What if the rapid growth of data centers could help strengthen the communities around them?
That was the central question as more than 20+ industry leaders gathered for the inaugural Bring Your Own Distributed Capacity (BYODC) Network meeting on Thursday, October 29th, hosted by our team in collaboration with Clean Energy Works.
Bringing together representatives from utilities, manufacturers, aggregators, installers, financing providers, and hyperscalers, the session marked the beginning of an industry-wide effort to unlock the potential of distributed energy.
Building a framework for action
Our CEO, Stina Brock and Founder & President, Thomas Lee opened the meeting by outlining the network’s mission: turn growing electricity demand into an opportunity to deploy distributed energy at scale while delivering tangible benefits to local communities.
The goal is to develop a repeatable framework that brings industry stakeholders together to finance, deploy, manage, and verify distributed energy resources.
More importantly, the network is designed to move beyond discussion and into action, bringing members together around real-world projects and proof-of-concept opportunities.
Exploring new models for deployment
Clean Energy Works presented an innovative financing approach combining hyperscaler investment, inclusive utility financing, and virtual power plants (VPPs).
With projections of 93 GW of new U.S. data center demand through 2029, the opportunity is significant.
Illustrative modeling demonstrated how this approach could extend hyperscaler funding to 1.7–3.4 times more homes, reducing upfront financial barriers for households while creating valuable grid capacity.
An open discussion followed, exploring the practical challenges of deployment speed, utility incentives, regional market differences, and capacity verification.
Key takeaways and what’s next
Several important insights emerged:
- Collaboration is essential. No single organization can deliver distributed capacity at the scale required.
- Community benefits matter. Lower energy costs, greater resilience, and access to clean technologies should be central to deployment.
- Execution is the priority. Turning distributed resources into reliable, verifiable grid capacity requires practical projects and coordinated action.
With opportunities already being explored in PJM and MISO, the network is inviting members to help shape its first projects.
Discussions will continue at RE+ in November, with the next network session focused on verifiable capacity in January 2027.
