Connect | Virginia // Debate: Is the AI infrastructure boom investment in energy in disguise?
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- Energy Summit | Spotlight Stage | Lansdowne Ballroom
- Energy & Sustainability
- Mission Critical Power
- Open Session
Speakers
Justin Jordan
Head of Data Center Growth & Development, Galaxy
Rachel Rosenfeld
Senior Counsel, Norton Rose Fulbright
Richard Choe
Executive Director, Equity Research , JP Morgan
Data center investment strategies have evolved into energy-first models where securing power serves as a catalyst for securing capital. In the backdrop of grid constraints on AI infrastructure, financiers and developers need to think beyond the physical data center to consider stranded assets, gas plants, SMRs, and more to meet demand. AI is blurring the lines between site selection, real estate financing, and energy, triggering innovation in financing structures. This debate will consider:
- As commercial banks reach their limits, will the private credit markets be sufficient to support AI’s future?
- Understanding what institutional investors need from data centers for it to become an established asset class
- What secondary markets are poised to take the next data center spotlight?
- Discerning real projects from speculative opportunities