Smartland Energy CEO Vadim Kleyner spent the week in Washington as part of a bipartisan delegation organized by Igor Lon (Crest Invest), joining sessions with both a Republican Club and a Democratic Club. The agenda for Smartland Energy was broad and practical: real grid constraints, the surge in industrial and AI load, pathways for behind-the-meter (BTM) power, and how private developers can help improve reliability.
Across meetings with congressional offices, including conversations with Rep. Brad Sherman and Rep. Kevin Kiley, and roundtables with industry leaders, discussions centered on:
- Reliability under rising load: Data centers, advanced manufacturing, and electrification are outpacing interconnection timelines.
- Speed-to-power: Where BTM projects, microgrids, and modular assets can relieve local bottlenecks without waiting on multi-year transmission builds.
- Permitting and predictability: Practical reforms that shorten cycle times while keeping communities at the table.
- Critical equipment and supply chains: Transformers were one example among many critical items - important, but not the whole story.
CEO Vadim Kleyner also met Igor Pasternak, founder of Aeroscraft, whose work includes critical grid equipment in short supply. The exchange underscored a larger theme of the trip: pairing American industrial capacity with private capital to accelerate deployment.
Why it matters for buyers
Smartland Energy's model - integrating site selection, fuel access, permitting strategy, and behind-the-meter generation under one roof - is designed for the exact challenges highlighted in D.C.: deliverable megawatts, sooner, with community compatibility. For a power buyer evaluating sites in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, the policy direction visible from D.C. is consistent with what we hear from procurement teams: build behind the meter, contract for it on procurement-grade terms, and don't wait on the queue.
What's next
Following the trip, Smartland is engaging with stakeholders on pilot opportunities that align local economic development with near-term power solutions in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Request capacity availability →