Here's an audio recording of Session 11 from the inaugural Data Center Frontier Trends Summit, held Sept 4-6, 2024, in Reston, Virginia.
Session Description from 2024 DCF Trends Summit Program:
Keynote Panel: Key Opportunities in Sustainable, Renewable Data Center Onsite Power Generation
This panel will explore the imperative for data centers to develop their onsite generation strategies in the face of escalating power scarcity. Brian Jabeck, VP of Data Centers at Enchanted Rock, will examine how new, flexible approaches to grid integration are imperative. Utilities can address new customer load demand by offering a flexible tariff or connection process. Meanwhile, data centers bring their own generation resource—flexible capacity—and operate it when called by the utility in exchange for an accelerated grid connection.
The panel will then tackle the topic of harnessing hydrogen fuel cells to provide uninterrupted power, eliminating reliance on traditional grids and fossil fuels. EdgeCloudLink (ECL) VP of Strategy Yinon Eliaz will address possibilities for off-power-grid, hydrogen-powered data centers. Meanwhile, Bloom Energy VP of Data Centers Jeff Barber will highlight how circular economy principles are transforming data centers into greener facilities, while emphasizing the importance of sustainable alternative power solutions that can be used in combination with traditional energy sources to immediately address carbon emissions and the power dilemma the industry is presently battling. This panel will be moderated by Stefan Raab, Sr. Director of Market Development, AMER for Equinix.
