Press and Appearances
Alex Marshall is an infrastructure strategist specializing in the commercialization and deployment of complex energy and environmental technologies. His work has spanned wastewater treatment, waste infrastructure, anaerobic digestion, biomethane, combined heat and power, distributed generation, microgrids and international energy development.
More recently, he has applied that cross-sector experience to AI and data-center power - focusing on speed-to-power, resilience, energy autonomy and infrastructure capable of adapting as grids, fuels and technologies evolve. These have led to the independent publication of Five Nines and Fast Power, and the publication of the Structured Transition Model by Rehlko.
This archive brings together authored analysis, interviews, expert commentary, podcasts, broadcast appearances and technical publications. Across the different sectors, the consistent theme is turning engineering capability into reliable, commercially viable infrastructure.
Alex Marshall’s work and commentary have appeared through organizations including the BBC, CNBC Africa, Infrastructure Investor, Data Center Dynamics, Microgrid Knowledge and POWER.
Articles, Interviews and External Commentary
2nd August 2026 · Interview · Textile Focus
By Rakibul Islam, Textile Focus
Quote: “We expect the market to move in stages: first toward CHP to capture the efficiency gain already available from existing gas assets, then toward microgrids that blend gas, solar, and storage as renewable costs continue to fall. This mirrors a pattern now visible in other high-density power sectors, including data centers, where operators are moving from single-source generation toward layered, flexible power architectures for the same reasons: cost, reliability, and emissions pressure at once.”
Topics: Distributed Power · Microgrids · Textiles · Data Centers
29th July 2026, Quoted Expert, Microgrid Knowledge,
By Lisa Cohn
Quote: “Demand response is the opportunity and the microgrid is what makes it credible.”
Alex Marshall explains how onsite generation and microgrids can enable data centers to participate in demand response without compromising operational resilience.
Topics: Data centers · Microgrids · Demand response · Grid flexibility
24th July 2026 · Interview · TechRound,
Interview With Alex Marshall on the Data Center Sector
By Zee Yende
Alex Marshall discusses structural grid constraints, energy autonomy, transition-ready generation and how data centers can become flexible participants in the wider power system.
Quote: “The question a developer should ask is not ‘fast or clean’ but ‘does this asset have a transition path or not.’”
Topics: AI infrastructure · Speed-to-power · Energy autonomy · Infrastructure transition
21st July 2026 · Authored article · Infrastructure Investor
By Alex Marshall
Data Centre Power is Not Dark Fibre
Quote: Alex Marshall argues that uncertainty over individual AI demand forecasts is the wrong starting point for evaluating data-center power infrastructure. Investors should instead consider adaptability, alternative operating roles and long-term asset value.
Topics: Infrastructure investment · AI demand · Power assets · Adaptability · Asset risk
10th July 2026, Authored article · Data Centre Solutions
How Energy Autonomy Solves the Data Centre Capacity Crisis
By Alex Marshall
Key argument: The shortage of data-center power is structural rather than temporary. Energy-autonomous infrastructure can bring capacity online ahead of constrained grid connections while retaining routes toward lower-carbon fuels, changing operating roles and eventual grid integration.
Quote: “The data center industry is not facing a temporary power shortage. It is encountering a structural constraint that is reshaping how infrastructure gets built.”
Topics: AI infrastructure · Energy autonomy · Grid constraints · Speed-to-power · Infrastructure transition
7th July 2026 · Authored industry view · Data Center Dynamics
The next generation of data center sustainability will be measured in adaptability
By Alex Marshall
Key argument: Sustainability should be assessed across the full infrastructure lifecycle, including whether power assets can accommodate changing fuels, technologies, loads and regulations without premature replacement.
Quote: “The next generation of sustainable data centers will be defined by their ability to evolve rather than being defined by a single fuel source…”
Topics: Data-center sustainability · Adaptable infrastructure · Asset lifecycle · Technology transition · Resilience
15th June 2026 · Quoted expert · Ambrook Offrange
By Claire Carlson
Your AI Could be Powered by Manure
Alex Marshall explains how storable biogas and biomethane could provide dispatchable renewable energy for data centers, complement variable renewables and create a transition pathway for facilities already equipped with gas infrastructure.
Quote: “Biogas is a renewable fuel, it’s storable… it can be used when the wind isn’t blowing or sun isn’t shining.”
Topics: AI data centers · Biogas · Biomethane · Anaerobic digestion · Renewable power · Agricultural infrastructure
1st May 2026 · Quoted expert · POWER
Europe Embraces Energy Storage to Enhance Power Flexibility
By Darrell Proctor
Alex Marshall discusses the growing role of long-duration energy storage and argues that its greatest value may come through integration with dispatchable generation, battery storage and wider flexible power systems.
Quote: “Innovation in this space is less about individual technologies and more about how storage is integrated into a wider flexible generation ecosystem.”
The article also draws on Clarke Energy’s experience across Europe, Australia, the United States and Africa, connecting energy storage with data centers, grid balancing and long-term operational support.
Topics: Energy storage · Flexible generation · Hybrid power systems · Data centers · Renewable integration · Grid stability
16 Apr 2026 · Video interview · JSA TV and JSA Podcasts
Keeping Data Alive: Solving the AI Power Crisis with Rehlko
With Dean Perrine, Ryan Baumann and Christian Weatherly-Kaye
Discussion: A panel on why power has moved from a supporting function to the determining constraint on data center deployment. Alex Marshall sets out the position that data centers are shifting from grid supplied electricity to self generation as a necessity rather than a preference, because transmission capacity takes years to deliver and AI loads are both large and highly variable.
