Utilities & Data Centers 2021: Partnering for Sustainable Success

July 14-15, 2021 | Online ::

“The conference is right sized for networking and equipped with relevant information for anyone interested in Data Center Development.” – Manager, Member Services, Sunflower Electric Power Coop

“Great mix, great content, very interesting” – Economic Developer, Great River Energy

Data Centers are the central artery of technology, driving business through speed, capacity, and connectivity. Now more than ever, demand is changing the way we think about speed, capability, and sustainable operation. While data centers continue to improve their capacity, industry is faced with some important challenges like future proofing for the cloud, hyper scaling, and energy conservation. From changes to environmental policy and site selection to advanced technology systems, the data center community has much to discuss in this year’s Utilities and Data Center conference.

The 9^th Annual Utilities & Data Centers 2021 Conference is the exchange between energy and the data center. The flagship conference returns, bringing together co-locators, enterprise users, energy providers, construction firms and many more for a single, virtual place to network and collaborate. This year’s theme will focus on three areas – Sustainability, Technology, and Scaling. Today’s biggest leaders will share the stories, decisions, and best practices of our growing industry throughout different markets, discuss resilient systems and what it means to be “truly green”, what data centers need from their utilities to provide the best product to their enterprise customers, and how utilities are attracting and retaining new operators through mission-critical reliability standards.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the future of energy for data centers
• Share updated energy efficient data center designs and operational technologies
• Discuss different regional rate structures and utility partnerships
• Discover strategies to reduce energy & maintenance costs while improving reliability
• Hear more case studies of new technology and latest industry trends
• Identify how the global pandemic has effected data management and latency demands
• Examine fiber infrastructure needs and projects across North America
• Determine the ROI and drawbacks of possible hyper scaling
• Assess what utilities need to do to attract, retain and manage data center clients
• Create partnerships amongst utilities, data centers, local governments and service providers
• Participate in discussions around 5G, AI, Machine Learning, cloud transition, & the Edge
• Discuss major issues and needs that data center operators are facing today
• Network with a diverse range of speakers from colocation data centers to end users, utility leaders, regulators, and select vendors

Wednesday, July 14, 2021 – Central Time

9:00  – 9:15 a.m. :: AEP Executive Welcome

Robert Bradish, SVP Regulated Infrastructure Planning, Grid solutions, AEP

9:15 – 9:45 a.m. :: An Overview of Data Center Markets & Performance – Regulated and Deregulated

This session will discuss the regional differences in power costs within the United States and how these markets might evolve in the future.  Topics will include the growing renewable energy market, emerging technologies, changing regulatory landscape and the impact the 2021 Texas power crisis is having across the industry and what that means for end-use consumers.

Matt Hobson, Principal, Energy Edge Consulting

9:45 – 10:30 a.m. :: Vantage Data Centers’ Northern Virginia Campus Sustainability Journey 

Vantage is developing a 146MW, 42-acre campus in Northern Virginia that will ultimately consist of five data centers and more than one million square feet once fully developed. The campus houses a unique combination of technology – sustainable cooling and power efficiency, physical security and design flexibility. This talk will cover the customer demands driving sustainability decisions, unraveling the true meaning of sustainability and the journey to making this end-to-end project a reality, including a look at the energy solutions to meet sustainability goals. 

Steve Conner, VP, Sales and Solutions Engineering, Vantage Data Centers

10:30 – 10:45 a.m. :: Break

10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. :: Distributed Generation for the Data Center – Battery Storage, and Microgrids

Energy technologies continue to be an important factor in cost saving, reliability, and energy efficiency. Microgrids, battery storage, and distributed renewable energy investments allow data centers to create, store, and control power with unprecedented functionality – but are these technologies practical or cost effective yet? This panel will share a holistic perspective on the issue of DER integration for the data center. Hear from an implementer, electric design specialist, and data center VP of Engineering on just how far we’ve come, and what’s being done today.

Moderator: Rajan Battish, Principal, RSP Architects

Todd Gale, VP of Engineering, Flexential

Dr. Peter Lilienthal, Global Microgrid Lead, HOMER Energy by UL

Jake Millan, Sr. Project Development Manager, Tesla (Invited)

12:00 – 12:30 p.m. :: Lunch Break

12:30 – 1:15 p.m. :: Case Study: Digitalization of Electrical Switchgear Maintenance

There is a large amount of electrical distribution equipment in data centers that are among the most reliable assets in the environment, but still need maintaining. Traditional methods that rely on intrusive tests and inspections are costly, infrequent, and may increase operational or safety risk. Digitalization of common maintenance tasks offers the promise of higher reliability though continuous monitoring and fewer intrusive activities. This presentation looks at some means to achieve along with an analysis of cost and ROI.

