How might we modernize and decentralize baseload energy so that critical U.S. infrastructure — from ports to fabs — can operate independently of fragile grids?

America's critical infrastructure — semiconductor fabs, ports, data centers, defense installations — cannot afford grid failures. Yet our centralized power system was designed for a different era: predictable demand, limited threats, and abundant fossil fuels. Today's reality is different. Extreme weather events are increasing. Cyber and physical threats to the grid are rising. And new power-intensive industries like AI computing and advanced manufacturing are creating localized demand spikes that regional grids weren't built to handle. The solution isn't just more grid capacity — it's architectural: distributed, resilient, site-level baseload power that allows critical facilities to operate autonomously when needed while still benefiting from grid connectivity when available.

This shift requires new technologies, new business models, and new regulatory frameworks. Small modular reactors, advanced geothermal, and intelligent microgrids can provide the always-on power these facilities need. But success also depends on changing how we think about energy infrastructure: from centralized and fragile to distributed and resilient, from grid-dependent to grid-optional, from passive consumption to active energy management.

The U.S. electrical grid is one of the great engineering achievements of the 20th century. Built primarily between 1950 and 1990, it transformed American life by delivering reliable, affordable electricity to homes and businesses across the continent. The system was designed around large, centralized power plants — primarily coal and natural gas — connected by high-voltage transmission lines to regional distribution networks. This architecture made sense when demand was predictable, threats were limited, and the primary challenge was generating enough power to meet growing consumption.

But the grid's centralized architecture has become a vulnerability. In 2003, a software bug and overgrown trees triggered a cascade failure that left 50 million people without power across the Northeast. In 2021, Winter Storm Uri overwhelmed Texas's grid, causing widespread blackouts and nearly 250 deaths. In 2023, extreme heat pushed California's grid to the brink repeatedly. These aren't isolated incidents — they're symptoms of a system under strain from climate change, aging infrastructure, and new demand patterns it wasn't designed to handle.

Meanwhile, the nature of critical infrastructure has changed. Modern semiconductor fabs represent $20+ billion investments that require absolutely stable power — a voltage fluctuation lasting milliseconds can ruin an entire production batch. AI data centers draw hundreds of megawatts continuously. Defense installations can't go dark during a crisis. Ports and logistics hubs need 24/7 power to keep global supply chains moving. These facilities increasingly view the grid not as an asset but as a risk, and they're looking for alternatives that offer true energy independence.

The technology to enable this shift is emerging. Small modular reactors can deliver 50-300 MW of carbon-free baseload power in a footprint small enough to site near critical facilities. Enhanced geothermal can tap heat beneath almost any location to generate reliable power without weather dependence. Advanced battery systems and intelligent microgrid controllers can orchestrate multiple generation sources and loads. But deployment has been slow, held back by regulatory frameworks designed for centralized utilities, business models that don't recognize the value of resilience, and infrastructure planning that still assumes grid dependency.