The conversation covers the interaction between constrained transmission, rising intermittency from solar and wind, and new demand from transport and heating electrification, arguing that AI load arrives on top of a system already under strain rather than into spare capacity. Marshall challenges the prevailing binary reading of speed to power, in which temporary assets are installed to cover the wait for a grid connection and then abandoned. His position is that assets installed today should be selected for their ability to adapt, through heat recovery for cooling, fuel blending, and later carbon capture, so that early deployment does not create stranded infrastructure.
Further topics include the distinction between hybrid systems and microgrids, the use of underutilized onsite assets to support grid balancing under Irish grid support requirements, the potential for data center demand for renewable natural gas to develop an underpenetrated US biogas market, and long term maintenance capability as a component of resilience rather than an aftermarket consideration.
Quote: "Resilience is about keeping the lights on for 10, 15 years."
Quote: "The data center industry needs to widen its view … to ensure they don't have stranded assets."
Topics: AI data centers · Speed to power · Onsite generation · Grid constraints · Hybrid power systems · Renewable natural gas · Asset adaptability · Infrastructure lifecycle
24th March 2026 · Video interview · JSA TV and JSA Podcasts
Powering AI in a Grid Constrained World
Recorded at DCD Connect New York
With Dean Perrine
Discussion: Alex Marshall discusses how AI-driven demand and constrained grid connections are changing data-center power strategy. The interview explores onsite generation, adaptable energy infrastructure and the need to design power systems for both immediate deployment and progressive decarbonization.
Topics: AI data centers · Grid constraints · Onsite generation · Speed-to-power · Structured transition · Data-center resilience
9 March 2026 · Podcast guest · Modo Energy Transmission
AI Data Centers, Speed-to-Power, and the Net Zero Reality
With Alejandro De Diego, Recorded at Reuters Energy Live, Houston, December 10th 2025
Alex Marshall discusses the rapid shift toward data-center self-generation, the complementary roles of gas engines and batteries, pathways for decarbonizing onsite power and lessons drawn from projects across multiple international markets.
Quote: “Gas engines can form the backbone of microgrids… integrating solar [and] battery storage systems and providing that firm power.”
The conversation demonstrates how experience in CHP, biogas, flexible generation and international infrastructure can inform the emerging power requirements of hyperscale data centers.
Topics: AI data centers · Speed-to-power · Net zero · Microgrids · CHP · Hybrid energy · Biomethane
9 February 2026 · Quoted expert and project coverage · POWER
New Gas-Fired Plants Bring Needed Generation, Flexibility to the Power Sector
By Darrell Proctor
The article examines the renewed development of flexible gas-fired generation and features Alex Marshall’s commentary on the 450 MW Thurrock Power project. The installation combines fast-start generation with an adjacent battery-storage project to support renewable integration and UK grid reliability.
Quote: “This project represents a critical milestone in the UK’s energy transition… flexible, fast-start power… ensures that intermittent renewables can be integrated reliably.”
Topics: AI data centers · Flexible generation · Grid infrastructure · Energy security · Battery storage · Renewable integration · UK energy transition
28 January 2026 · Podcast guest · Energy Transition Solutions
Joe Batir interviews Alex Marshall at Reuters Energy Live, Houston, 9th December 2025
Discussion: Alex Marshall examines why established technologies such as distributed generation, CHP and absorption chilling are becoming increasingly relevant to new infrastructure challenges. The conversation covers off-grid power, data-center cooling, energy efficiency and the balance between cost, carbon and resilience.
The episode demonstrates how mature engineering technologies can be recombined and commercialized to address emerging energy requirements rather than being displaced simply because they are not new.
Topics: AI data centers · Technology commercialization · Distributed energy · CHP · Absorption chilling · Data-center cooling · Energy trilemma
16 January 2026 · Third-party technical coverage · Powertrain International
By Editorial Staff drawing on technical analysis by Alex Marshall
Powertrain International develops Alex Marshall’s explanation of why lower and higher heating-value conventions matter when comparing onsite generation technologies. Inconsistent assumptions can distort efficiency comparisons, fuel-cost forecasts, PUE calculations and long-term investment models.
Technical point: Engine performance should be calculated using LHV, while fuel expenditure is normally based on HHV. Both perspectives must be reconciled when modelling onsite power economics.
The coverage illustrates how an apparently specialist engineering distinction becomes commercially material when applied across multi-megawatt data-center campuses.
Topics: AI data centers · Data-center economics · Gas-engine efficiency · LHV · HHV · Fuel modelling · Infrastructure investment
23 September 2025 · On-demand panel discussion · Data Center Dynamics
Rethinking resilience: Hybrid energy strategies for AI‑ready data centers
With Tam Pledger, Ben Rapp, and Alex Marshall
Discussion: Alex Marshall and Ben Rapp examine how hybrid energy systems can help data centres accommodate AI-driven loads while maintaining resilience, efficiency and long-term transition options. Technologies discussed include gas engines, combined cooling, heat and power, battery storage, ultracapacitors, renewable natural gas and hydrogen.
Topics: AI infrastructure · Hybrid energy · CCHP · Battery storage · Flexible fuels · Resilience
8 November 2024 · Video interview · JSA Podcasts
Why Distributed Energy has Reentered the Data Center Discussion
With Candace Sipos
Discussion: Alex Marshall explains why grid constraints, increasing power density and the growth of AI workloads are bringing distributed generation back into data-center infrastructure planning. The conversation considers onsite power, renewable fuels, resilience and the integration of different generation and storage technologies.
Topics: Data centers · Distributed energy · Grid constraints · Onsite generation · Resilience · Energy transition
4 November 2024 · Expert webinar presentation · COGEN World Coalition
Cogen World Coalition Talks, Efficient energy solutions for Data Centers
Alex Marshall joined representatives from INNIO and Baker Hughes to present practical applications of cogeneration and trigeneration in data centers. His contribution connected onsite generation with electrical resilience, productive use of engine heat, absorption cooling and improved whole-system efficiency.
