EPRI Current

54. Balancing AI Growth with Grid Flexibility: Inside EPRI’s DCFlex Initiative

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) is propelling us into a new era of innovation that has the potential to transform daily life and drive economic growth. In this episode of the EPRI Current, host Samantha Gilman is joined by David Porter, EPRI’s VP of Electrification and Sustainable Energy Strategy, and Briana Kobor, Head of Energy Market Innovation at Google. They discuss strategies to realize the benefits of AI while minimizing costs and ensuring grid reliability, featuring insights from DCFlex – a new EPRI initiative to make data centers more flexible and responsive to grid needs. From demand flexibility to utility collaboration and scalable solutions, the conversation highlights the role of cross-sector teamwork in ensuring grid reliability while advancing AI and energy goals.
 
Guests: David Porter and Briana Kobor
 
 
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. 
 
Follow EPRI:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/ 
Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews 
 
EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 
 

53. Why the Wait? Unpacking Gas Turbine Delays

Around the world, the energy sector faces a shared challenge: significant delays in acquiring gas turbines, a critical technology for grid expansion. In this episode of the EPRI Current, host Samantha Gilman sits down with EPRI Sr. Program Manager Bobby Noble to explore a topical question for industry stakeholders and EPRI members: Why are the wait times for gas turbines so long? Bobby sheds light on the implications of a 5-year wait time, addressing the leading causes behind these delays, EPRI’s efforts to support and inform the industry, and practical measures the industry can implement to expand near-term capabilities using existing assets. 
Guests: Bobby Noble, Sr. Program Manager, EPRI  
 
 
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. 
 
Follow EPRI:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/ 
Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews 
 
EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 
 

52. What is the AI EFFECT on Europe’s Power Industry?

The AI EFFECT project aims to establish a European Testing and Experimentation Facility (TEF) for the energy sector to develop, test, and validate AI applications. Funded by Horizon Europe, the project addresses the integration of AI into critical energy infrastructures to optimize operations, reduce costs, enhance resilience, and support decarbonization efforts.
 
This episode of the EPRI Current examines AI's role in improving efficiency, smart grids, generation, distribution, and customer tools as well as some challenges emerging from use cases such as the need for mathematical guarantees to trust AI.
 
For more information about AI EFFECT and AI in the power industry:
AI EFFECT: AI-EFFECT | acquiacmsminimaltemplate
OPEN POWER AI: Open Power AI Consortium | EPRI Micro Sites
 
Host:  Samantha Gilman
 
Guests:             
Gianluca Lipari, Technical Leader - European Projects Coordinator, EPRI
Massimo Bolognessi, Senior Electrical Design Engineer, ENEL Grids
Johanna Vorwerk,  Assistant Professor, Wind and Energy Systems, Technical University of Denmark
 
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. 
 
Follow EPRI:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/ 
Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews 
 
EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 
 
 
 

51. Lights out! Understanding the Iberian Peninsula Blackout

 
More than 52 years after EPRI was born as a result of a massive North American blackout, EPRI Current host Samantha Gilman speaks with Eamonn Lannoye, Director, EPRI Europe  and Sean McGuiness Senior Technical Executive, EPRI Europe, to discuss the recent power blackout in Spain, Portugal and parts of France. The whole system went down in five seconds.  What do we know about why it happened?  What do we not yet know, and why can it take time to fully understand the root causes?  Are  observers jumping to conclusions before all the data is in? Lannoye has been a frequent contributor to international media stories about the event. He and McGuiness share their expertise on the series of events and caution about drawing conclusions too quickly.
For more information about the blackout, see this recorded webinar:
EPRI Webcast of Initial Findings from April 28, 2025 Iberia Blackout
 
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. 
 
Follow EPRI:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/ 
Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews 
 
EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 
 
 
 

50. We’re at DistribuTECH Talking Microgrids!

Recorded live from the show floor at DistribuTECH 2025 in Dallas, this episode of the EPRI Current examines microgrids and how utilities are using them to explore back-up power availability to improve system reliability.  Jackie Baum from EPRI and Ryan Boudreau from Hydro One networks discuss the challenges and opportunities for microgrids in local communities with host Samantha Gilman in the DistribuTECH studio.
 
Guests:             
Jackie Baum, Sr. Manager DERMS & Microgrids, EPRI
Ryan Boudreau, Sr. Manager Distribution and P&C, Hydro One Networks
 
Watch Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3ewkmpIrjY
 
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. 
 
Follow EPRI:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/ 
Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews 
 
EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 
 
 
 

49. Powering Europe’s Future: Innovation Through Collaboration

Host Samantha Gilman explores the energy innovation landscape in Europe with her guests Consuelo Fierro from National Grid, and Mark McGranaghan from EPRI. They discuss the prevalent innovation culture driven by EU and UK-funded projects, European innovation working groups and initiatives, the challenges and successes of National Grid's innovation efforts, and the transformative impact of AI on the energy sector.
 
