Market Briefing - Engineering Sustainability: Managing Power & Water Resources in Data Centers (Hosted by the Market Intel Committee)-Market Briefing - Engineering Sustainability Managing Power & Water Resources in Data Centers Recording

Market Briefing - Engineering Sustainability Managing Power & Water Resources in Data Centers Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The webinar, hosted by Diana O'Lear from the American Council of Engineering Companies and sponsored by Morris Secordale, featured experts discussing sustainable engineering and management of power and water for data centers. Panelists included Sean Doherty (Dominion Energy), Brian Smith (Idaho National Laboratory), and Michelle DeBlasi (environmental attorney and executive director of the Arizona Energy Consortium). Key topics included Dominion Energy’s efforts to meet Northern Virginia’s rising energy demands with a diverse energy mix—nuclear, solar, wind, natural gas, and hydro—and infrastructure upgrades to ensure reliability. Brian Smith highlighted the potential of advanced nuclear technologies, especially small modular reactors (SMRs), for cost-effective, compact, and safe energy generation suitable for co-location with AI data centers, including DOE initiatives to site such centers on federal lands. Michelle DeBlasi addressed regulatory challenges impacting data center development, particularly environmental and air quality laws, and emphasized water use efficiency improvements and innovative cooling technologies. The panel also discussed backup power solutions, local zoning challenges (NIMBYism), and the role of emerging concepts like distributed edge data centers. Overall, the conversation underscored collaborative efforts across utilities, government, and industry to advance sustainable, reliable energy and water resource solutions for rapid data center growth.

Keywords

sustainable engineering

data centers

power management

water management

Dominion Energy

small modular reactors

regulatory challenges

cooling technologies

distributed edge data centers