Data Center World POWER 2025 Proves Power Is the New Currency of the Digital Age

Inaugural Event Sets New Benchmark for Collaboration on Grid Reliability, Sustainable Energy, and Powering the Future of AI

SAN ANTONIO, October 02, 2025–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The inaugural Data Center World POWER conference concluded this week in San Antonio, TX, marking a resounding success in uniting leaders from across the data center, energy, and infrastructure sectors. Designed to confront the most pressing challenges in digital infrastructure, the event fostered actionable dialogue on building reliable, sustainable, and scalable power solutions.

“The electrifying discussions at Data Center World POWER 2025 set a new standard for collaboration among leaders who are shaping the future of energy and digital infrastructure,” said Bill Kleyman, Executive Chair, Data Center World and CEO and Co-founder, Apolo. “This platform was intentionally designed to unite industry experts in developing actionable solutions and long-term partnerships that will define the data center landscape for decades to come.”

With its debut, Data Center World POWER firmly established itself as a must-attend forum for advancing the rapidly growing industry. The event not only elevated critical conversations but also delivered tangible strategies for navigating today’s power constraints and tomorrow’s innovations.

Data Center World POWER Key Takeaways

1. Energy Efficiency, Automation & AI-Driven Optimization: A compelling narrative centered on the new collaboration models to modernize data center development – integrating automation, AI, and advanced cooling to lower energy use – both good for the planet and the bottom line. This was further illustrated by Compass’ Chris Crosby and ERCOT’s Woody Rickerson in their keynote discussion centered around the power paradigm shift playing out in Texas as utilities and data center operators lead the charge in powering digital infrastructure to support the AI roadmap.

2. Behind-the-Meter Power Strategies & Onsite Generation: A key theme emerged around how energy has become the strategic driver of where and how data centers get built. Voltagrid’s David Bell highlighted how microgrids and behind-the-meter generation can ease grid bottlenecks, boost resilience, support sustainability goals, and give operators greater control over power reliability and operational costs.

3. Grid Modernization & Power Procurement for Hyperscalers: The rise of hyperscale demand appeared as a central focus, with industry leaders stressing the need to partner with utilities, upgrade infrastructure, and secure power contracts. As Dell Technologies Global Industries CTO & Energy Lead David Holmes noted, “we need to think about how data centers are going to be good grid citizens.” He highlighted Dell’s Project Astro initiative as a model for enabling AI workloads through grid-aware operations. Panelists agreed that more flexible load management, large-scale batteries and smarter integrations with the grid will be critical to ensure reliability and stabilize prices for all ratepayers.

4. Regulatory, Compliance & Policy Insights: A crucial theme centered on navigating environmental regulation, policy shifts, permitting challenges to advance the industry while mitigating risk. Governor Dunleavy underscored Alaska as an underexplored frontier for data centers, outlining incentive programs, land availability, and new connectivity investments intended to drive energy and infrastructure partnerships.