Here's an audio recording of Session 1 from the inaugural Data Center Frontier Trends Summit, held Sept 4-6, 2024, in Reston, Virginia.
Session Description from 2024 DCF Trends Summit Program:
A Symbiotic Approach to Data Center Development: Community, Industry, Government Relations
Data center developments are having their day. Yet community backlash over environmental and other concerns are rising -- and all the while, demand is skyrocketing. With energy and power companies grappling to support enormous forecast requirements, and a lack of public awareness of why these facilities are needed in the communities they serve - along with the economic benefits that they can bring - the industry has a real problem. How can it be solved?
Led by Buddy Rizer, Director of Economic Development for Virginia's Loudoun County, this session will explore the threat to data center developments, while taking an honest look at how we got here -- and what we need to do, as an industry, to be better stewards of the land we develop, and the industries we enable. Attendees will learn why it's important to start communications and PR efforts before land is bought, and how associations and other champions of industry can coalesce to educate about the need for data centers.
The discussion will also discern the great importance of environmental stewardship in data center developers' approach to ensure a healthy ecosystem in the communities they serve.
