I’m reporting fresh from CERAWeek, the "superbowl of the energy industry," where against the backdrop of the Iran War, people from around the globe braved the historic TSA lines to gather in Houston and discuss the future of E N E R G Y.

The consensus is clear. We are in a time of disruption. Pieces are flying everywhere. Chaos.

The time has never been riper for clean tech startups and alternative energy sources.

A funny contrast: during the conference, the ERCOT website showed 86% of Texas power was being generated by solar and wind. In one of the oil and gas capitals of the world.

The language is shifting

As I wrote over seven months ago, the "green" wave is on its way out. Any talk about the sustainability side of your product will make you lose investors. That's the unfortunate reality right now, though I don't think it will last forever. Putting the health of the environment first should be at the core of how you operate, whether or not you choose to publicly broadcast it. It still reflects well and serves your brand's long-term image.

Right now, the narrative is shifting rapidly towards affordability, abundance, and diversification. If your solution can be implemented cheaply, abundantly, and allows your customers greater resilience, you're in. If it happens to be sustainable, wonderful. Buyers of consequence are unlikely to care.

The data center boom

Getting clean energy and climate tech funded is harder than ever, unless you're able to pivot and link it to the data center boom.

AI search uses 10x more energy than traditional search. Data centers are consuming multiple points of GDP in build-out. Hyperscaler contracts include $1M/minute indemnification clauses because utilities simply aren't built for this level of reliability expectation. The financial consequences of failure are enormous, and the current infrastructure is inadequate. PJM (coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity across 13 U.S. states) power prices are already up 56%, attributed to data centers that haven't even been built yet.

And the pressure isn't limited to electricity. The U.S. is currently burning and exporting 110 to 115 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily, added 5 BCF of daily LNG export capacity last year, and is now supplying 67% of Europe's natural gas. Supply constraints are emerging at the same time demand is accelerating. The system is being squeezed from every direction.

This is essentially why there's so much investment pressure on new energy solutions, creating cascades of opportunity.

I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a lot of talk on water, though overall, awareness of how data centers manage natural resources is not a priority. There are solutions out there like SkyH2O that generate thousands of gallons of water from the air for manufacturing purposes. Water from fracking sites is being recycled into data center use, which is also an interesting pipeline.

Where the opportunity lives right now

Many adjacent markets are seeing demand as the sheer scale of spending ripples across the entire value chain. Turbines, transmission, cooling, roofing, cybersecurity. Right here in Houston, companies like Dexmat are developing carbon fiber high voltage lines that double throughput while cutting costs. Companies like Enkoat are turning aging commercial roofs into energy sustaining infrastructure assets, addressing the aging 55 billion square feet of U.S. roof area.

Startups don't have to compete on the build side to capture value from this boom. Entering through maintenance, materials innovation, or modular solutions is a viable and often smarter path. The current build-out has no standardization of parts. Every build is bespoke, driving up costs and timelines. Replacement and maintenance aren't even in the equation yet.

An infrastructure boom on a scale we haven't seen before

For context, the last time we saw an infrastructure boom remotely similar to this was during World War II, where the pressures of war pushed factories across sectors to be repurposed (i.e. auto plants built tanks, appliance manufacturers produced munitions). The same dynamic is happening now. Machinery from other industries is being repurposed for data center construction because the demand is that extreme.

The investment landscape is changing too

The investment conversation is evolving. Houston private equity firms that have historically operated in upstream oil and gas are moving into energy tech startups. Former upstream investors are now funding the next generation of energy solutions.

This matters because Houston investors understand supply chain in a way Silicon Valley often doesn't. For energy tech founders, that operational knowledge and those strategic connections can be more valuable than a higher valuation. Several panelists reinforced this: all money is not good money. Entrepreneurs should prioritize the right partnership over the best price. Who you take money from will shape how you build.

Be New Balance

One piece of advice from the manufacturing scale-up panels stuck with me: "Be New Balance, make three SKUs. Don't be Nike with 430.”

For founders trying to enter a chaotic market, the instinct is to try to serve every possible use case. Resist it. Focus, discipline, and knowing exactly who you're for will take you further than variety ever will. This applies to your product line, your messaging, and how you position yourself to investors. The companies that can articulate exactly what they do, who it's for, and why it matters will always have the edge over companies that can do a dozen things for anyone who'll listen.

AI is here to stay, but the data center boom is temporary. The current build rate is unsustainable and expected to plateau in 5 to 10 years.

Build for the demand in front of you, stage with your customers, and stay adaptable enough to evolve when the landscape shifts. ✸