the RE+ Conference**

Following their participation in the largest renewable energy conference in the U.S., RE Plus, Tom shares his optimism. Participants showed strong resilience and commitment to renewable projects, despite the perceived stagnation in the sector. The conference underscored the importance of thinking beyond current interconnection issues and planning for a future that embraces renewables.

**Grid Complexity and Interconnection Challenges**

The conversation reveals the intricate dynamics between utilities, regional operating networks, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The difficulties in accessing the grid are exacerbated by the legacy structures and varying regulatory environments across different regions. Yet, Tom remains confident in Piq Energy’s ability to help streamline this process, making the integration of large load data centers and renewable projects more feasible.

**Piq Energy's Approach and Technological Edge**

Piq Energy is leveraging sophisticated software to automate and simplify technical analysis, thereby reducing the friction associated with grid connections. This benefits renewable developers and data centers and also opens new opportunities for non-traditional customers.

Tom notes that Piq’s infrastructure is both adaptive and expansive, allowing them to broaden their reach globally. The technology is not bound by geographical limits, which bodes well for its vision of using its innovative tools to support grid planning across the world.

**A Vision for the Future**

Despite the complexity and challenges of today’s energy landscape, Nudell remains hopeful. With advanced grid-enhancing technologies ready to be deployed, the focus has shifted to accelerating their adoption. Tom’s optimism is rooted in Piq Energy’s ability to drive this transformation, bolstering the efficiency and capacity of grids to meet the aspirations of a renewable-powered economy.

Piq Energy stands at the intersection of necessity and opportunity, working to unlock latent grid capacity and foster the integration of renewables. Through the vision and dedication of Tom Nudell and his team, Piq Energy is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of sustainable energy systems worldwide.

This is the Cerulean Network Podcast - where we meet the innovators and investors bringing Earth-scale solutions to the great challenges and opportunities of our time.

Our guest today is Morgan Babbs, co-founder of Popular Power.

In the face of policy headwinds and politically divisive market dynamics, Morgan shares how her company is helping the solar industry go global, go faster and do more for their communities.

In our conversation, Morgan dispels the myths of the newest policy changes in the United States, the perceived challenges of operating cross-border, and highlights Popular Power's global reach and local impact through a unique market incentive, Popular Power Ups.

We cover her and her co-founders remarkable history in the solar industry as project developers and operators in some of the fastest-growing yet most difficult and remote locations, and we'll see how their grit and insights from that history, inform Popular Power's future as a global platform for managing and accelerating renewable energy.

Now a note for context . . . at Cerulean we back founders who have deep domain expertise at the earliest stages and that means getting into a level of detail on product and markets that bring a whole host of complexity and terminology. And so in this conversation about renewable energy markets a lot of acronyms get used. Here's a quick guide to the terms, RECs - renewable energy credits, IRECs - the international version and G.O.s - The European Union's Guarantee of Origin (GO) system, to all of which Popular Power is adding an impact layer that values community and economic inclusion in addition to clean power.

We'll also talk about IPPs and VPPS - Independent Power Producers and Virtual Power Planets, which are providing grid services similar to traditional utilities. And we'll cover market segments using shorthand like C and I for Commercial and Industrial, SMB for Small to Medium Business and Rezi for Residential Customers and lastly DG for distributed generation - the key to rapidly expanding and democratizing renewable energy.

PPAs - Power Purchase Agreements - which allow project developers to finance large projects with standing, long-term agreements users who pay for the power their equipment generates.

O&M Operations and Management - the fundamental process of keeping your renewable power plant producing and delivering the optimal power.

OBBBA - The $4T deficit spending bill passed by congress in 2025.

Favorite Book: The Grid - By Gretchen Beck

Founders prior companies: Illu Mexico, Sol Colombia, and Navajo Power Home.