Presentation: Cogeneration and combined cooling, heat and power can provide reliable onsite electricity while recovering thermal energy to support data-center cooling requirements.
Topics: Data centers · Cogeneration · CCHP · Absorption chilling · Energy efficiency · Onsite power
18 June 2024 · Podcast guest · Data Center Frontier
Sustainable Engineering and Powering the Future of Data Centers
With Matt Vincent, Toyebi Adedipe and Ben Rapp
Discussion: The panel explores how data-center electrical infrastructure can be engineered to balance reliability, scalability and decarbonization. It covers renewable integration, backup-power design, energy optimization and the technical requirements for maintaining uninterrupted operation.
Topics: Sustainable data centers · Electrical infrastructure · Renewable integration · Backup power · Scalability · Reliability
12 October 2023 · Executive interview · Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
Getting the Best Out of Energy
By Ryan Hamilton-Davis
Alex Marshall discusses how Trinidad and Tobago could extract greater economic value from its natural-gas resources through distributed generation, CHP, cooling and carbon-dioxide recovery. He also describes the transition from standalone engines toward integrated generation and storage systems.
Quote: “You can do so much more with the energy that you have locally.”
Topics: Distributed generation · Natural gas · CHP · Quadgeneration · Carbon recovery · Industrial power
17 April 2023 · Quoted expert · Microgrid Knowledge
An Inside Look at the Microgrid Market from Those Making It Happen
By Kathy Hitchens
Alex Marshall identifies industrial facilities with volatile loads, high peak-demand charges and strong resilience requirements as important growth markets for microgrids. He also highlights the continuing need to balance cost, resilience and sustainability.
Quote: “Industries with highly peaky loads and those seeking added resilience are, in our view, the ones set for the greatest opportunities for growth.”
Topics: Microgrids · Industrial infrastructure · Peak demand · Resilience · Energy costs · Energy trilemma
13 June 2023 · Case-study presentation · COGEN World Coalition
Industrial Cogeneration Around the World
Alex Marshall presented the Liberty Coca-Cola quadgeneration project in New York as an international industrial-cogeneration case study. The project combines onsite power, heat recovery, cooling and carbon-dioxide recovery, demonstrating how additional value streams can be built around a conventional CHP system.
Presentation:Liberty Coca-Cola to Recover CO₂ Through High-Efficiency Quadgeneration
Topics: Industrial cogeneration · Quadgeneration · Carbon recovery · Food and beverage · Distributed energy · Technology commercialization
18 November 2022 · Webinar panelist · Exergy Energy
The Hydrogen Economy, If When and How?
With David March, Wasam Balshi and Mike Hopkins
Discussion: The panel examines where hydrogen can deliver practical value, the respective roles of batteries and hydrogen, production pathways, infrastructure constraints and the economics of moving from demonstrations to commercial deployment.
The discussion avoids treating hydrogen as either a universal solution or an expensive distraction, instead considering where it can realistically contribute to transport, power generation, long-duration storage and industrial decarbonization.
Topics: Hydrogen · Energy storage · Distributed generation · Industrial decarbonization · Infrastructure · Commercialization
15 June 2022 · Conference presentation · World Biogas Summit and Expo
Biogas 2030 - the Potential for Biogas to Support Unstable Grids
Alex Marshall explains how biogas can serve not only as a continuous renewable fuel but also as a dispatchable resource supporting electricity systems with high renewable penetration or limited grid stability.
Presentation: Flexible gas-engine power stations can use locally produced biogas to provide renewable capacity, grid balancing and resilience while creating value from organic wastes.
Topics: Biogas · Grid stability · Flexible generation · Peaking power · Waste-to-energy · Emerging markets
28 April 2022 · Quoted project spokesperson · Carbon Capture Journal
Clarke Energy to Demonstrate Capture at Severn Trent
The article covers a first-of-a-kind demonstration designed to capture carbon dioxide from biogas-engine exhaust and convert it into materials including precipitated calcium carbonate. The proposed system was expected to recover between 85% and 95% of the exhaust carbon dioxide.
Quote: “With the addition of a carbon capture system, we achieve the net effect of reducing carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.”
Topics: Carbon capture · Biogas CHP · Wastewater infrastructure · Carbon utilization · Circular economy · Technology demonstration
25 May 2022 · Quoted expert · Microgrid Knowledge
Economic trends converge to make microgrids more attractive
By Lisa Cohn
Alex Marshall argues that microgrid economics should be assessed over the complete asset lifecycle rather than through capital cost alone. He identifies integrated responsibility for design, engineering, installation and maintenance and an experienced long-term service organization, as important ways of controlling cost and execution risk.
Expert contribution: Evaluate microgrid cost over the complete operational life of the system, not simply at the point of purchase.
Topics: Microgrids · Lifecycle economics · Engineering integration · Maintenance · Resilience · Project risk
15 November 2021 · Co-authored analysis · UK India Business Council · Renewable Watch
Removing Barriers to Sustainable Waste Management in India
By Alex Marshall, Abhijit Rajguru and Surbhi Mathur
Key argument: India’s growing waste volumes should be treated as an infrastructure and energy resource. Better municipal-waste management and anaerobic digestion could simultaneously improve public health, reduce methane emissions, generate renewable energy and support employment and economic development.
The article was adapted from a joint Clarke Energy and UK India Business Council publication.
Topics: India · Municipal waste · Anaerobic digestion · Biogas · Sustainable infrastructure · Economic development
10 November 2021 · COP26 Speaker · United Nations Environment Programme / Climate & Clean Air Coalition
Integrating Short Lived Climate Pollutants into Climate Action, Session Recording
COP Blue Zone · Glasgow
With the World Biogas Association, Kenya Climate Change Working Group and Climate and Clean Air Coalition
Presentation: Alex Marshall, Clarke Energy, and Charlotte Morton, World Biogas Association, presented “Global Action on Methane” during an official UNFCCC COP26 side event focused on integrating short-lived climate pollutants into climate action.
