2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for energy, utilities, renewables, and digital infrastructure. The teams that win will be the ones that turn AI and geospatial data into faster, more confident project decisions. That was the energy behind our recent “Future-Proofing Energy and Infrastructure Projects: 2026 Trends and Innovations” conversation, now available to watch on demand.
From AI hype to real project impact
First, the panel dove into what it looks like to actually deliver projects in a world where every stakeholder is talking about data, automation, and risk. Moderator, and Pivvot’s Senior Client Success Specialist, J.J. Walter kicked things off by asking what else we should be focused on beyond the headlines about AI and data centers, and how to keep projects grounded in real business value.
Terracon’s CTO, Jason Kephart, put it plainly: “Technology is never a singular answer, at least in my book,” pushing back on the urge to bolt AI onto everything without a clear problem to solve. He described how Terracon and Pivvot evaluate “hundreds of AI use cases” by asking two simple questions:
1) Is it feasible with the data we have?
2) Will it deliver meaningful value to our clients or our teams?
For owners, developers, and engineers who are tired of “innovation theater,” this is a refreshing, practical lens that directly aligns with how Pivvot streamlines site screening, routing, and risk analysis instead of adding more noise.
“Treat AI like an intern”
One of the most memorable moments came when the discussion turned to how teams of all experience levels should be using AI day‑to‑day. Jason shared a simple analogy that resonated with attendees: treat AI “like an intern.”
- The better instructions and source material you give it, the better the output.
- You still own the work. You cannot point to AI and say, “It made that decision.”
- Over time, as with a good intern, the collaboration gets faster and more tailored to your style.
This mindset mirrors how Pivvot customers lean on automation: let the platform absorb the heavy lifting of aggregating wetlands, endangered species, parcels, and regulatory data so your experts can focus on what they do best: moving the project forward.
Data you can defend in a world of hallucinations
If AI is the intern, data is the foundation it stands on. John Salva, who leads data architecture at Pivvot, reminded the audience that “AI is only as good as the data you feed it, and that data is only as good as the metadata, the governance surrounding it, the security surrounding it.”
He emphasized three themes that matter for anyone using AI and digital tools to justify siting and routing decisions:
- Knowing where every dataset came from, how it was collected, and what it actually describes.
- Making it transparent when AI has been used and linking outputs back to the underlying data.
- Accepting that all data is not fit for every purpose, and that aligning the right data to the right question is non‑negotiable.
For developers who need to showcase defensible decisions to regulators, community stakeholders, and investors, this is exactly why Pivvot combines curated third‑party data with Terracon’s decades of empirical subsurface information inside a controlled environment.
2026 will reward pragmatic innovators
Rathin Nair, Terracon’s National Manager for AI and Data Science, pulled back the curtain on what a pragmatic AI program looks like. He talked about moving from “over 100 use cases” to a focused roadmap that leads to results, whether that is client‑facing differentiation or internal efficiency.
He framed enablement with a “no‑code, low‑code, pro‑code” approach:
- Everyday users tap into embedded tools like Copilot for quick wins.
- Power users build lighter solutions without needing a deep AI background.
- His team focuses on the toughest, highest‑impact problems.
Additionally, Pivvot’s Director of Software Engineering Justin Calvert shared some surprising stats: 70–90% of AI pilots never scale to production, and about half are dropped before they get that far, evidence that the next phase of AI adoption will be more measured and user‑centric. In his words, many users today feel like AI is being “forced upon them,” and the winners will be organizations that anchor every AI capability to a clear “why” for the user.
This is exactly where Pivvot is investing: intuitive delivery platforms where users can simply turn on the layers they need, generate impact and crossing reports, and see potential risks in minutes instead of weeks without needing to understand every detail of the underlying models.
Questions that every project team is asking
The Q&A portion surfaced questions that felt familiar to anyone planning 2026 projects:
- “How do we keep humans in the loop without losing speed?”
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- Panelists stressed AI literacy, clear expectations about verification, and a culture where challenging AI outputs is encouraged and not seen as resistance to innovation.
- “How do we make data truly “application agnostic?”
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- One attendee asked how to serve data seamlessly to Excel, CAD, GIS, ERP, and custom tools. The answer: strong governance and documentation first, then modern architectures and multimodal AI that can work across text, imagery, and more.
- “How do we protect proprietary data while still leveraging AI?”
- The panel highlighted the importance of dedicated, secure architectures where proprietary datasets (like Terracon’s decades of subsurface measurements) can be used to differentiate insights without ever being “thrown into one big pot” with public data.
These are the same questions Pivvot helps project teams answer as they transform manual desktop studies into scalable, digital workflows that are fast, defensible, and secure.
If your team is looking at 2026 and wondering how to balance AI innovation with practical, defensible project planning, this conversation is a must‑watch.
Watch “Future-Proofing Energy and Infrastructure Projects: 2026 Trends and Innovations” on demand, share it with your stakeholders, and explore how platforms like Pivvot can help you move from fragmented data and spreadsheets to a streamlined, map‑centric experience. If you have questions of your own while watching the webinar, submit them here and a member of our team will be in touch!