2025 Agenda
The inaugural DPX program will feature a groundbreaking lifecycle framework to address the collision between data center growth and grid modernization. Structured around three critical phases—Site Selection, Development, and Operations—the agenda integrates cross-sector dialogue, regulatory alignment, and technical innovation.
Check back for updates – additional details and speakers will be added as they are finalized.
Tuesday, October 28
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM | Opening Keynote Breakfast: Hyperscale Demand & Federal Policy Synergy
A high-level framing session that brings together federal energy leadership and a senior hyperscale executive to spotlight how AI-driven data center growth is colliding with the realities of grid and siting constraints.
Key themes will include:
- Forecasting gaps between utilities and hyperscalers
- Site selection pressures and infrastructure readiness
- Federal actions to align permitting, interconnection, and capacity planning
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Networking Break & Solutions Showcase
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Lifecycle Phase 1: Site Selection
Modernizing Grid Infrastructure & Addressing Transmission Bottlenecks
An exploration of current grid limitations, slow transmission expansion, and how regional resource adequacy gaps are delaying site viability. The session will include examples of how developers are working around these limitations and where new planning frameworks may help.
Reforming Interconnection Queues & Enhancing Transparency
A discussion of queue backlogs, congestion issues, and the need for procedural transparency. Perspectives from ISOs, developers, and grid planners will highlight what’s being piloted, what’s working, and where coordination continues to break down.
Regulatory & Market Frameworks: Merchant vs. Regulated Debate
How power market structure—regulated vs. merchant—shapes siting timelines, access to generation, and procurement risk. This session will clarify how state and regional market differences affect developer decisions and infrastructure buildout.
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM | Networking Lunch & Solutions Showcase
Open networking alongside a curated set of infrastructure solution providers. Vendors will have an opportunity to showcase tools for forecasting, dispatchable capacity, permitting workflow automation, and on-site generation or storage solutions.
1:30 PM – 3:30 PM | Lifecycle Phase 2: Development
Streamlining Permitting & Workforce Alignment
How slow and fragmented permitting processes—especially across state, federal, and local jurisdictions—remain a gating factor for infrastructure deployment. Session will include examples of cross-agency alignment and will also address the acute shortage of skilled labor in utility engineering, grid integration, and construction.
Advancing On-Site Power & Dispatchable Generation
A technical and strategic review of dispatchable generation options including engines and gas turbines, SMRs, geothermal, CHP, and gas-battery hybrids. The session will examine how developers are integrating these technologies into project designs and the new commercial models that support them.
Managing Policy Risk & Unlocking Financing Solutions
How developers and operators are navigating uncertainty in tax policy, interconnection incentives, and regional market volatility. Presenters will unpack infrastructure finance strategies including capital stacking, tax equity, and resilience monetization.
Regulatory Roundup: How States Are Responding to Load Growth
Examples of how public utility commissions and state legislatures are addressing regulatory issues in response to accelerated data center expansion and grid strain.
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM | Networking Break & Solutions Showcase
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM | Lifecycle Phase 3: Operations
AI-Driven Grid Modernization & Predictive Forecasting
How AI is transforming load forecasting, power quality modeling, and real-time system operations. Session will highlight commercial and research deployments of AI tools and address how utilities, RTOs, and hyperscalers are adapting to emerging capabilities.
Designing Resilient Sites with Colocation & Edge Capabilities
How hyperscalers and developers are thinking about modular design, regional interconnection flexibility, latency sensitivity, and backup power as they expand AI and edge workloads. The session will offer practical design strategies and address regulatory and partnership considerations.
5:30 PM – 6:00 PM | Closing Keynote: Federal Action & Industry Synthesis
A forward-looking synthesis from a senior DOE or FERC official. Topics may include near-term federal actions on transmission, permitting, financing, and interconnection; as well as longer-term national strategies to support digital infrastructure resilience, AI deployment, and grid decarbonization.
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Networking Reception
Schedule of Events
Monday, October 27 | |
|---|---|
| Plan to arrive in Denver |
Tuesday, October 28 | |
|---|---|
| 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Registration Open |
| 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM | Opening Keynote & Breakfast: Hyperscale Demand & Federal Policy Synergy |
| 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Networking Break & Solutions Showcase |
| 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM | Conference Sessions: Lifecycle Phase 1: Site Selection |
| 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM | Networking Lunch & Solutions Showcase |
| 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM | Conference Sessions: Lifecycle Phase 2: Development |
| 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM | Networking Break & Solutions Showcase |
| 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM | Conference Sessions: Lifecycle Phase 3: Operations |
| 5:30 PM – 6:00 PM | Closing Keynote: Federal Action & Industry Synthesis |
| 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Networking Reception |
| 7:00 PM onward | Independent Dinners and After-Hours Networking* |
*Connect with colleagues, peers, and new contacts over dinner or explore nearby local venues for informal networking.
Schedule subject to change.
Thought Leadership Partners
Contact Us
Marisa Nicholson
Group Show Director
[email protected]
Ellen Nyboer
Event Sales Director
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Nikki Puckett
Sr. Marketing Director
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