Alex also participated in the panel discussion examining methane and black carbon reduction and their contribution towards the Paris Agreement and 1.5°C climate objectives.
Topics: COP26 · Methane emissions · Biogas · Short-lived climate pollutants · Climate action · Anaerobic digestion · Paris Agreement
6 September 2021 · Event coverage · National Health Executive
How to Start Making Progressive Steps Towards NHS Net Zero Targets
By Jacob Flint
The article reports on the National Health Executive event held on 25 August 2021. Alex Marshall presented the history and future of captive power in the NHS and explained how CHP had helped hospitals reduce operating costs and carbon emissions.
Presentation summary: Existing energy infrastructure should be assessed pragmatically, with hospitals taking progressive steps toward net zero while continuing to protect resilience and patient services.
Topics: NHS · Healthcare infrastructure · Net zero · CHP · Energy resilience · Decarbonization
25 August 2021 · Keynote presentation · NHE365: Net-Zero NHS
Keynote with Alex Marshall, Net Zero by 2040, but How Do We Get There?
Alex Marshall examines how the NHS can move from established CHP-based energy infrastructure toward its 2040 net-zero objective without compromising resilience, affordability or continuity of care.
Discussion: The presentation places CHP within a longer infrastructure transition, recognizing the emissions reductions already achieved while considering the technologies and policy changes required for further decarbonization.
Topics: NHS · Healthcare energy · Net zero · CHP · Infrastructure transition · Energy efficiency
25 March 2021 · Plenary panelist · Northern Powerhouse Africa Trade Show
Northern Powerhouse Africa Trade Show, Plenary Showcase with Alex Marshall, Africa Investment Group Member
Alex Marshall joined the opening plenary alongside the UK Trade Commissioner for Africa and representatives from investment and international-business organisations. The session considered how UK companies could enter African markets, develop local partnerships and reduce the risks associated with international expansion.
Discussion: Practical experience of exporting energy infrastructure across Africa and the importance of local presence, cultural understanding and long-term partnerships.
Topics: African infrastructure · International trade · Market entry · Distributed power · Localization · Export strategy
22 October 2020 · Conference panelist · Distributed Energy Conference
"District and Campus Energy - A Cool Way to Bring Heat"
With Kristen Parkhurst and Frank DiCola · Chaired by Michael Byrnes
Alex Marshall joined a panel examining how established district and campus energy systems were being strengthened by CHP, thermal storage and emerging distributed-energy technologies.
Discussion: The business case for district energy extends beyond efficiency. CHP-based systems can help hospitals, universities, military bases and industrial campuses reduce demand charges, recover otherwise wasted heat and maintain critical services during grid interruptions.
Topics: District energy · Campus energy · CHP · Thermal storage · Microgrids · Energy resilience
May 31, 2020 · Keynote / Global Event · World Biogas Association (WBA) eFestival
"India's Energy Import Problem Has a Homegrown Answer: The Case for Biogas"
With Atma Ram Shukla, Indian Biogas Association, and Gangagni Rao Anupoju, CSIR–Indian Institute of Chemical Technology
Alex Marshall examined how India could reduce its dependence on imported oil and gas by converting domestically available organic wastes into biogas, biomethane and renewable electricity.
Presentation:India’s Energy Import Problem Has a Homegrown Answer: The Case for Biogas
The session connected India’s Swachh Bharat Mission with the development of commercially deployable anaerobic-digestion infrastructure. Capturing methane from agricultural residues, food waste, municipal waste and animal manure could simultaneously improve waste management, strengthen energy security and support domestic economic development.
Topics: India · Biogas · Biomethane · Anaerobic digestion · Energy security · Waste-to-energy
16 January 2020 · Quoted executive · BusinessDay Nigeria
UK Africa Investment Summit to Deliver Jobs and Growth
By Hope Moses-Ashike
The article covers UK support for Clarke Energy’s African expansion, including gas-engine projects in Nigeria and the opening of a new overhaul and repair facility serving power installations across the continent.
Expert commentary: “The knowledge the UK Government has both locally in the North West of England and across Africa is outstanding.”
Topics: Nigeria · African energy infrastructure · International trade · Distributed power · Local service · UK exports
15 January 2020 · Government project coverage · GOV.UK
Liverpool Engineers Help African Nations Shift Towards Clean Energy
The UK Government documents Clarke Energy’s role in supplying and supporting high-efficiency gas-engine power systems across Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Cameroon. It also records the opening of a Merseyside overhaul facility intended to improve the long-term performance and reliability of African power plants.
Project relevance: The coverage demonstrates that successful infrastructure deployment depends on maintenance capability, technical skills and lifecycle support, not simply the initial equipment sale.
Topics: African energy infrastructure · Engineering services · Power-plant maintenance · Export infrastructure · Local capability · Energy reliability
26 March 2019 · Energy Roundtable · Insider Media Midlands
Powering Up - Midlands Energy Roundtable
With Andrew Stevens, Tony Sartorius, Andrew Whitehead, Adrian Nichols, Alexis Stavropoulos, John Kyffin-Hughes and Martin Freer
The round table discussed the impact of higher energy prices on manufacturers and the role of onsite generation in delivering resilient low carbon and cost effective power supplies.
Topics: Energy Manufacturing costs · Onsite Power · Behind the meter power generation · Business competitiveness
14–15 Mar 2019 · Conference speaker · Global Trade Review (GTR) Africa · Cape Town
Speaker: Alex Marshall, Group Marketing & Compliance Director, Clarke Energy
Event: GTR Africa brought together approximately 400 representatives from across African trade, finance, infrastructure and investment.
