Transmission Impossible Fri, 02 Oct 2026 06:15:02 -0400 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2608150 en-us © 2026 Transmission Impossible yes 74d3e2d1-1021-53a4-b1e6-cb3d2dad7fd7 Charlie Webb episodic false The demand for power has never been greater. With AI infrastructure being built at unprecedented scale, and the grid already struggling to meet demand, the construction of new energy infrastructure is of national concern. In this educational podcast, we interview leaders from across the energy continuum to understand where the real bottlenecks lie - be it interconnection queues, equipment and labor shortages, ever-changing regulations and more - and the best strategies for overcoming them.

]]> Buzzsprout (https://www.buzzsprout.com) Charlie Webb https://storage.buzzsprout.com/mnt5bnu0yxtgvcfbipq8hp3dw3qo?.jpg Transmission Impossible https://www.buzzsprout.com/2608150 #4 - Glen Davis, Power Markets: Booms, Busts and What Comes Next #4 - Glen Davis, Power Markets: Booms, Busts and What Comes Next In this episode of Transmission Impossible, we were joined by Glen Davis, a veteran energy executive whose career has spanned more than 30 years of change across the US power market.

Glen joined AES in its early years and stayed with the company through its IPO, extraordinary international growth, and the subsequent collapse of the merchant power boom. He’s since built and led businesses across multiple technologies and markets, served as CEO, and today advises and sits on the boards of companies across storage, distributed generation and power development.

Having lived through several major cycles of the industry, Glen brings a rare perspective on what’s genuinely different today - and what may simply be history repeating itself.

We discuss:

  • Why Glen is sceptical about the timeframe of the nuclear “renaissance”
  • What the collapse of the early merchant power market can teach today’s developers
  • Why merchant strategies may now be making a comeback
  • How the removal of tax credits is widening the gap between the “haves and have-nots”
  • Why interconnection remains a brutal combination of cost, schedule and uncertainty
  • The trade-offs between concentrating in one market and diversifying too early
  • Why ERCOT remains attractive despite increasing competition and merchant risk
  • How data centres are beginning to change generation and site-selection strategy
  • Why Glen believes wind and solar can continue to thrive without permanent subsidies
  • What separates strong leadership and decision-making from unnecessary bureaucracy
  • The advice Glen would give his 30-year-old self after three decades in the industry
  • And where he would put $1 billion if he had to make one energy bet today

A fascinating conversation with someone who has seen the US power market evolve from the early days of independent generation through to today’s era of storage, large loads and rapidly changing commercial models.


Books discussed on the show:

https://a.co/d/0iXK16wm

Featured on the show:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/glen-davis-7149561/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-webb-a5605768/

]]> In this episode of Transmission Impossible, we were joined by Glen Davis, a veteran energy executive whose career has spanned more than 30 years of change across the US power market.

Glen joined AES in its early years and stayed with the company through its IPO, extraordinary international growth, and the subsequent collapse of the merchant power boom. He’s since built and led businesses across multiple technologies and markets, served as CEO, and today advises and sits on the boards of companies across storage, distributed generation and power development.

Having lived through several major cycles of the industry, Glen brings a rare perspective on what’s genuinely different today - and what may simply be history repeating itself.

We discuss:

  • Why Glen is sceptical about the timeframe of the nuclear “renaissance”
  • What the collapse of the early merchant power market can teach today’s developers
  • Why merchant strategies may now be making a comeback
  • How the removal of tax credits is widening the gap between the “haves and have-nots”
  • Why interconnection remains a brutal combination of cost, schedule and uncertainty
  • The trade-offs between concentrating in one market and diversifying too early
  • Why ERCOT remains attractive despite increasing competition and merchant risk
  • How data centres are beginning to change generation and site-selection strategy
  • Why Glen believes wind and solar can continue to thrive without permanent subsidies
  • What separates strong leadership and decision-making from unnecessary bureaucracy
  • The advice Glen would give his 30-year-old self after three decades in the industry
  • And where he would put $1 billion if he had to make one energy bet today

A fascinating conversation with someone who has seen the US power market evolve from the early days of independent generation through to today’s era of storage, large loads and rapidly changing commercial models.


