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Why AIEnergy started

AIEnergy started to correct the erroneous “Data centers are driving up electric rates” stories. AI was just an excuse for the companies involved to raise rates and use obsolete technologies. In very few places did AI raise overall demand more than 2 or 3% per year, less than renewables + batteries + demand response are able to serve. NYT & WSJ believed the hype.

Everyone in energy knows the tech is ready to handle the demand and actually lower prices, but the system is effed up. Good reporting in the energy press and from researchers makes that clear.

I learned from some very smart people and will write as long as I have something to contribute. I’m veteran tech reporter Dave Burstein (daveb@dslprime.com), and I love to hear from you. It’s a great service when you catch my mistakes.

  • Lazard Renewables Cheapest, Not Nuclear

    Lazard’s top power banker says the AI-driven building boom looks nothing like the speculative 1990s bust, because today’s plants come wrapped in long-term contracts — but renewables’ cost edge is…

    Dave Burstein

  • Off-grid data centers Dirty As Hell: 60-80% higher emissions

    Factchecking with the companies before publishing my own article. This backgrounder is based on Zeke Hausfather’s article, The Climate Brink, Oct 26, 2026. Read it here He’s a respected scientist…

    Dave Burstein

  • Bloom’s 800V DC Fuel Cells: $Bs Savings, By Its Own Math

    The numbers look good, but Bloom is far from proving them in the field. 800V will soon come on strong. Dave Bloom Energy — press release, September 16, 2026. Source…

    Dave Burstein

  • AEP-Google $4B Fuel Cell Deal: No NOx, Still CO2

    Source material, not yet written up — flagged for other researchers and journalists to follow. AEP announced Oct. 14 that it will invest roughly $4 billion to build a 702-megawatt…

    Dave Burstein

  • Western Governors Push for Geothermal

    Western governors asked the Senate Energy Committee for three things on geothermal: the permitting shortcuts oil and gas already have, more money for demonstration projects, and continued federal subsurface mapping.…

    Dave Burstein

  • €13 Billion Finland Google Deal With Nuclear Power

    Google’s €13 billion two-year Finland buildout is their largest in Europe. The real story is in the energy section: a 22-year power deal with Fortum that funds keeping the Loviisa…

    Dave Burstein

  • China Battery Makers Frozen Backgrounder

    A September approval freeze on new battery storage capacity is an entry barrier rather than a production cut. Sourced from Chinese-language reporting, with a verification appendix.

    Dave Burstein

  • Birmingham’s $3.2 Billion Tax Break

    Everyone in Birmingham has spent three months arguing about this document. It is three pages. Most of what gets attributed to it is not in it. Most recent proposals expect…

    Dave Burstein

  • Municipals Wanted In

    Rural America is served by about 2000 public electric companies serving about 57 million people. Working together at APPA, they are worth including in the analysis. This is how public…

    Dave Burstein

  • How Long Does It Actually Take to Install a Battery? Grid and Data Center Timelines

    Four different clocks hide inside one question. Construction medians run about 275 days globally, but total time to market in the US and Europe is two to two-and-a-half years, and…

    Dave Burstein