 
Guests:
Consuelo Fierro, Project Manager at Innovation Management Office, National Grid
Mark McGranaghan EPRI Fellow, EPRI Europe
 
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. 
 
 
Follow EPRI:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/ 
Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews 
 
 
EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 

48. Battery Energy Storage Safety: From Cells to Systems

Join EPRI experts Stephanie Shaw and Lakshmi Srinivasan of EPRI’s Energy Storage research area, and Southern Company’s Kieran Claffey to learn how research, risk assessment and analysis continues to improve the safety of battery storage technology and operations. As battery storage energy grows across the globe, with the vast majority of deployments being lithium ion, what have we learned about the safety of battery storage as both a source and as part of a larger electric system? 
 
Find out more about EPRI’s Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Failure Incident Database, initiated in 2021. It tracks incidents involving BESS systems, providing valuable data on system age, manufacturer, chemistry, and application. 
 
For more information:
EPRI Failure Incident Database: BESS Failure Incident Database - EPRI Storage Wiki
EPRI Whitepaper: Analysis of Failure Root Cause: Insights from EPRI’s Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Failure Incident Database: Analysis of Failure Root Cause
 
Guests:
Stephanie Shaw, Technical Executive, Energy Storage, EPRI
Lakshmi Srinivasan, Principal Team Lead, Energy Storage, EPRI
Kieran Claffey, Senior rResearch Engineer in the Research Environment and Sustainability Group of Southern Co., Industry Lead, Safety and Grid Security Tiger Team for the Long Duration Energy Storage National Consortium
 
 
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. 
 
 
Follow EPRI:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/ 
Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews 
 
 
EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 

47. Just Keep Swimming: New Tech Enables Fish Migration at Hydro Dams

Teach a person to fish, and they’ll teach the rest of us how to innovate to preserve the species. Hydropower is one of the world’s oldest low-carbon sources of electricity generation. And as long as there have been dams, there have been migrating fish needing to swim upstream past to spawn. Join EPRI Current host Samantha Gilman and her three guests as they discuss testing the new Fishheart fish passage technology in North America. Developed by fishermen in Finland, the technology was tested in North America at the Santee Cooper utility as part of a Department of Energy research project supervised by EPRI.
 
Links and Resources Mentioned: 
EPRI Journal, “Fish Tech” January 2025: Fish Tech - EPRI Journal | EPRI Journal
YouTube: “Protecting Fish at Hydropower Facilities”: V86b1hpzax-B34-WBNR-16x9-205s-YT-Charlotte-nooneseemstoknow-Multi transition July2024 Ad 2--OG
 
Guests:
Mika Sohlberg, Co-Founder, Fishheart
Michael Melchers, FERC Administrator, Santee Cooper
Paul Jacobson, Technical Executive, generation sector, EPRI
 
 
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. 
 
 
Follow EPRI:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/ 
Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews 
 
 
EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 

46. The Quantum Challenge: Pioneering Fusion Technology

In this episode we explore how quantum computing could help solve key fusion hurdles—from plasma control to materials engineering—bringing us closer to a commercially viable fusion reactor.
Join host Samantha Gilman and EPRI experts Diana Grandas, Emma Wong, and Dr. Charlyne Smith as they discuss EPRI’s work in fusion innovation, the intersection of quantum mechanics and energy research, and what’s needed to push fusion from the lab to the power grid.
 
Also discussed: the @EPRINews 2025 Quantum Challenge Fusion Edition, an international contest aimed at finding groundbreaking quantum computing solutions for fusion technology.
 
Learn more at: https://aqora.io/epri-fusion-quantum-challenge-2025#about-event
 
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. 
 
 
Follow EPRI:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/ 
Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews 
 
 
EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com 
 
 

45. Harvesting Energy and Crops: Exploring Agrivoltaics

In this episode, EPRI experts examine a new corner of the energy industry: agrivoltaics. Agrivoltaics is when solar PV panels are installed above crops so that the same land can be simultaneously used for energy and food production.
 
Learn from EPRI experts, Terry Jennings and Bailie Neary, on how EPRI is helping utilities explore this emerging practice. Plus, you’ll hear an overview of agrivoltaics today, and where it may go in the future thanks to AI.
 
Learn more in this recent EPRI Journal article: https://eprijournal.com/a-marriage-of-sun-farmland-and-technology/
 
Guests: TERRY JENNINGS -  Team Leader for Environmental Aspects of Wind & Solar at EPRI, and  BAILIE NEARY - Researcher for Energy Systems & Climate Analysis Group at EPRI
 
Learn more at EPRI.com 
 
If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe and share! And please consider leaving a review and rating on Apple Podcasts/iTunes. 
 
 
Follow EPRI:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/epri/ 
Twitter https://twitter.com/EPRINews 
 
 
EPRI Current examines key issues and new R&D impacting the energy transition. Each episode features insights from EPRI, the world's preeminent independent, non-profit energy research and development organization, and from other energy industry leaders. We also discuss how innovative technologies are shaping the global energy future. Learn more at www.epri.com