Books discussed on the show:

https://a.co/d/0iXK16wm

Featured on the show:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/glen-davis-7149561/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-webb-a5605768/

]]> Charlie Webb Buzzsprout-19898932 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 06:00:00 -0400 4627 full false #3 Clint Thurmon, The Playbook for 9-Figure T&D Construction #3 Clint Thurmon, The Playbook for 9-Figure T&D Construction In this episode of Transmission Impossible, I’m joined by Clint Thurmon for a brilliant conversation on what really separates successful high voltage construction teams from the pack.

Having started his career in the field before moving into senior leadership, Clint has built and scaled transmission and substation divisions from the ground up, taking teams from zero to significant revenue while staying lean, practical, and field-focused.

After two episodes focused on grid strategy, this was a fascinating insight into what's going on with live projects on the ground.

We discuss:

  • Why the people turning the wrenches are often the most important people on the project
  • What executives often misunderstand about field execution
  • How Clint went from apprentice and foreman to building major T&D divisions
  • Why titles matter far less than whether you help the team get the work done
  • How to scale a construction division without over-hiring too early
  • Why preconstruction and construction need to be in the same conversation much earlier
  • How trust is built, and lost, with utilities and clients
  • Why the labour shortage is not just a numbers problem
  • What young people should understand about a career in high voltage construction
]]> In this episode of Transmission Impossible, I’m joined by Clint Thurmon for a brilliant conversation on what really separates successful high voltage construction teams from the pack.

Having started his career in the field before moving into senior leadership, Clint has built and scaled transmission and substation divisions from the ground up, taking teams from zero to significant revenue while staying lean, practical, and field-focused.

After two episodes focused on grid strategy, this was a fascinating insight into what's going on with live projects on the ground.

We discuss:

  • Why the people turning the wrenches are often the most important people on the project
  • What executives often misunderstand about field execution
  • How Clint went from apprentice and foreman to building major T&D divisions
  • Why titles matter far less than whether you help the team get the work done
  • How to scale a construction division without over-hiring too early
  • Why preconstruction and construction need to be in the same conversation much earlier
  • How trust is built, and lost, with utilities and clients
  • Why the labour shortage is not just a numbers problem
  • What young people should understand about a career in high voltage construction
]]> Charlie Webb Buzzsprout-19145866 Fri, 08 May 2026 10:00:00 -0400 5198 full false #2 - Michael Malguarnera, Cheap Interconnection, Expensive Mistakes #2 - Michael Malguarnera, Cheap Interconnection, Expensive Mistakes In today’s episode, we were joined by Mike Malguarnera, previously Director of Market & Transmission Analytics at BW Solar, for a fascinating conversation on why the grid is often far messier, riskier, and more nuanced than it looks from the outside.


With experience spanning utilities, cooperatives, power markets, FTRs, IRPs, interconnection, storage siting, and project development, Mike has seen how small assumptions can turn into very expensive mistakes. He brings a rare blend of market knowledge, transmission insight, and developer-side pragmatism.


We discuss:

  • Whether the industry really needs more transmission - or better use of what already exists
  • Why cheap interconnection does not always mean strong project economics
  • How an $8m transformer upgrade changed the assumptions behind hundreds of millions in investment
  • Why missed tariff deadlines can kill projects almost instantly
  • The difference between interconnection modelling and economic modelling
  • Why consultants are essential - but not always enough
  • The case for having internal grid expertise earlier in the development process
  • How land, queue risk, local opposition, and capital exposure all collide
  • Why data centers could change the power dynamic between utilities and large-load customers
  • Where Mike would place a bet in today’s market if money were no object


Books discussed on the show:

https://a.co/d/0awPgkvF

https://a.co/d/0awPgkvF


Featured on the show:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-malguarnera-p-e-a6705014/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-webb-a5605768/

]]> In today’s episode, we were joined by Mike Malguarnera, previously Director of Market & Transmission Analytics at BW Solar, for a fascinating conversation on why the grid is often far messier, riskier, and more nuanced than it looks from the outside.


