Built to Create,
Not Just Manage

Pierce Street Energy is a boutique consulting firm founded by three seasoned energy professionals with deep roots in energy project development. We specialize in helping landowners, developers, institutions, and enterprise companies understand future energy and data center needs — and bring projects to life faster, smarter, and with fewer obstacles.

We serve clients navigating energy and data infrastructure challenges, delivering faster timelines, fewer obstacles, and smarter outcomes from day one. From identifying viable project sites to securing reliable power, financing, regulatory approvals, and engineering and construction partners, we turn complex processes into clear action.

We also bring deep expertise in planning for the future of existing data centers. In today's HPC and AI-driven environment, it takes a wide array of talent to anticipate and solve mechanical, electrical, and structural challenges — and we help clients do just that.

Project Creators

We don't just manage what exists — we identify, design, and build what should exist. That mindset changes everything about how we engage with clients and their projects.

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Integrated Disciplines

Regulatory strategy, engineering expertise, and legal insight working in concert from day one — not handed off sequentially between separate firms.

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Boutique Focus

We are selective about the engagements we take on. Every client receives the direct attention and strategic engagement of the founding partners themselves.

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Clean Energy Landscape

Deep expertise in today's constrained and evolving energy market — including the intersection of clean energy development and AI-driven data infrastructure.

The Founding Partners

The Unique Power of
Our Combined Experience

Three founding partners. Three essential disciplines. Nearly 100 years of combined experience, working as one integrated team from the first conversation.

Paul
VanGelder
Professional Engineering
& Energy Management
42
Years of Experience

With 42 years of professional engineering and energy management experience, Paul brings unmatched technical authority to every engagement. From utility coordination and interconnection to distributed generation and data center infrastructure, Paul transforms engineering challenges into executable solutions.

Professional Engineering Energy Management Utility Coordination Distributed Generation Data Center Infrastructure

⭢ Full biography coming soon.

Chris
Orlando
Legal Strategy &
Project Development
20
Years of Experience

Chris brings 20 years of legal experience to the team, providing the legal acuity that complex energy and development projects demand. From contract structures to regulatory and land use compliance, Chris ensures that every project is built on a sound legal foundation that protects clients and accelerates progress.

Legal Strategy Contract Structures Land Use Compliance Project Development Regulatory Compliance

⭢ Full biography coming soon.

Adam
Zellner
Government Relations,
Strategy & Permitting
35
Years of Experience

Adam has spent 35 years mastering the regulatory and political landscape of complex energy projects. His expertise in government relations, permitting strategy, and stakeholder engagement ensures projects move through approval processes with speed and precision — turning regulatory complexity into competitive advantage.

Government Relations Permitting Strategy Stakeholder Engagement Regulatory Navigation Political Strategy

⭢ Full biography coming soon.

Our combined experience is not additive — it is multiplicative. When regulatory strategy, engineering expertise, and legal insight work in concert from the first conversation, projects that others cannot get off the ground become reality.