Pittsburgh Stands Ready to Help Solve the Challenges of AI

Mainspring Energy’s decision to build a linear generator manufacturing facility next to Pittsburgh International Airport will harness the region’s expertise in manufacturing, engineering and energy, Brian Regli, Executive Director of Critical Investments for Pennsylvania, told the audience at Carnegie Mellon University’s Energy Week. 

The flagship event of the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation was held from March 25-27 in CMU’s Cohon University Center with a series of keynote speeches and panel discussions mainly around the theme of “AI and Energy.” 

 “The region’s innovations pipeline is the envy of many parts of the country,” said Daniel Tkacik, executive director of the Scott Institute. 

 “People need to come together and do new things in new ways,” Lisa Hansmann, Director at Foundry Logic and former Senior Advisor for economic policy at the National Economic Council and Special Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor in the Chief of Staff’s office, said in her keynote address on the opening day of Energy Week. 

 She highlighted the challenge of ramping up the supply side of the energy sector as demand from data centers is increasing exponentially. 

 “The energy sector has been caught flat-footed,” Hansman said. 

 The opening day also featured pitches before a panel of investors from 20 startup companies that captured the range of innovation taking place in the region, from Farm to Flame Energy, which manufactures a smokeless and odorless generator that uses agricultural waste, to J.P. Robotics, which uses robots and AI to inspect pipelines. 

Lucia Tian, head of Clean Energy and Decarbonization Technologies at Google, kicked off the second day the event with a keynote address about the “opportunity at the nexus between AI and energy.” 

The International Energy Agency has estimated that global electricity demand from data centers could double between 2022 and 2026, fueled in part by AI adoption. Data centers account for 1% to 2% of overall global energy demand, similar to what experts estimate for the airline industry, according to Vijay Gadepally, a senior scientist and principal investigator at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. But data center demand for energy could rise to 21% by 2030. 

Tian noted that while AI is creating challenges such as increased energy demand, it can be leveraged to solve these challenges through increased efficiency. She also outlined the measures Google is actively pursuing to mitigate its impact on the power grid and consumers. 

 On a subsequent panel discussion, Brian Guzek, Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Duquesne Light Co., reiterated that it is vital that “data centers pay their fair share without driving up rates for everyone.” 

 State Rep. Valerie Gaydos and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato also addressed Energy Week attendees about the local efforts underway in the energy sector, including at PIT, which is the first airport to be powered entirely by a natural gas and solar energy microgrid.  

 “Allegheny County Airport Authority CEO Christina Cassotis has been a tremendous partner,” Innamorato said. 

 The final panel discussion on AI and the energy workforce addressed job opportunities and challenges. 

 Regli of the governor’s office said a good example is Mainspring Energy, which will create about 600 jobs, with an additional 300 jobs in construction. The Menlo Park, California-based company will invest more than $109 million to build a 292,000-square-foot facility in the Northfield Industrial Park in Findlay Township on land owned by ACAA. Mainspring plans to break ground this year.  

 Pennsylvania has invested more than $8.6 million, with the U.S. Department of Energy adding an $87 million grant, to attract Mainspring Energy. Allegheny County Airport Authority officials were part of the economic team led by the Allegheny Conference for Community Development and state and county governments.  

 “Southwestern Pennsylvania is the ideal region for us given its long history of energy, innovation and manufacturing excellence,” said Shannon Miller, Mainspring CEO and co-founder.  

 The company manufactures linear generators, which use a flameless reaction between air and a variety of fuels to generate electricity with low emissions. The generators are designed to support data centers, microgrids, utilities and commercial and industrial customers. 

 CMU Professor Christophe Combemale said the challenge in finding skilled workers for projects such as Mainspring Energy is inducing people to transition from one job to another. However, he noted this is another opportunity to embrace AI because it can be used to accelerate job training. 

 Holly Merriman of Pittsburgh Gateways Corp. said local union members are “exceptionally prepared and well-trained” for the next generation of energy jobs. 

 Pittsburgh Gateways is a partner in the “Introduction to the Construction Trades Pre-Apprenticeship Training Program,” which is the core of the PIT2Work, a job-training effort by ACAA, Partner4Work and the Builders Guild of Western Pennsylvania. 

Top photo: Mainspring Energy co-founders Adam Simpson, Matt Svrcek and Shannon Miller with a Mainspring Linear Generator. (Courtesy Mainspring Energy)