Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP)

Given how fast the data center world is moving, why are we reposting something from three years ago? In June 2023, we hosted The Future of Data Centers Summit, gathering leaders from utilities, regulators, and hyperscalers to discuss the path forward for data centers—against a backdrop of increased strain on the electrical grid, growing demand for AI, and ongoing sustainability commitments. The question we tested that day was simple: designed right, could data centers be assets to the grid, rather than liabilities? That future is here. Last month, FERC directed all six regional grid operators to reconsider how they connect large loads (like data centers) to the grid. Notably, it called out a special category: “flexible large loads,” specifically facilities willing to limit their draw when the grid is strained, in exchange for faster interconnection and lower costs for everyone else. FERC’s order is far from law. But the direction is clear: flexibility deserves a place on the grid. Now is the time for data center developers and grid operators to bring flexibility’s benefits to bear—to provide the compute we need, while strengthening the grid. In strategizing SIP’s infrastructure investments, we often think about Wayne Gretzky's famous line, made even more famous by Steve Jobs: “I skate to where the puck is going to be.” We convened that summit in 2023 because we believed flexibility was where the industry was going. The puck is still moving. So are we. 

In case you missed it, catch our CEO Brian D. Barlow on the Growth Investor podcast. In the clip below, Brian shares about the pilot project at Alphabet that helped spark the launch of Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP).

New York paused the AI data center buildout. Michigan set the terms. Same week, same pressures — but two different institutional responses to a capital surge neither state had planned for. In mechanical engineering, a clutch disengages the gears: pause the transfer of force to make adjustments. A differential lets two systems run at different speeds while power continues to flow through both. New York pulled the clutch. Michigan built a differential. Michigan's voluntary Affordability and Responsible Growth Pledge is possible because mandatory machinery was already in place: PSC-approved tariffs, minimum billing demand, termination fees, and curtailment provisions. With ~$1.5 trillion in capital caught in the permitting pipeline, the developers and investors who fare best will treat frameworks like Michigan's not as compliance burdens to negotiate down, but as operating systems to seek out — and help build — in every market where they intend to stay. Read the latest PolicyAlpha Insight from Managing Partner David Gilford: https://lnkd.in/gX_fkU5Y #infrastructure #datacenters #energypolicy

We started Verrus on the belief that data centers can be good neighbors. Today, we’re proud to be one of six companies, alongside Google, Anthropic, Oracle, Microsoft, and OpenAI, officially signing the Michigan Affordability and Responsible Growth Pledge, an initiative spearheaded by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to raise the bar for how data center companies operate in the state. By signing, we're affirming our commitment to: ✅ Paying the full cost of the energy and grid upgrades our operations require, so Michigan families and small businesses never see a rate increase because of us ✅ Protecting Michigan's air, water, and natural resources through rigorous environmental compliance ✅ Creating good local jobs and investing in the communities where we operate Growth and responsibility go hand in hand. We're grateful to partner with the State of Michigan on bringing a higher standard for data center development that puts community needs first. Check out the details of the pledge and the official announcement in the comments below! 👇 #DataCenterDesign #DataCenters #Sustainability #EnergyEfficiency #ResponsibleGrowth

This week, Governor Gretchen Whitmer's office announced the Michigan Affordability and Responsible Growth Pledge, a set of commitments that data centers pay their own way, strengthen the grid they connect to, protect the state's water, and create good jobs for the communities that host them. Verrus, our data center company, has signed the pledge, alongside Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Oracle. SIP was founded on the idea that effective, innovative infrastructure is critical for societal flourishing. We are committed to our belief that infrastructure is most successful when it is good for the grid, good for society, and good for investors—what we call “the infrastructure trifecta”. Verrus embodies that standard to its core. It is a data center company built for flexibility and sustainability, committed to being a good citizen and a good neighbor. We are proud to support Verrus as it builds data centers that serve the people of Michigan and beyond—as economic engines, assets to the grid, good stewards of natural resources, and enablers of the technologies that power everyday life. We also recognize this is a moment of public uncertainty. Communities have fair questions about electric bills, water, and who actually benefits. Here’s where we applaud Michigan and Governor Whitmer leading the charge to get data center development right for all stakeholders. Michigan has been, and continues to be, at the vanguard of American industry and innovation. And we know that Verrus brings to the table a fundamental benefit. Its data centers are intrinsically designed to modulate their energy use, bolster the grid, and protect ratepayers. Its commitment to the pledge is not a paper promise, but an inherent feature of its architecture.

