Technology, AI, and the Impact on Power

The Energy Professionals Association (TEPA) National Conference, held in Austin, Texas earlier this month, brought industry experts together to discuss the evolving retail energy landscape. The road to decarbonization and AI’s impact on energy were common themes throughout the conference, the Leadership Perspectives Executive Roundtable was no different. It was here CPV’s President and Chief Commercial Officer, Sherman Knight, provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities the industry faces today.

Before we dive in, we’d like to take a moment and introduce Sherman. With nearly 20 years at CPV, Sherman has helped lead the company through immense growth and currently leads CPV’s commercial strategy, the origination of off-take agreements and hedges for development projects as well as overseeing the commodity marketing and trading activities for CPV’s managed portfolio. And, in January 2025, Sherman will become CPV’s CEO.

While at TEPA, Sherman offered a unique perspective from the developer and operator lens.

Let’s dive into that perspective when it comes to technological advancements.

Investing in New Technology as a Developer Cascades Down to the Customer

CPV is committed to staying at the forefront of technological innovation for future success, this involves continuously monitoring emerging technologies and trends that can drive the energy transition forward. Sherman emphasized the company’s ongoing investment in low-carbon and renewable energy projects, as seen in CPV’s work in West Virginia and Texas.

Internally from the CPV perspective, Sherman shared:

“We’re employing AI across the board – maintenance, forecasting, and training internally.

With our CPV Shay project in West Virginia, the carbon capture technology would remove up to 90-95% of carbon emissions. This is what we find to be so important, if we are going to drive decarbonization forward and do our part to bring reliable generation to the grid – we need to start at the beginning in our development. We have teams who are constantly looking at the latest technology, following market trends, and deciding what is viable. This positions us for success now, 5 years from now, and beyond…”

Through our work on the development and operation side of generation, it allows the CPV Retail team to meet customers where they are and set them up for their own success today and tomorrow.

New Technologies are Driving Demand While Impacting the Bottomline

All of the panelists highlighted the growing demand for energy driven by the rapid expansion of data centers, particularly in regions like Virginia and Ohio, within PJM.

”A good portion of the generation is being driven by AI. Data centers, essential for supporting AI technologies, require substantial amounts of electricity—up to 50 times more than a typical office building.” (Read the WEF Article »)

To that end, this demand is causing price fluctuations in certain regions and is compounded by transmission constraints that limit the ability to import electricity from other areas. Addressing transmission constraints and local generation needs will become increasingly important.

CPV Retail aims to be highly adaptable, offering flexible deal structures that allow customers, especially large ones with net-zero targets, to choose solutions that align with their sustainability goals. Using CPV’s growing portfolio of renewable and low-carbon assets, CPV Retail can provide customers with options that meet both their current and future energy needs.

As the energy industry evolves, flexibility, technology adoption, and a deep understanding of regulatory and market trends will be critical for success.

In our next blog, we dive into how decarbonization remains a top priority that will require adaptability and customer-centric solutions if we want to be successful in today’s volatile market.