Bob Woolley, Sr. VP of Operations, NTT Global Data Centers

1:15 – 2:30 p.m. :: New Albany Highlight: The Story of Ohio’s Emerging Data Center Hub

Central Ohio has become a vibrant metropolis of tech giants and data center investment. Major firms like Google, AWS, and Facebook have all announced development in the Columbus suburb of New Albany. As corporations grow their sustainability and capacity goals, creating a complimentary ecosystem of businesses has helped drive the growth a uniquely flourishing data center community. Hear the story of growth, partnership, and investment on this panel with leaders from the companies that made it all possible.

Jennifer Chrysler, Director of Community Development, City of New Albany

Bill Ebbing, President, New Albany Company

Tim Wells, Vice President – Sales, Economic & Business Development, American Electric Power

Rich McMunn, Site Leader, Google

Amber Tillman, Community Development Manager, Facebook

2:30 – 2:45 p.m. :: Break

2:45 – 3:30 p.m. :: Case Study: Earning Energy Savings on Data Center Efficiency Using ISO 50001

Energy management using the global ISO 50001 energy management system builds upon other well-known ISO management systems such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.   Use of ISO 50001 in the manufacturing facilities has demonstrated accelerated energy savings as opposed to more traditional energy project implementation approaches; 4-5% per year savings versus 1-2.5% per year savings.  Iron Mountain Data Centers (IMDC) was an early adopter of ISO 50001 in the data center community, with their first data center locations certified in 2017. Currently, their entire global data center portfolio is certified under both ISO 50001 and ISO 14001, demonstrating industry leadership in both energy and environmental management. Since 2017, and through a considerable expansion of scope, IMDC has found that ISO 50001 has offered many benefits, including, for example, improving PUE at some sites as much as 20%, and contributing to the formal tracking and audit of renewable energy as they maintain being powered by 100% green power. The ISO 50001 standard will be described along with some useful free tools from the U.S. Department of Energy. 

Paul Scheihing, Principal, 50001 Strategies LLC.

Jim Henry, Manager, Global Compliance, Iron Mountain Data Centers

Dr. Rob Ellis, Founder and Majority Principal, Advanced Waste Management (AWM)

3:30 – 4:45 p.m. :: Keynote Panel: Infrastructure Efficiency, Reliability, and Scaling

As the drive for data center sustainability enters a new and more urgent phase, what are the next frontiers beyond efficiency and renewable energy sourcing? Here is a look at the technologies, strategies and best practices we are watching at the Data Center Frontier – from industry’s pioneering leaders. A few of the featured topics:

• Site selection: “what attracts data centers”
• Developing sustainable partnerships
• Investing into renewable generation
• Energy efficient design projects including natural gas gen, power autonomy, and dedicated substations
• Fiber infrastructure updates
• Practical technology for deployment overview

Moderator: Bob Woolley, Sr. VP of Operations, NTT Global Data Centers

Travis Wright, VP, Energy & Sustainability, QTS Data Centers

Buddy Rizer, Executive Director, Loudoun County Virginia (Data Center Alley)

Brent Mitchell, Sr. Manager, Data Center Services, PayPal

Peter Freed, Head of Energy Strategy, Facebook

Thursday, July 15, 2021 – Central Time

9:00 – 10:15 a.m. :: The IT Landscape – The Update & New Considerations

Is future proof even real anymore? High density cooling, OCP and other evolving standards, more powerful appliances, and of course The Edge. It is hard to keep up with the demand these new solutions require. As well as greater focus on resiliency, TCO/ROI and energy efficiency.  And let’s throw in a global pandemic…

In this new era, utilities cannot rely on technologies and practices from 20 years ago.  Or even 5 years past.  New applications, the enormous demands placed on the grid with the exponential growth of Internet usage in the age of COVID 19.  Moving from the enterprise space to the hyper-local Edge installation all demand a re-thinking of what the IT space should look like.  While the core components remain the same, we must rethink how we specify and install enclosures, power, climate control and related accessories.

This presentation will

• Update trends and applications
• Re-define core requirements to maximize reliability
• Identify new standards
• Provide infrastructure solutions for your next IT installation

Herb Villa, Systems Consultant – Data Center Solutions, Rittal North America LLC

10:15 – 10:30 a.m. :: Break

10:30 – 11:00 a.m. :: KEYNOTE: The Cloud and How Innovation is Shaping Our Industry

In this novel talk, Bill will share on emerging technologies that are driving the modern data center. From hyper scale to cloud, robotics, automation, and data center design, this talk will address how to develop and integrate digital solutions that work. Bill will also talk about the growing Switch network and its advanced technology use cases.

