DCD>Connect | New York 2026

Operators are racing to deploy AI, triggering the fastest, largest period of market expansion the digital infrastructure industry has ever seen. But building at scale and pace is also testing limits, with constrained grids, rising costs and increasing public scrutiny putting additional pressure on data centers to demonstrate they can sustain growth. The challenge is no longer about whether we can build capacity, it’s about whether the industry can deliver it responsibly, efficiently and with long-term resilience in mind.

This major panel explores:

• The economics of ‘speed to power’ - managing cost, capacity and interconnection bottlenecks
• Strategies for balancing speed with sustainability and compliance to build public trust
• How to plan for AI-scale operations without exhausting local grids and communities
• The role of policy and regulation in shaping responsible growth
• What choices will separate lasting market leaders from un-sustainable operations?

Liquid cooling has moved from niche to necessity as AI and high-density workloads push thermal limits beyond what air alone can handle. Yet, the industry remains divided: should operators double down on single-phase and direct-to-chip systems now, or wait for two-phase technologies to mature? This debate tackles where the tipping points are for different liquid cooling technologies, and how operators are adapting their thermal strategies in the face of rapid workload evolution.

This debate will address:

• How to define the ‘right’ approach to cooling for your operation
• When will single-phase and cold plate technologies will give way to immersion
• How standards, materials and fluid safety considerations are evolving
• The operational and commercial factors driving long-term cooling choices, and investment decisions today

Rising compute and storage densities are reshaping how data centers are built from the rack up. The once-stable balance between power, cooling, and network design is giving way to a new era where efficiency, integration, and bandwidth are pushed to their limits. As performance demands surge, operators and architects are reimagining how servers, interconnects, and fabrics can be designed to deliver more capacity within the same physical footprint. This debate explores how far existing rack architectures can stretch - and what new approaches will define the next generation of data center design.

This debate will explore:

• How high-density compute is driving changes in rack layout and connectivity
• The trade-offs between bandwidth, latency, and efficiency in rack design
• How to evolve power delivery, cooling, and cabling for next-gen hardware
• Whether today’s rack designs can scale with the pace of modern workloads

AI work loads, grid congestion, long interconnection queues, and constrained markets have triggered the need for new methods of accessing power. This Oxford-style debate asks to address: New data centers should be built and operated behind the meter (BTM) instead of in front of the meter (FTM).

• Do sustainability optics push, delay, or block builds? Does BTM vs FTM improve or worsen it?
• What are the potential community benefits (job creation, heat reuse, reliability of services)?
• How are larger build data centers approaching BTM solutions and how can hybrid models best succeed?

We’ll consider interconnection timelines, permitting, and the role of batteries in bridging constraints. Using Sli.Do, audience members will be able to pose their questions to the panel.