Onsite Generation: Beating the Power & Interconnect Queue for AI
March 26th, 2026
2:00 PM ET / 1:00 PM CT / 11:00 AM PT / 7:00 PM GMT
Duration: 1 hour
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Summary
AI infrastructure growth is now constrained less by demand than by power availability. Across North America, interconnection queues and transmission bottlenecks are delaying new data center projects just as hyperscale and AI deployments accelerate, creating urgent demand for alternative approaches that allow developers and operators to deliver capacity on faster, more predictable timelines.
In response, onsite and behind-the-meter generation is rapidly shifting from contingency planning to a primary strategy for enabling AI-scale development. Rather than waiting years for grid upgrades and transmission expansion, operators are increasingly deploying onsite power solutions that allow campuses to launch sooner, scale in phases, and maintain long-term operational resilience.
This Data Center Frontier editorial webinar will examine how data center developers, operators, energy strategists, and power infrastructure providers are addressing grid constraints and accelerating AI infrastructure deployment. Panelists will explore how natural gas generation, fuel cells, renewables paired with energy storage, and hybrid utility models are being deployed to overcome interconnection delays while aligning with evolving sustainability, reliability, and cost expectations.
Drawing on perspectives from data center operations, utility engagement, power market strategy, and infrastructure development, the discussion will examine how energy planning is reshaping site selection, campus development timelines, and long-term infrastructure economics in the era of AI-scale computing.
Speakers
Thomas Bailey
Vice President of Energy
Flexential
Thomas Bailey is Vice President of Energy at Flexential, where he leads utility engagement and energy capacity planning to support the company’s expanding data center development pipeline. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the utility sector, most recently serving as Area Vice President at Xcel Energy. During his tenure at Xcel Energy, Bailey developed strategic partnerships with data center customers and led initiatives to plan and deliver approximately 2.5 gigawatts of power capacity to support data center growth over the next decade. At Flexential, he focuses on strengthening utility relationships and coordinating the energy infrastructure required to accelerate deployment of enterprise and AI-ready digital infrastructure.
Fengrong Li, CFA, CIRA
Senior Managing Director, Power, Renewables & Energy Transition
FTI Consulting
Fengrong Li is a Senior Managing Director in FTI Consulting’s Power, Renewables & Energy Transition practice, advising companies, investors, and infrastructure developers on energy strategy, project financing, asset valuation, and market risk. She brings more than 20 years of experience across the energy value chain, with expertise in power markets, grid strategy, and resilient low-carbon infrastructure. Li has led engagements involving M&A, valuation, restructuring, and expert testimony before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Prior to FTI Consulting, she spent 13 years at Siemens leading energy infrastructure initiatives. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.
Bruno Berti
Senior Vice President, Global Product Management
NTT Global Data Centers
Bruno Berti is Senior Vice President of Global Product Management at NTT Global Data Centers, where he leads the strategy and development of the company’s global colocation and digital infrastructure service portfolio. With more than two decades of experience across the data center, SaaS, and telecommunications sectors, he focuses on delivering scalable infrastructure platforms that support hyperscale, enterprise, and AI-driven workloads. Prior to joining NTT, Berti held senior leadership roles at SunGard Availability Services and Meridian Systems, where he worked on disaster recovery solutions, enterprise software platforms, and product strategy for mission-critical infrastructure services.
Nick Kruse
COO
GPC Infrastructure
A Georgia Tech trained chemical engineer, Nick started his career in chemical manufacturing where he held senior roles in engineering and operations including the design, construction, commissioning, and operation of large-scale gas fired cogeneration assets. Nick worked at Arkema in numerous technical roles, where he oversaw multiple large scale capital projects and directly managed the contracted EPC from initial conceptual design, through facility commissioning. Nick went on to form a successful crypto mining business with a peak connected load of 1.2MW before joining H2O Midstream, where he led various commercial and technical functions, including infrastructure planning and logistics
Moderator