Topics: African infrastructure · International trade · Export finance · Energy investment · Emerging markets · Africa
3 December 2018 · Conference presentation · United Nations Climate Change Conference COP24
Gas Engines: Cogeneration, Renewable Gas, and Flexible Generation
Katowice, Poland
Alex Marshall presented how gas-engine systems could combine high-efficiency cogeneration, renewable gases and responsive generation to support electricity networks incorporating increasing levels of intermittent renewable energy.
The presentation drew on international examples involving CHP, landfill gas, biogas upgrading, flexible peaking generation and hybrid microgrids combining gas engines with solar power, battery storage and ultracapacitors.
Presentation: Dispatchable gas and biogas generation can balance local networks and microgrids when renewable output varies, while cogeneration and renewable-gas infrastructure provide routes toward greater efficiency and progressive decarbonisation.
Topics: COP24 · Flexible generation · Cogeneration · Biogas and biomethane · Renewable integration · Hybrid microgrids
21 November 2018 · Video interview · Global Trade Review
With Sanne Wass
Following the Prime Minister’s African trade mission, Alex Marshall discusses the value of government export support and the practical difficulties created with long duration energy infrastructure projects, with gestation to delivery ranging from 1-4 years, when overseas commercial relationships are disrupted by changes in personnel which naturally have shorter tenures than the infrastructure projects being developed.
Discussion: Successful infrastructure exports depend on sustained relationships, market knowledge and continuity between companies, government departments and in-country stakeholders.
Topics: International trade · Africa · Export finance · Government relations · Infrastructure development · Market entry
4 September 2018 · Power Lunch Television interview · CNBC Africa
Lake Kivu Biogas to Power Infrastructure Interview
Alex Marshall discusses Clarke Energy’s selection as preferred bidder for power projects using methane as a unique form of naturally occurring biogas, extracted from Lake Kivu. The interview considers the potential to generate electricity from a locally available resource while helping manage the environmental and safety risks associated with accumulated lake gas.
Discussion: Lake Kivu demonstrates how specialist environmental knowledge, power engineering and commercial project development can converge in a nationally important infrastructure project.
Topics: Rwanda · Lake Kivu · Methane-to-power · Energy access · Environmental risk · African infrastructure · Distributed energy · Biogas
26 August 2018 · Official trade-delegation record · GOV.UK
Theresa May to lead ambitious three-nation trip to Africa
The announcement records the Prime Minister’s trade mission to Cape Town, South Africa, Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria, and Nairobi, Kenya, in which Alex Marshall participated as a Clarke Energy representative. The visit focused on infrastructure, trade, investment and the development of stronger UK-African commercial partnerships.
Context: Marshall used the mission to represent distributed-energy projects and Clarke Energy’s established operating presence across multiple African markets.
Topics: UK-Africa trade · Infrastructure investment · Government engagement · Emerging markets · Executive representation
15 May 2018 · Executive interview · Energy, Oil & Gas
Alex Marshall explains Clarke Energy’s international growth following its acquisition by Kohler, including the importance of local operations, technical service capability and expansion into new distributed-energy markets.
Interview focus: The company’s growth model combines technology partnerships, integrated engineering, localization and long-term maintenance rather than relying on equipment sales alone.
Topics: International expansion · Distributed energy · Technology partnerships · Engineering services · Localization · Corporate strategy
15 May 2018 · Quoted industry participant · DataCentreNews UK
Quality Over Quantity Drives Growth at Data Centres North
The article reports on the growth of the DataCentresNorth industry event and quotes Alex Marshall on the commercial quality of its audience and the resulting interest in gas-based data-centre power systems.
Expert commentary: “The Data Centers North exhibition has depth and quality of delegates.”
The reference supports a longer history in the data-centre sector than would be evident from recent AI-related coverage alone.
Topics: Data centers · Onsite power · Gas generation · Industry engagement · Commercial development
9 November 2017 · Conference presentation · United Nations Climate Change Conference COP23
Hybrid Solutions for Microgrids and Flexible Generation
Bonn, Germany
Alex Marshall presented how dispatchable gas-engine generation could be integrated with renewable energy, battery storage and other fast-response technologies to create more resilient and flexible local power systems.
Presentation: Hybrid microgrids can accommodate increasing levels of intermittent renewable generation by combining complementary assets with different operating characteristics. Gas engines provide dispatchable capacity, while storage technologies respond rapidly to changing demand and renewable output.
The presentation is an important precursor to Alex’s later work on hybrid data-centre power and the Structured Transition Model. It demonstrates that he was already treating flexibility, resilience and progressive decarbonisation as interconnected infrastructure requirements in 2017.
Topics: COP23 · Hybrid microgrids · Flexible generation · Battery storage · Renewable integration · Distributed energy
18 September 2017 · Executive interview and company profile · EME Outlook
Alex Marshall discusses Clarke Energy’s European operations, development of the UK capacity-market opportunity, biogas and cogeneration projects, remote asset management and investment in technical training.
Expert commentary: “Our reputation for quality and reliability is core to our business.”
The interview demonstrates an early emphasis on complete power-plant integration, service capability and long-term asset performance.
Topics: European energy · Gas-to-power · Capacity markets · Biogas · Asset management · Engineering quality
10 May 2018 · Expert commentary · Plant Engineering
CHP: Brewing Up Energy Savings
Expert commentary: Alex Marshall discusses the application of combined heat and power (CHP) and combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) in industrial facilities, including the potential for overall plant efficiencies exceeding 90%.
