For 20 years, the blueprint for data centers was simple: find some land, get in line for power, and trust that the utility could deliver. Data centers and power infrastructure got built on separate tracks because the grid had room to spare. That model is gone. Today, with long lead times for equipment, multi-year interconnection queues, and the pressure to bring your own generation, it all has to be sequenced together. And on top of it all, public opinion has radically shifted against data centers, adding new risks. In this episode, recorded live at our Transition-AI conference in April, we hear from two executives navigating all of it: Holly Adams, SVP of Energy at Beale Infrastructure, and Ian Black, SVP and Global Head of Energy at Digital Realty. They cover the similarities between renewables and data centers, the changing definition of &quot;powered land,&quot; the evolution of large load tariffs, how community opposition has grown, and the hard questions around bringing your own generation that utilities are betting developers won&#x27;t solve. Get your ticket to Latitude Media’s Flex Summit in Austin, Texas on October 14-15. Credits: Co-hosted by Stephen Lacey, Jigar Shah, and Caroline Golin. Produced and edited by Stephen Lacey, Sean Marquand, and Anne Bailey. This episode was mixed by Matthew Filler. Open Circuit is brought to you by FischTank PR, an award-winning climate and energy tech, renewables, and sustainability-focused PR firm dedicated to elevating the work of both early-stage and established companies. Learn more about their PR approach and how they can support your company’s messaging by visiting fischtankpr.com.

The new reality for data centers: no easy answers

Open Circuit

Latitude Media, covering the new frontiers of the energy transition. From Latitude Media, this is Open Circuit. For 20 years, the blueprint for data centers was simple. Find the land, get in line for power, and trust that the utility could deliver quickly. Consequently, data centers and power infrastructure got built on separate tracks, because the grid had room to spare. But that model is gone.

Today, with long lead times for equipment, multi-year interconnection queues, and the pressure to bring your own generation, it all has to be sequenced together. And that's creating a whole new set of challenges for developers. And on top of it all, public opinion has radically shifted against data centers. And it's impossible to take for granted that people will actually want you in their town. This week, we hear from two executives at the front lines of data center development to hear how they're navigating all of it.

Open Circuit is supported by Fishtank PR, an award-winning PR firm focused on climate and energy tech, renewables and sustainability. Fishtank is known for providing smart relations that connect brands to journalists on both today and tomorrow's most important energy stories. If you want a PR partner that's thoughtful, shoots straight and gets results, you'll like Fishtank PR. To learn more about Fishtank's approach, visit fishtankpr.com. That's F-I-S-C-H fishtankpr.com.

Hello, welcome to the show. I'm Stephen Lacey, the executive editor at Latitude Media. Jigar Shah and Caroline are out this 4th of July week. And in our place of our normal show, we're bringing you a conversation I moderated on stage at our Transition AI conference in April. It features two people who spent their careers in clean energy, who are now leading two major data center developers.

The new reality for data centers: no easy answers

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

The new reality for data centers: no easy answers

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.