Episode Details

Electricity demand is entering a sharp new growth cycle. After years of relatively flat demand, the economy is becoming more electric at the same time AI and data centers are exploding. New manufacturing, reshoring, EV charging, building electrification, air conditioning growth, extreme weather, and 24/7 reliability expectations are all pushing more load onto the grid. 

AI is the loudest accelerant right now, and for good reason. Data centers need massive computing power, cooling systems, backup power, transformers, substations, and high-reliability grid connections. But the bigger story is broader: the energy transition is no longer just about generating cleaner electricity. It is about delivering enough reliable power, fast enough, in the places where demand is actually showing up.

That is why nuclear power, SMRs, gas, storage, renewables, transmission, transformers, and interconnection are currently front-page issues.

But there is a harder question behind the hype: can we actually build the infrastructure fast enough, safely enough, and predictably enough to meet the moment?

In this episode of Green Giants: Titans of Renewable Energy, host Wes Ashworth, President of Lee Group Search sits down with Todd Zabelle, author of Built to Fail: Why Construction Projects Take So Long, Cost Too Much, and How to Fix It. Todd brings more than 35 years of experience in complex capital project delivery and is the Founder and CEO of Strategic Project Solutions, Founder of the Project Production Institute, Founder and CEO of Pacific Contracting, and a founding equity partner of the Lean Construction Institute.

Todd’s perspective is clear: many major projects do not fail because the technology is impossible. They fail because the management system is wrong.

That matters now because AI, data centers, nuclear power, and SMRs are all converging around the same challenge: the physical world does not move at software speed.

Wes and Todd unpack why traditional project management tools often create false confidence, why schedules can become disconnected from actual production, and why measuring progress by money spent can hide problems until it is too late. Todd explains why critical infrastructure needs to be managed as a production system, not just an administrative exercise.

The conversation then turns to nuclear power for AI. Todd shares what he heard at Datacloud Global Congress, where nuclear for AI was a major topic, and explains the cultural gap between fast-moving data center developers and the more conservative, safety-driven nuclear industry.

They explore the real-world barriers standing between AI’s energy demand and nuclear deployment, including siting, permitting, grid connection, fuel supply, specialized labor, nuclear-grade quality standards, and the mismatch between data center load profiles and steady baseload nuclear generation.

The episode also takes a sober look at SMRs. Todd sees real value in smaller batch deployment, especially as data centers grow over time, but warns that SMRs are not plug and play. Even smaller reactors require serious infrastructure, containment, supply chains, fuel strategy, skilled operators, and disciplined execution.

This is not a conversation about whether nuclear matters. It clearly does. It is a conversation about what it will actually take to deliver nuclear-grade infrastructure in the AI era.

In this episode, Wes and Todd cover:

• Why U.S. power demand is rising after years of relative stagnation
• How AI, data centers, electrification, manufacturing, and reliability needs are reshaping the grid
• Why major capital projects often fail long before the public sees the delay or cost overrun
• How traditional scheduling, earned value, and percentage completion accounting can create false confidence
• Why project delivery