Gigawatt loads are being studied on software that looks like it was built for Windows 95. The math underneath has barely changed. Everything around it has.

Clare Southworth talks with Mike Malguarnera of Transmission Fox about the state of interconnection modeling and what it would take to make the results worth trusting.

In this episode:

• Why interconnection software has not moved since the 1990s and how it makes results less reliable
• Which utilities and regions are winning in the 'speed to power' race
• What happens to a model when you have to solve for load and generation at once
• Utilities and risk, and why nobody wants to lose ten cents to make a dollar

Mike Malguarnera has spent 15 years in power, starting on one of the last coal plants built in the United States, then resource planning and power market strategy at ACES, then solar and storage development and interconnection at BW Solar. He now runs Transmission Fox, helping developers review interconnection results and set transmission strategy.

Views are his own

Produced by Element Six, a specialist talent partner hiring across building intelligence, grid infrastructure and data center power.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Power demand in the US is outstripping the grid's current capacity, with interconnection queues taking years and transmission lines taking over a decade to build; the country urgently needs a short-term solution.

Clare Southworth talks with Isaac Maze-Rothstein of Leap and Thomas Armstrong of Voltus about what virtual power plants can do.

In this episode:

• Why VPPs can help with immediate needs and also long-term needs, and the importance of a flexible grid both financially and for reliability
• Why extreme weather is just as important as data centers in pushing costs up for customers
• The C&I gap, why it is currently on 1% of the market and the potential it can have
• Whether data centers will flex, and whether anyone will pay them to
• The market rules both guests would tear up, starting with PJM's ELCC derates

Isaac Maze-Rothstein is Associate Director of Partner Success at Leap, where he helps partners get more value from grid services. He previously led research on virtual power plants, Bitcoin mining, and microgrids at Wood Mackenzie.

Thomas Armstrong is Director of Partnerships at Voltus, focused on monetizing commercial and industrial batteries in wholesale markets. He worked in EV charging and for utilities before joining.

Views are their own.

Produced by Element Six, a specialist talent partner hiring across building intelligence, grid infrastructure and data center power.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Down Low with Joe, Lewis Martin is joined by Joe Aamidor for a market update on what is shaping the smart buildings industry in 2026.

They cover Copeland's acquisition of Bueno, what it says about OEM digital strategy, and why more major players are pushing to own the software and data layer.

They also unpack Cambio’s $18M Series A, the current state of sustainability software, and why this may now be more of a replacement market than a greenfield opportunity. Joe shares his view on fragmentation, TAM, and why smart buildings have not produced a single dominant software winner.

The conversation also dives into Clockworks’ latest raise, the strength of the fault detection category, and why established leaders are still attracting capital. Finally, Lewis and Joe discuss Trane Cloud, the broader wave of OEM platform launches, and the challenge of building and scaling software inside large incumbents.

Topics covered:

• Bueno acquired by Copeland
• Why OEMs are doubling down on software
• Cambio’s raise and sustainability software market dynamics
• Why TAM in smart buildings is often overstated
• Clockworks and the future of fault detection
• Trane Cloud and OEM digital platforms
• The challenge of building software inside large industrial companies

If you work in smart buildings, HVAC, controls, real estate technology, or climate software, this episode is packed with sharp insight on where the market is heading.

Produced by Element Six, a specialist talent partner hiring across building intelligence, grid infrastructure and data center power.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.