Explore the Agenda
7:00 am Check-In, Coffee, & Networking
8:00 am Chair’s Opening Remarks
Racing to Meet the Next Wave of Data Center Demand
8:10 am Hyperscaler & Colocator Panel: Navigating the Next Expansion Wave Across Western Hubs to Align With Future Demand & Deployment Plans
- Forecasting regional expansion plans: who is planning new builds, where, with which teams, and on what schedule?
- Understanding future data center demand and growth trajectories to accurately forecast space and power requirements, ensuring capacity planning aligns with long-term needs
- Evaluating the drivers behind data center growth over the next five years: how does cost, speed, reliability, and scalability fit into project goals and how will long-term strategic priorities align with the growing influence of AI and cloud workloads?
Multi-Region Panel
8:40 am Exploring Evolving Design Standards to Balance Flexibility, Scalability, & Speed in Next-Gen Data Centers
- Balancing repeatable designs with adaptability: how to integrate evolving technology and market changes into current and future builds
- Developing methods to introduce new cooling systems, AI-specific infrastructure, or design innovations into projects already under construction
- Designing MEP systems to handle changing density requirements within the same build cycle
- Forecasting the next 5 years of design changes: from meeting larger demands of AI-driven loads to what’s on the horizon for quantum computing
9:10 am Regional Speed Networking
10:10 am Morning Refreshments
Track 1: Evolving Data Center Construction Ecosystem
Track 2: Preconstruction & Planning
Track 3: Foundations, Core & Shell Construction
Track 4: MEP Integration, Installation & Commissioning
Track 1: Evolving Data Center Construction Ecosystem
Building Certainty Into Power & Approval Decision-Making
10:50 am Accelerating SMR Adoption as a Scalable, Carbon-Free Power Solution
Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Tackling common misconceptions about SMRs, and exploring how SMRs fit into broader decarbonization strategies, including their potential and limitations compared to other energy sources
- Exploring timelines, regional expansion plans, and the regulatory and policy shifts needed to speed adoption
- Evaluating operational realities and what the first year of an SMR coming online looks like – scenarios, challenges, and lessons from countries that have already deployed or piloted SMRs and adapting them to the U.S. context
- Exploring contracts, financing structures, and collaborations between hyperscalers, utilities, and SMR providers to bring projects to market
11:20 am Utility Panel: Evaluating How Utilities Are Delivering Sufficient Power Across Regulated vs Deregulated Western Markets
Director, San Jose Clean Energy
Principal Consultant, Seattle City Light
SVP, Advanced Energy Delivery, Portland General Electric
Data Center Strategy Manager, Arizona Public Service Company
Director - Strategic Energy Management, Salt River Project
- Evaluating utility options in regulated vs deregulated markets: who to engage, what processes to follow, and how to navigate options available
- Understanding how to collaborate with utilities and when independent power producers (IPPs) or retail energy providers (REPs) are required to meet aggressive deployment timelines
- Assessing how utilities are expanding substation and grid infrastructure, and who owns that project risk
Multi-Region Panel
Track 2: Preconstruction & Planning
Track 3: Foundations, Core & Shell Construction
Track 4: MEP Integration, Installation & Commissioning
12:00 pm Lunch Break
Track 1: Evolving Data Centre Construction Ecosystem
Track 2: Preconstruction & Planning
Track 3: Foundations, Core & Shell Construction
Track 4: MEP Integration, Installation & Commissioning
Track 1: Evolving Data Centre Construction Ecosystem
Guaranteeing Sufficient Access to Power
1:30 pm Case Study: Evaluating Shifting Loads & Liquid Cooling Deployment: What are the Construction Implications?
Senior Thermal Engineer, Google
- Exploring how AI workloads are increasing heat density and driving demand for liquid cooling
- Understanding the physical impacts of liquid cooling adoption, including weight distribution, raised floor limitations, and infrastructure retrofits
- Comparing underfloor vs overhead liquid loop routing strategies, and how operators are addressing leak containment and structural support challenges
- Sharing lessons learned from early adopters of liquid cooling: what worked, what didn’t, and what’s still unknown?
New Case Study
2:00 pm Panel: Exploring Alternative & Bridging Power Solutions to Accelerate Market Readiness with Scalable Energy Solutions
Associate Vice President - Data Center & Mission Critical Facilities, Black & Veatch
Manager of Transmission Planning, Arizona Public Service Company
- Evaluating natural gas engines, hydrogen, SMRs, fuel cells, and geothermal: what are the options for speed to market, scalability, and reduced environmental impact?
- Defining how energy choices will impact your facility’s emissions and sustainability targets
- Evaluating bridging power as both a temporary and quasi-permanent solution: can it realistically meet the required MW load for today’s high-density data halls
Multi-Region Panel
Track 2: Preconstruction & Planning
Track 3: Foundations, Core & Shell Construction
Track 4: MEP Integration, Installation & Commissioning
2:30 pm Afternoon Refreshments & Networking
Enabling Scalable Growth
3:40 pm Fireside Chat: Preparing Tomorrow’s Workforce to Meet Data Center Demands of the Future
- Examining how rising data center demand is shaping the education sector and emerging talent/training trends
- Exploring how universities are designing programs that align directly with the data center sector’s evolving demands
- Rethinking traditional training and certification models to keep pace with rapid innovation and deployment
- Transforming early-career development into long-term retention to help new hires grow and stay in the industry
Multi-Region Panel
4:40 pm Aligning State Policies, Permitting, & Approval Bottlenecks to Enable Scalable Data Center Growth
Break into regional groups to discuss early policy evolution, explore how evolving regulations – such as permitting processes, reporting requirements, and utility constraints – are impacting data center project timelines and site viability, and assess the financial risks emerging from the AI-driven race to build.
Coastal: California
Pacific Northwest: Oregon & Washington
Southwest: Arizona & New Mexico Mountain
Mountain West: Idaho, Nevada & Utah
5:10 pm Chair’s Closing Remarks
5:20 pm Advancing Data Center Construction West Happy Hour
Unwind and connect with peers at our drinks reception, an opportunity to continue the day’s conversations in a relaxed setting. Whether you’re building new partnerships or catching up with familiar faces, this is the perfect place to expand your network over drink!