With experience spanning utilities, cooperatives, power markets, FTRs, IRPs, interconnection, storage siting, and project development, Mike has seen how small assumptions can turn into very expensive mistakes. He brings a rare blend of market knowledge, transmission insight, and developer-side pragmatism.


We discuss:

  • Whether the industry really needs more transmission - or better use of what already exists
  • Why cheap interconnection does not always mean strong project economics
  • How an $8m transformer upgrade changed the assumptions behind hundreds of millions in investment
  • Why missed tariff deadlines can kill projects almost instantly
  • The difference between interconnection modelling and economic modelling
  • Why consultants are essential - but not always enough
  • The case for having internal grid expertise earlier in the development process
  • How land, queue risk, local opposition, and capital exposure all collide
  • Why data centers could change the power dynamic between utilities and large-load customers
  • Where Mike would place a bet in today’s market if money were no object


Books discussed on the show:

https://a.co/d/0awPgkvF

https://a.co/d/0awPgkvF


Featured on the show:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-malguarnera-p-e-a6705014/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-webb-a5605768/

]]> Charlie Webb Buzzsprout-19107759 Fri, 01 May 2026 05:00:00 -0400 4425 full false #1 - Ramsey Ayass, Grid Strategy in the Age of Large Loads #1 - Ramsey Ayass, Grid Strategy in the Age of Large Loads In this episode of Transmission Impossible, I’m joined by Ramsey Ayass, SVP of Grid Strategy at SMT Energy, for a brilliant conversation on what’s really slowing projects down in today’s power market. 

Hailing from a utility background, Ramsey's experience spans every angle of Grid Strategy and Interconnection. He's borne witness to all of the common pitfalls developers fall into - both generation and load - as well as the trends that separate successful projects from the pack.

We discuss:

  • The industry assumption Ramsey thinks people get wrong
  • Why some projects die before they ever really begin
  • The overlooked step that can save developers years
  • What separates strong grid strategy from wishful thinking
  • Why ERCOT attracts both believers and sceptics
  • What's really happening behind the sceners around large-load interconnection
  • How developers can get caught out by “good-looking” sites
  • Where Ramsey sees the next real opportunities emerging


Books discussed on the show:

https://a.co/d/06GBJlSW

https://a.co/d/0eS9c6lp


Featured on the show:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayass/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-webb-a5605768/

]]> In this episode of Transmission Impossible, I’m joined by Ramsey Ayass, SVP of Grid Strategy at SMT Energy, for a brilliant conversation on what’s really slowing projects down in today’s power market. 

Hailing from a utility background, Ramsey's experience spans every angle of Grid Strategy and Interconnection. He's borne witness to all of the common pitfalls developers fall into - both generation and load - as well as the trends that separate successful projects from the pack.

We discuss:

  • The industry assumption Ramsey thinks people get wrong
  • Why some projects die before they ever really begin
  • The overlooked step that can save developers years
  • What separates strong grid strategy from wishful thinking
  • Why ERCOT attracts both believers and sceptics
  • What's really happening behind the sceners around large-load interconnection
  • How developers can get caught out by “good-looking” sites
  • Where Ramsey sees the next real opportunities emerging


Books discussed on the show:

https://a.co/d/06GBJlSW

https://a.co/d/0eS9c6lp


Featured on the show:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayass/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-webb-a5605768/

]]> Charlie Webb Buzzsprout-18968352 Fri, 10 Apr 2026 04:00:00 -0400 4440 full false