Discussion: CHP economics and efficiency · Onsite power resilience · Industrial heat recovery · Trigeneration · Brewery energy systems · Biogas from wastewater and production by-products
Topics: CHP · CCHP · Distributed generation · Energy efficiency · Resilient power · Biogas · Industrial decarbonization
26 August 2017 · Executive interview and company profile · Africa Outlook
Alex Marshall describes Clarke Energy’s expansion from Nigeria into regional operating hubs across Africa. The interview covers gas-infrastructure constraints, renewable-gas projects, industrial off-gas utilization and the importance of training permanent local teams.
Expert commentary: “The big challenges in Africa remain the speed of development of the infrastructure.”
Topics: African infrastructure · Gas-to-power · Biogas · Industrial waste gases · Localization · Market development
23 September 2016 · Guest Column · BusinessDesk Northwest
Ofgem changes could cost businesses millions
Alex Marshall outlines the challenges associated with the removal of Embedded Benefits for UK behind the meter generation assets and points to an increasingly strained grid.
Expert commentary: “The removal of (Embedded Benefits) will increase bills for the consumer, encourage centralised power generation, which is characterised as being lower efficiency and resulting in higher carbon emissions. Surely a backward step at a time when UK plc needs to encourage new forms of power generation in the Capacity Market?”
The article demonstrates understanding of the impact that changes to legislation related to behind the meter power, can have on the wider energy system and supporting a grid with fluctuating electricity availabily levels.
Topics: Flexible generation · Ofgem · Onsite power · Government consultation
24 June 2016 · Live television interview · BBC North West Today
Interview on the Day of the UK’s Brexit Referendum Result at the International Festival for Business 2016
Alex Marshall was interviewed live by BBC North West Today following the announcement of the referendum result. The discussion considered the implications of Brexit for an internationally active power infrastructure engineering and export business.
Broadcast relevance: This appearance demonstrates experience representing a complex international business specializing in cross border power generation infrastructure development in live broadcast media during a major political and economic event.
Topics: Brexit · International trade · Engineering exports · Business confidence · Live television · Distributed Energy
May 2016 · Expert commentary · Engerati / EnergyNet
Power in Africa — In Focus Report
Expert commentary: Alex Marshall contributes to the report's analysis of gas-to-power development in Africa, discussing the role of smaller-scale distributed generation in providing faster access to reliable electricity where grid infrastructure, regulatory frameworks and financing remain constrained.
Discussion: Distributed generation as an alternative to large centralized power projects · Onsite generation for industrial users · Gas-to-power · Project development in African markets · Integration of distributed assets with developing transmission networks
Topics: Distributed generation · Gas-to-power · Onsite power · African energy · Energy access · Grid infrastructure · Industrial power · Decentralized energy
1 March 2016 · Authored technical article · Energy in Buildings & Industry
Energy in Buildings and Industry Magazine, Data Centre CCP Reducing Cost & Carbon Emissions
By Alex Marshall
Key argument: Data centers’ simultaneous requirements for reliable electricity and continuous cooling create a strong case for combined cooling and power. Recovering heat from onsite generation through absorption chillers can reduce electricity costs, carbon emissions and dependence on a constrained grid.
Extract: “The case for self-generation of electricity and cooling on site therefore becomes more attractive to prevent against supply interruptions.”
Topics: Data centers · Combined cooling and power · CHP · Absorption chilling · PUE · Energy resilience
This is historically important because it demonstrates substantive engagement with data-center power and cooling almost a decade before the current AI infrastructure cycle. The reference supports a longer history in the data center power and cooling sector.
28 September 2015 · Exclusive interview · ESI Africa
Exclusive Interview, IPAD Rwanda
Alex Marshall discusses Clarke Energy’s participation in IPAD Rwanda, its wider experience across African energy markets and the role of industry events in connecting project developers, investors, technology providers and governments.
Quote: “Rwanda has some of the largest naturally occurring deposits of biogas globally in Lake Kivu. This renewable gas is able to produce stable base-load power supplies, unlike other forms of renewable energy such as wind power or solar power, that only generate electricity when the wind blows or sun shines. Biogas in Rwanda therefore has huge potential to provide a significant component of Rwanda’s power generation mix. This lake gas is supplemented by other forms of biogas including landfill gas and sewage gas. Whilst the potential here is more modest, they are able to provide significant localized supplies of distributed generation, where waste arisings can be concentrated.”
Topics: Rwanda · African power infrastructure · Infrastructure investment · Market development · International partnerships
16 Dec 2014 · Contributed article · World Coal
Author: Alex Marshall
Focus: The use of coal mine methane and coal bed methane for distributed power generation, including reciprocating gas engines and combined heat and power.
Topics: Coal mine methane · Coal bed methane · Distributed generation · Gas engines · CHP · Methane utilization · Emissions reduction
4 November 2014 · Event and photographic coverage · The New Times, Rwanda
“Delays Irk Energy Sector Investors”
The report covers concerns about delays and administrative barriers affecting private investment in Rwanda’s energy sector. Alex Marshall is identified in the accompanying photograph at a power and infrastructure investment forum in Kigali alongside Clarke Energy Managing Director Paul de Mattos and Rwanda’s Minister for Infrastructure.
Context: The reference documents direct involvement in senior government and investor engagement around Rwanda’s developing power infrastructure.
Topics: Rwanda · Energy investment · Infrastructure policy · Government engagement · African power
10 January 2014 · Authored opinion · Insider Media
The Unsung Hero of Carbon Reduction
Key argument: Combined heat and power offered businesses a practical and commercially established means of reducing energy costs and carbon emissions, but its contribution was receiving less recognition than newer or more visible low-carbon technologies.
The article demonstrates a long-running ability to communicate established engineering solutions in commercially relevant terms—an approach that continues in current work on distributed power and AI infrastructure.
