Spotlight On: Mike Brady, Vice President, Power Generation Execution, Liberty Energy
September 2025 — Mike Brady, vice president of power generation execution at Liberty Energy, spoke with Invest: about using natural gas to fuel the emerging tech industry in Pennsylvania. “Our initiative is designing solutions that fit the evolving needs of data center customers. Power is driving our economic solutions, and natural gas helps bring firm power as we’re building out more renewables,” said Brady.
How does the integration of IMG Energy Solutions enhance Liberty Energy’s capabilities?
Liberty Energy has a significant presence in the oil and gas completions industry. Liberty has a history of generating power for oilfield applications, using natural gas to power the electrical components that drive oil and gas completions. For over a decade, IMG Energy Solutions has built, owned, and operated permanent power solutions. The lead time on new equipment has been extended as a temporary solution until we have a permanent power solution in place. Many people I’ve known professionally are at Liberty, and I’ve approached them to use temporary mobile generators units in our power applications. That conversation led to an expansion of business beyond natural gas, providing power solutions to customers. It was a fit for both companies.
What recent initiatives are you most proud of, and what kind of operational or environmental impact have they had?
The main initiative is to grow the power business into a large platform where we own and operate power assets for our customers. One of the issues in the United States is that technological advances in places like data centers are occurring at such a rapid pace that the demand for power exceeds the growth capabilities of utilities. Having companies like ours that are willing to build a power plant that serves a single customer, off the grid, has high value. Our initiative is designing solutions that fit the evolving needs of data center customers. The amount of power they need fluctuates and can put stress on the grid.
What major trends, such as microgrid development, renewable integration, or energy independence, are most influencing your execution strategy today?
Pennsylvania has an abundance of natural gas, and many people live in areas where there is no gas infrastructure. Renewables are an intermittent source of power. With natural gas, there is an abundance of resilient fuel supply that can generate power at high reliability, 24/7. Pittsburgh is a sleeper town with a huge opportunity to have data center infrastructure. It’s not located where other data centers are, adding an extra layer of cybersecurity. It is very close to pipeline gas and along major corridors with fiber network capabilities. Pittsburgh also offers land availability outside of the city, an abundance of natural gas, and many natural gas companies looking to sell gas locally. What our company can create for potential data center customers is powered land solutions.
How do you collaborate with local governments and organizations to address these challenges?
We have support for the local community. Many of our state representatives are interested in helping bring industry into their regions. We have great support from regional leaders in many different counties. We work closely with permitting offices to stay ahead of our projects and efficiently navigate bottlenecks.
How do you see the Pittsburgh area evolving in terms of energy demand and decentralization?
When the steel industry dropped down, industry fell off and unemployment went up. Pittsburgh figured out how to reinvent itself, diversify from steel, and find industries that bring in jobs. There have been many new technology companies in Pittsburgh. It’s been an amazing transformation, marked by growth, expansion, and new job opportunities.
How is Liberty Power Innovations approaching sustainability in your execution strategy, and are there any emerging technologies or practices that you’re particularly excited about?
I am a firm believer in clean energy where it makes sense. Natural gas isn’t competing with renewables, it’s bridging the time it takes to move towards renewable solutions. Around 2018 we had only 3% renewable penetration in Pennsylvania, but had a lot of natural gas growth to replace coal. We saw a huge improvement in emissions. From a sustainability standpoint, Pennsylvania improved dramatically in total emissions by using natural gas and bringing in renewable solutions. Power is driving our economic solutions, and natural gas helps bring firm power as we’re building out more renewables.
What are Liberty Power Innovations’ top strategic goals moving forward, and how are you preparing for what’s next in terms of policy shifts, demand changes, or new technologies?
Liberty is a company for the generations. We aren’t just trying to solve today’s problem, we are trying to solve generational challenges. Our goal is to find ways to use natural gas to improve the lives of people, create jobs, and provide cleaner solutions. We’re only scratching the surface of new possibilities in AI. The energy needed for the computing power, without latency issues, is enormous. Providing power solutions to AI is one of the most exciting things we are involved in. We are going to see incredible changes in our lives.
For more information, please visit:
