The Data Center Frontier Show

• Scaling AI: Adaptive Reuse, Power-Rich Sites, and the New GPU Frontier

  In this panel session from the 2025 Data Center Frontier Trends Summit (Aug. 26-28) in Reston, Va., JLL’s Sean Farney moderates a high-energy panel on how the industry is fast-tracking AI capacity in a world of power constraints, grid delays, and record-low vacancy. Under the banner “Scaling AI: The Role of Adaptive Reuse and Power-Rich Sites in GPU Deployment,” the discussion dives into why U.S. colocation vacancy is hovering near 2%, how power has become the ultimate limiter on AI revenue, and what it really takes to stand up GPU-heavy infrastructure at speed. Schneider Electric’s Lovisa Tedestedt, Aligned Data Centers’ Phill Lawson-Shanks, and Sapphire Gas Solutions’ Scott Johns unpack the real-world strategies they’re deploying today—from adaptive reuse of industrial sites and factory-built modular systems, to behind-the-fence natural gas, microgrids, and emerging hydrogen and RNG pathways. Along the way, they explore the coming “AI inference edge,” the rebirth of the enterprise data center, and how AI is already being used to optimize data center design and operations. During this talk, you’ll learn: * Why record-low vacancy and long interconnection queues are reshaping AI deployment strategy. * How adaptive reuse of legacy industrial and commercial real estate can unlock gigawatt-scale capacity and community benefits. * The growing role of liquid cooling, modular skids, and grid-to-chip efficiency in getting more power to GPUs. * How behind-the-meter gas, virtual pipelines, and microgrids are bridging multi-year grid delays. * Why many experts expect a renaissance of enterprise data centers for AI inference at the edge. Moderator: Sean Farney, VP, Data Centers, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Panelists: Tony Grayson, General Manager, Northstar Lovisa Tedestedt, Strategic Account Executive – Cloud & Service Providers, Schneider Electric Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Innovation Officer, Aligned Data Centers Scott Johns, Chief Commercial Officer, Sapphire Gas Solutions

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• Bridging the Data Center Power Gap: Utilities, On-Site Power, and the AI Buildout

  Recorded live at the 2025 Data Center Frontier Trends Summit in Reston, VA, this panel brings together leading voices from the utility, IPP, and data center worlds to tackle one of the defining issues of the AI era: power. Moderated by Buddy Rizer, Executive Director of Economic Development for Loudoun County, the session features: Jeff Barber, VP Global Data Centers, Bloom Energy Bob Kinscherf, VP National Accounts, Constellation Stan Blackwell, Director, Data Center Practice, Dominion Energy Joel Jansen, SVP Regulated Commercial Operations, American Electric Power David McCall, VP of Innovation, QTS Data Centers Together they explore how hyperscale and AI workloads are stressing today’s grid, why transmission has become the critical bottleneck, and how on-site and behind-the-meter solutions are evolving from “bridge power” into strategic infrastructure. The panel dives into the role of gas-fired generation and fuel cells, emerging options like SMRs and geothermal, the realities of demand response and curtailment, and what it will take to recruit the next generation of engineers into this rapidly changing ecosystem. If you want a grounded, candid look at how energy providers and data center operators are working together to unlock new capacity for AI campuses, this conversation is a must-listen.

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• AI for Good: Building for AI Workloads and Using AI for Smarter Data Centers

  Live from the Data Center Frontier Trends Summit 2025 – Reston, VA In this episode, we bring you a featured panel from the Data Center Frontier Trends Summit 2025 (Aug. 26-28), sponsored by Schneider Electric. DCF Editor in Chief Matt Vincent moderates a fast-paced, highly practical conversation on what “AI for good” really looks like inside the modern data center—both in how we build for AI workloads and how we use AI to run facilities more intelligently. Expert panelists included: Steve Carlini, VP, Innovation and Data Center Energy Management Business, Schneider Electric Sudhir Kalra, Chief Data Center Operations Officer, Compass Datacenters Andrew Whitmore, VP of Sales, Motivair Together they unpack: How AI is driving unprecedented scale—from megawatt data halls to gigawatt AI “factories” and 100–600 kW rack roadmaps What Schneider and NVIDIA are learning from real-world testing of Blackwell and NVL72-class reference designs Why liquid cooling is no longer optional for high-density AI, and how to retrofit thousands of brownfield, air-cooled sites How Compass is using AI, predictive analytics, and condition-based maintenance to cut manual interventions and OPEX The shift from “constructing” to assembling data centers via modular, prefab approaches The role of AI in grid-aware operations, energy storage, and more sustainable build and operations practices Where power architectures, 800V DC, and industry standards will take us over the next five years If you want a grounded, operator-level view into how AI is reshaping data center design, cooling, power, and operations—beyond the hype—this DCF Trends Summit session is a must-listen.

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• Flex on the Future of AI-Scale Data Centers: Integrated, Modular, and Ready to Deploy

  On this episode of The Data Center Frontier Show, Editor in Chief Matt Vincent sits down with Rob Campbell, President of Flex Communications, Enterprise & Cloud, and Chris Butler, President of Flex Power, to unpack Flex’s bold new integrated data center platform as unveiled at the 2025 OCP Global Summit. Flex says the AI era has broken traditional data center models, pushing power, cooling, and compute to the point where they can no longer be engineered separately. Their answer is a globally manufactured, pre-engineered platform that unifies these components into modular pods and skids, designed to cut deployment timelines by up to 30 percent and support gigawatt-scale AI campuses. Rob and Chris explain how Flex is blending JetCool’s chip-level liquid cooling with scalable rack-level CDUs; how higher-voltage DC architectures (400V today, 800V next) will reshape power delivery; and why Flex’s 110-site global manufacturing footprint gives it a unique advantage in speed and resilience. They also explore Flex’s lifecycle intelligence strategy, the company’s circular-economy approach to modular design, and their view of the “data center of 2030”—a landscape defined by converged power and IT, liquid cooling as default, and modular units capable of being deployed in 30–60 days. It’s a deep look at how one of the world’s largest manufacturers plans to redefine AI-scale infrastructure.

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• Powering the AI Era: Inside Next-Gen Data Centers

  Artificial intelligence is completely changing how data centers are built and operated. What used to be relatively stable IT environments are now turning into massive power ecosystems. The main reason is simple — AI workloads need far more computing power, and that means far more energy. We’re already seeing a sharp rise in total power consumption across the industry, but what’s even more striking is how much power is packed into each rack. Not long ago, most racks were designed for 5 to 15 kilowatts. Today, AI-heavy setups are hitting 50 to 70 kW, and the next generation could reach up to 1 megawatt per rack. That’s a huge jump — and it’s forcing everyone in the industry to rethink power delivery, cooling, and overall site design. At those levels, traditional AC power distribution starts to reach its limits. That’s why many experts are already discussing a move toward high-voltage DC systems, possibly around 800 volts. DC systems can reduce conversion losses and handle higher densities more efficiently, which makes them a serious option for the future. But with all this growth comes a big question: how do we stay responsible? Data centers are quickly becoming some of the largest power users on the planet. Society is starting to pay attention, and communities near these sites are asking fair questions — where will all this power come from, and how will it affect the grid or the environment? Building ever-bigger data centers isn’t enough; we need to make sure they’re sustainable and accepted by the public. The next challenge is feasibility. Supplying hundreds of megawatts to a single facility is no small task. In many regions, grid capacity is already stretched, and new connections take years to approve. Add the unpredictable nature of AI power spikes, and you’ve got a real engineering and planning problem on your hands. The only realistic path forward is to make data centers more flexible — to let them pull energy from different sources, balance loads dynamically, and even generate some of their own power on-site. That’s where ComAp’s systems come in. We help data center operators manage this complexity by making it simple to connect and control multiple energy sources — from renewables like solar or wind, to backup generators, to grid-scale connections. Our control systems allow operators to build hybrid setups that can adapt in real time, reduce emissions, and still keep reliability at 100%. Just as importantly, ComAp helps with the grid integration side. When a single data center can draw as much power as a small city, it’s no longer just a “consumer” — it becomes part of the grid ecosystem. Our technology helps make that relationship smoother, allowing these large sites to interact intelligently with utilities and maintain overall grid stability. And while today’s discussion is mostly around AC power, ComAp is already ready for the DC future. The same principles and reliability that have powered AC systems for decades will carry over to DC-based data centers. We’ve built our solutions to be flexible enough for that transition — so operators don’t have to wait for the technology to catch up. In short, AI is driving a complete rethink of how data centers are powered. The demand and density will keep rising, and the pressure to stay responsible and sustainable will only grow stronger. The operators who succeed will be those who find smart ways to integrate different energy sources, keep efficiency high, and plan for the next generation of infrastructure. That’s the space where ComAp is making a real difference.

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