Topics: Combined heat and power · Carbon reduction · Industrial energy · Energy efficiency · Technology adoption
8 October 2013 · Conference presentation · NHS Estates and Facilities Management Conference
Combined Heat and Power in Hospitals
Manchester, United Kingdom
Alex Marshall examined the application of gas-engine CHP within hospitals, drawing on operating projects to demonstrate potential reductions in energy costs, primary fuel consumption and carbon emissions.
Presentation: Hospitals’ continuous requirements for electricity, heating and hot water create strong conditions for cogeneration. Properly integrated CHP can reduce operating expenditure while supporting the resilience expected of critical healthcare infrastructure.
The presentation establishes a long-standing focus on the relationship between efficiency and resilience. Hospitals, like data centers, cannot treat energy simply as a commodity: continuity of service is fundamental to the infrastructure’s purpose.
Topics: Hospitals · NHS · Combined heat and power · Critical infrastructure · Energy efficiency · Resilience
11 September 2013 · Conference presentation · East African Power Industry Convention
Biogas in Africa and Gas to Power Technologies
Nairobi, Kenya
Alex Marshall examined how agricultural residues, industrial effluents, municipal wastes and other locally available organic materials could be converted into biogas and used for distributed power generation across African markets.
Presentation: Biogas projects can combine waste treatment, methane capture and renewable electricity generation while reducing dependence on imported fuels and constrained central power systems.
The presentation connected environmental infrastructure with energy access and commercial development. It provides early evidence of an approach that continued throughout Alex’s career: identifying how locally available resources can be converted into reliable, economically productive infrastructure.
Topics: Africa · Biogas · Gas-to-power · Anaerobic digestion · Distributed generation · Energy access
18 Jun 2013 · Interview · The Nation (Nigeria)
Firm okays flared gas to power technology https://thenationonlineng.net/firm-okays-flared-gas-to-power-technology/
Quoted as: Alexander Marshall, Group Marketing Manager, Clarke Energy
Discussion: Converting stranded and flared gas into reliable distributed electricity, reducing emissions while supporting industrial and economic development in underserved communities.
Topics: Flared gas · Distributed generation · Gas engines · Energy access · Nigeria · Emissions reduction
4 June 2013 · Conference presentation · Nigeria Oil and Gas Technology Exhibition
Flare Gas and Containerized Engines
Lagos, Nigeria
Alex Marshall presented how associated gas that might otherwise be flared could be used in containerized gas-engine power plants, creating useful electricity from an underutilized resource and reducing carbon emissions from unabated methane escapes to atmosphere.
Presentation: Modular gas-engine systems can convert flare gas into onsite power close to the point of production, reducing fuel waste and emissions while supporting oilfield, industrial or local electricity requirements.
The presentation demonstrates the combination of environmental and commercial thinking that characterizes Alex’s later work. The objective was not simply to eliminate a waste stream, but to convert it into productive infrastructure using deployable, established technology.
Topics: Nigeria · Flare gas · Containerised power · Captive generation · Emissions reduction · Resource utilization
24 April 2013 · Conference presentation · Ghana Energy Summit
Accra, Ghana
Alex Marshall presented the role of captive gas-engine power plants in supporting industrial and commercial facilities operating within electricity systems affected by limited capacity or inconsistent reliability.
Presentation: Onsite generation can give businesses greater control over power availability, operating costs and expansion timelines. Where usable heat or cooling demand exists, cogeneration can further improve fuel efficiency and project economics.
This is a direct historical precursor to Alex’s current work on energy autonomy and speed-to-power for data centers. Although the end users were different, the strategic question was essentially the same: how can critical facilities grow when the grid cannot provide sufficient power quickly or reliably?
Topics: Ghana · Captive power · Gas engines · Industrial infrastructure · Energy resilience · Onsite generation
2001-2012 Foundations in Circular Energy Infrastructure
Early work focused on anaerobic digestion, biomethane (renewable natural gas), mixed municipal waste treatment, wastewater treatment and distributed energy systems. This period established expertise in converting environmental liabilities into reliable energy infrastructure; a theme that continues today through work on resilient power systems, the Structured Transition Model, and the role of RNG and biomethane in decarbonizing critical infrastructure.
8 October 2009 · Technical presentation · European Bioenergy Conference
Industrial Digestion and MBT-AD (Mechanical Biological Treatment with Anaerobic Digestion)
Stoneleigh Park, United Kingdom
Alex Marshall examined the interface between industrial anaerobic-digestion systems and gas-engine power plants, including the operational requirements for converting variable biological gas production into reliable electricity and heat.
Presentation: Anaerobic digestion and power generation should be engineered as an integrated system. Gas quality, storage, treatment, engine selection, heat recovery and maintenance strategy all affect the performance and commercial viability of the complete project.
This presentation reinforces the depth behind Alex’s later work on biogas and distributed energy. His involvement extended beyond promoting renewable fuel to understanding how biological and mechanical systems must operate together as dependable infrastructure.
Topics: Anaerobic digestion · Biogas · Gas engines · CHP · Systems integration · Project performance · Waste treatment infrastructure
10th September 2009 · Founder profile / Industry association · Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA)
Clarke Energy — ADBA Founder
Role: Founding member of ADBA representing Clarke Energy, established alongside founding figures including Lord Rupert Redesdale.
Discussion: Alex Marshall discusses his motivation for advancing sustainable energy internationally, the future of anaerobic digestion, and the role of ADBA in professionalizing and growing the UK biogas industry.
Quote: “Challenges in the UK relate to the current focus on lowest capital cost solution rather than through life costs of the anaerobic digestion plant, which was also the case in the early days of the UK landfill industry. As the industry matures and knowledge grows we believe this will also change and the focus on quality will gain in importance.”