Bill Kleyman, Executive Vice President of Digital Solutions, Switch

11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. :: Understanding Edge Computing, AI, Machine Learning & 5G

• Edge Computing: Connected devices, connected living/homes, AI, gaming and video streaming, autonomous cars, and virtual and augmented reality will propel edge data centers.
• Artificial Intelligence: Surging AI usage in data centers will lead to demand for advanced electronics and specialists in AI-based solutions for data center applications and architecture.
• New Capabilities: As data processing takes place close to the source, the processing time reduces. This will augment technologies like autonomous vehicles, smart devices and sensors, augmented reality, etc.
• Geographic Expansion and Partnerships: Market participants need to focus on high-growth, emerging markets, like India and Southeast Asia, where data creation is still in the nascent stage and data center construction in its infancy. Similarly, partnerships with colocation and cloud service providers will give equipment manufacturers access to new data center construction markets, providing them the much-needed boost.

Moderator: Bill Kleyman, Executive Vice President of Digital Solutions, Switch

Herb Villa, Systems Consultant – Data Center Solutions, Rittal North America LLC

Brad Kilbey, Sr. Vice President of Networks – East Region, Zayo Group

Steve Conner, VP, Sales & Solutions Engineering, Vantage Data Center

12:15 p.m. :: Conference Concludes

• Rajan Battish, Principal, RSP Architects

• Robert Bradish, SVP Regulated Infrastructure Planning, Grid solutions, AEP

• Jennifer Chrysler, Director of Community Development, City of New Albany

• Steve Conner, VP, Sales & Solutions Engineering, Vantage Data Center

• Bill Ebbing, President, New Albany Company

• Dr. Rob Ellis, Founder and Majority Principal, Advanced Waste Management (AWM)

• Peter Freed, Head of Energy Strategy, Facebook

• Todd Gale, VP of Engineering, Flexential

• Jim Henry, Manager, Global Compliance, Iron Mountain Data Centers

• Matt Hobson, Principal, Energy Edge Consulting

• Brad Kilbey, Sr. Vice President of Networks – East Region, Zayo Group

• Bill Kleyman, Executive Vice President of Digital Solutions, Switch

• Dr. Peter Lilienthal, Global Microgrid Lead, HOMER Energy by UL

• Rich McMunn, Site Leader, Google

• Jake Millan, Sr. Project Development Manager, Tesla (Invited)

• Brent Mitchell, Sr. Manager, Data Center Services, PayPal

• Buddy Rizer, Executive Director, Loudoun County Virginia (Data Center Alley)

• Paul Scheihing, Principal, 50001 Strategies LLC.

• Amber Tillman, Community Development Manager, Facebook

• Herb Villa, Systems Consultant – Data Center Solutions, Rittal North America LLC

• Tim Wells, Vice President – Sales, Economic & Business Development, American Electric Power

• Bob Woolley, Sr. VP of Operations, NTT Global Data Centers

• Travis Wright, VP, Energy & Sustainability, QTS Data Centers

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

• IMPORTANT NOTE: After November 30 you will not be able to join a Teams meeting using Internet Explorer 11. Microsoft recommends downloading and installing the Teams app if possible. You may also use the Edge browser or Chrome.
• You will receive a meeting invitation will include a link to join the meeting.
• Separate meeting invitations will be sent for the morning and afternoon sessions of the course.
  • You will need to join the appropriate meeting at the appropriate time.
• If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.
• The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

Utilities & Data Centers 2021: Partnering for Sustainable Success

July 14-15, 2021 | Online

Your registration may be transferred to a member of your organization up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Cancellations must be received on or before June 11, 2021 in order to be refunded and will be subject to a US $195.00 processing fee per registrant. No refunds will be made after this date. Cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event. This credit will be good for six months from the cancellation date. In the event of non-attendance, all registration fees will be forfeited. In case of conference cancellation, EUCIs liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at 303-770-8800

Credits

EUCI is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 1.0 CEUs for this event.

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program

Participants must sign in/out each day, be in attendance for the entirety of the course

Instructional Methods

Power Point presentations and open discussion will be used

Who should Attend?

• IT Infrastructure/Management
• Facilities Management
• Cloud Architects
• Engineers, Architects, Consultants
• Operations, Network Security, and Storage Professionals
• C-Level Executives

SVPs, Directors, Managers and Heads of:

Utilities Professionals

• Economic Development
• Marketing
• Business Development
• Information Technology
• Engineers
• Operations
• Data Center Operations
• Reliability & Resiliency

Data Center Operators / Owners

• Operations
• Strategic Partnerships
• Energy Efficiency
• Infrastructure and Architecture
• Innovation
• Engineering
• Site Selection
• Economic Development
• Marketing
• Design
• Data Center Strategy
• Data Center Operations
• Renewable Energy Initiatives
• Data Center Architecture
• IT Architecture
• Business Development

Enterprise Data Center Customers / End-Users

• IT Architecture
• Data Center Strategy
• Cloud IT & Architecture
• Big Data
• Information Technology
• CISO
• CIO
• Co-Location
• Data Center Managers

State & Regional Economic Development professionals