Power Is the New Bottleneck: Inside the AI Data Center Energy Crunch | iMasons Podcast

Building a data center used to be a real estate play — find the land, and the power was basically guaranteed. Not anymore. In this episode of the iMasons Innovation Podcast, host Romain Tranchant sits down with Raffy J. Ohannesian, CFO and Head of Strategy at Network Environments Inc. (part of the Rialto Holdings family alongside GRA and Apex Critical Power), to unpack why power has become the single biggest constraint — and the single biggest risk — in AI data center development. Raffy traces the surprising lineage of today's AI power crunch back through crypto mining and even Pixar-era animation rendering, explains why utilities can no longer keep pace with hyperscale demand, and breaks down the real tradeoffs between gas turbines and nat gas reciprocating engines as developers rush to build their own power on-site. He also shares how operators are de-risking massive bets on equipment, land, and tenants — and where nuclear and SMRs fit into the next decade of data center power. In this episode: Why power, not land, is now the real constraint on data center growth How crypto mining set the template for today's AI compute boom Gas turbines vs. nat gas reciprocating engines, and why developers are pivoting The hidden risks in buying power equipment on spec Microgrids, islanded power, and the return of nuclear/SMRs 🔗 Network Environments Inc.: https://www.netenv.com 🔗 Network Environments on LinkedIn:   / network-environments   🔗 Raffy Ohannesian on LinkedIn:   / ohannesian   ---------- Join iMasons: https://imasons.org/community/members/ Already a member? Go to: https://imasons.mobilize.io/main/grou...