Topics: Anaerobic digestion · Biogas · Renewable power · Sustainable energy · UK energy policy · International energy markets · Asset deployment cost
23 June 2009 · Conference presentation · Developing UK Biogas
Biogas CHP - Case Studies and Lessons Learnt
Stoneleigh Park, United Kingdom
Alex Marshall examined the developing UK market for anaerobic digestion and the practical integration of biogas production with gas-engine generation. The conference gave specific examples of projects and lessons learnt during their implementation.
Presentation: The value of anaerobic digestion depends not only on producing biogas, but on converting that gas reliably into useful electricity and heat. Successful projects therefore require the biological process and energy-conversion system to be designed as connected parts of one infrastructure asset.
The presentation documents substantial involvement in the UK biogas sector before its later expansion into biomethane injection, transport fuel and flexible renewable generation.
Topics: UK biogas · Anaerobic digestion · Gas engines · Renewable electricity · CHP · Technology integration
27 November 2008 · Conference presentation · 6th National Irish Waste Summit
By Alex Marshall · Project Manager, AD and MBT, Clarke Energy
Alex Marshall presented international operating case studies involving HAASE mechanical biological treatment and wet anaerobic-digestion technology. The presentation examined how mixed municipal waste could be separated, treated and converted into recoverable materials and renewable energy.
Presentation: Established international projects demonstrated how mechanical separation and anaerobic digestion could be integrated into commercially deployable municipal-waste infrastructure.
The summit programme described HAASE technology as operating at 46 sites internationally, providing evidence of Alex’s early involvement in transferring established European environmental technology into new markets.
Topics: Mechanical biological treatment · Anaerobic digestion · Municipal waste · International technology transfer · Resource recovery · Renewable energy · Waste treatment infrastructure
4–5 May 2006 · Conference presentation · MHEA BULK06 Technical Awareness Seminar
"Sink or Swim"- Water based waste treatment, BULK 2006, Materials Handling Association Conference
By Alex Marshall · Marketing Manager and Company Secretary, Oaktech Environmental
Alex Marshall presented the ArrowBio process to the Materials Handling Engineers’ Association as part of its UK Waste and Recycling Market programme. The system used water-based separation to recover recyclable materials and prepare the organic fraction of mixed municipal waste for anaerobic digestion.
Presentation: ArrowBio combined novel water-based mechanical separation, materials recovery and biological treatment within an integrated waste-processing system capable of producing biogas and then power from mixed municipal waste.
This presentation demonstrates that Alex’s work already combined technical explanation, technology commercialization and communication with specialist engineering audiences.
Topics: ArrowBio · Municipal waste · Materials recovery · Anaerobic digestion · Waste processing · Technology commercialization · Waste treatment infrastructure
2 May 2006 · Co-authored policy consultation response · Oaktech Environmental
Marshall, A. T. & Finstein, M. S. (2006) Oaktech's Response to (The UK Government's) Consultation on the Source Segregation Requirement in Paragraph 7A of Schedule 3 to the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994.
By Alex Marshall and Melvin S. Finstein
Key argument: The response examined how source-segregation requirements could affect anaerobic-digestion and resource-recovery technologies processing mixed municipal waste. It argued that regulation should consider the demonstrable quality and safety of recovered outputs, rather than relying exclusively on the origin and collection method of the feedstock.
The submission illustrates an early understanding that technically viable infrastructure can still be constrained by regulation, classification and market acceptance. These same interactions between engineering capability and the surrounding commercial and policy system have remained important throughout Alex’s subsequent work.
Topics: Waste regulation · Source segregation · Digestate quality · Anaerobic digestion · Municipal waste · Infrastructure policy · Waste treatment infrastructure
18–19 February 2004 · Co-authored technical paper · Conference proceedings
Proceedings of the 1st UK Conference on Biodegradable and Residual Waste Management, Page 407-413 The ArrowBio Process for Mixed Municipal Waste
By Melvin S. Finstein, Yair Zadik, Alex Marshall and David Brody
Editors: Efstathio K. Papadimitriou and Edward I. Stentiford
Published in Biodegradable and Residual Waste Management: Proceedings of the 1st UK Conference and Exhibition on Biodegradable and Residual Waste Management, Harrogate, pp. 407–413.
Research focus: The paper explains how the ArrowBio process combined water-based mechanical separation with anaerobic digestion to recover recyclable materials, isolate the biodegradable fraction of mixed municipal waste and convert its organic content into biogas.
The publication documents Alex’s involvement in the technical evaluation and international commercialization of environmental infrastructure at an early stage in his career. It also establishes a direct foundation for his subsequent work across anaerobic digestion, biogas, distributed energy and infrastructure transition.
Topics: ArrowBio · Mixed municipal waste · Mechanical biological treatment · Anaerobic digestion · Resource recovery · International technology transfer · Waste treatment infrastructure
Academic Background
My academic work at the University of Manchester combined environmental science with commercial application. During my postgraduate Master of Enterprise programme, I worked alongside Mineral Solutions Ltd to develop the commercial case for a novel wastewater treatment technology based on biofilm-enhanced iron and manganese oxyhydroxide granules, including supporting the development of intellectual property around the technology. This experience established an early interest in translating scientific research into practical infrastructure solutions. Since then, my career has spanned anaerobic digestion, biomethane (RNG), distributed energy, resilient infrastructure and, more recently, power systems for AI data centers. While the technologies have evolved, the underlying focus has remained the same: applying science, engineering and commercial thinking to solve complex infrastructure and environmental challenges.
01 August 2002, Commercial Exploitation of Wastewater Treatment and Precious Metal Sequestration with Biofilm Enhanced Iron and Manganese Oxyhydroxide Granules, University of Manchester, Masters Degree Thesis,
01 August 2001, Monitoring Water Quality and Aluminium Toxicity Along the Goyt River Valley, University of Manchester, Bachelors Degree in Biology Dissertation