The conversation about how to meet growing electricity demand fixates on supply. We need more power plants, more transmission lines, more steel in the ground. But at SIP we know that the most valuable capacity on the system today is already sitting in millions of homes, waiting to be coordinated. That’s the bet behind our platform company Renew Home, and it just got bigger. Sunrun, Tesla, and Renew Home, are teaming up to aggregate rooftop solar, home batteries, and more than eight million smart thermostats into a single dispatchable resource—totaling more than 16 gigawatts of flexible capacity for the grid. As The Wall Street Journal points out, that’s roughly fifteen nuclear reactors’ worth of power, waiting to be switched on. For SIP, this is our concept of the "infrastructure trifecta" in action. It’s grid friendly: dispatchable capacity that firms up the system without a new peaker plant. It’s investor friendly: a real business with customers who pay for what they value. And it’s society-friendly: the households providing the flexibility both reduce their monthly energy bill and share in the returns, and businesses benefit from the compute work it powers. The societal benefit is core to the business model, not an afterthought. It’s worth noting how this points towards Verrus, another SIP platform company. In marketing distributed capacity to data centers, Renew Home’s new partnership takes on the same grid/data-center problem that Verrus solves using another model. Both companies coordinate flexible energy demand and supply. Renew Home’s technology reduces demand on the grid and coordinates flexible supply to customers, including data centers. Verrus’ flexible data centers similarly reduce demand on the grid at moments of strain, without impacting compute, and can also inject supply from their own batteries. That SIP backs both companies, independently, is our thesis working as intended: flexibility, enabled by technology, is the asset. It embodies the conviction that runs through everything we build, that the most valuable and durable infrastructure contributes more than it extracts. We are excited to see Renew Home’s new partnership with Sunrun and Tesla unlock the capacity that’s out there, and make it count for our most pressing electricity demand.  https://lnkd.in/gz2vgchW

The latest edition of SIP's Future of Infrastructure newsletter is out ⚡ This issue features our CEO's podcast appearance, where he shares SIP's origin story and where we're headed; Renew Home's landmark partnership with Sunrun and Tesla; and Verrus' transformative collaboration with the National Laboratory of the Rockies. See the link in the comments to read the full newsletter and subscribe. #infrastructure #newsletter #energy #gridinnovation #datacenters #ai #loadgrowth #demandresponse #virtualpowerplants #flexibility #efficientinfrastructure

Households need more ways to save on their energy bills and the grid needs more peak capacity. Renew Home, Sunrun, and Tesla are teaming up to bring more than 16+ gigawatts of VPP capacity to the market to help with both challenges. Millions of customers across the US have chosen to turn on smart energy management features that help them save when it matters most. Thanks to these adjustments running at scale, customers' choices add to something very real, energy reduction at the size of a full power plant. And when deployed as part of a VPP, these coordinated adjustments don’t just unlock savings and rewards for the customers using the devices, they lower costs for everyone. Let’s work together: VPPcapacity.com

Renew Home's landmark partnership with Sunrun and Tesla is proving that the smart energy devices already installed in millions of homes can deliver meaningful capacity for large loads, and do it in months rather than years. Combining Renew Home’s network of more than 8 million devices with Sunrun’s solar systems and Tesla’s battery platform, the partnership will deliver more than 16GW of flexible capacity for hyperscalers and utilities. We're proud to once again demonstrate that VPPs are a fast, cost-effective path to meet surging electricity demand, while generating energy savings for households. Read more in Canary Media: https://lnkd.in/gCxnYAeg

Exciting conversation featuring our CEO Brian D. Barlow on GrowthCap's podcast with RJ Lumba. Brian shares his perspective on the future of energy and compute demand and how SIP's businesses are developing the modernized, critical infrastructure that will last. Give it a list here 🎧: Apple Podcasts (https://lnkd.in/epi_qCqz); also available on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts.