FT Live: Managing Risk in a High Energy-Demand Economy
- April 30, 2026
- 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM EDT
- Washington, D.C.
About the Event:
This high-level briefing from the Financial Times, in partnership with ABB, examines the surge in energy demand and its implications for energy-intensive digital, industrial and infrastructure sectors, and how large-scale energy consumers can adapt to current uncertainties.
It considers how organizations are responding through efficiency, optimization and system-level thinking, and what these shifts mean for competitiveness and long-term operational resilience.
Join speakers from the World Resources Institute, Global Energy Center, Atlantic Council, Utilize Coalition, Data Center Coalition (DCC), National Association of State Energy Officials and more.
Panel: Powering the AI and data boom – Energy access, infrastructure and policy alignment
The rapid expansion of AI, cloud computing and high-density data centres is driving a sharp increase in energy demand, placing growing pressure on power systems, grids and local infrastructure.
As AI workloads scale faster than energy capacity, hyperscalers, colocation providers and technology manufacturers are reassessing energy access, reliability and location strategy.
With data centres becoming critical economic infrastructure, closer alignment between technology deployment, energy systems and public policy is increasingly important.
- How is the surge in AI-driven compute demand reshaping energy requirements, site selection and investment strategy for data centres and hyperscalers?
- How are OEMs and technology providers adapting solutions for high-density, energy-intensive digital infrastructure?
- What role can policy play in enabling faster, more coordinated infrastructure development without compromising reliability or community trust?
- How should governments, industry and civil society engage to manage the local and system-wide impacts of data centre expansion?
Confirmed Speakers:
Cyre Mercedes Quiñones
Infrastructure Masons
Cy
McNeill
Federal Affairs, Data Center Coalition
Nathan
Ohle
International Economic Development Council
Cy
McGeady
Liliana
Diaz
Senior Fellow, Global Energy Center, Atlantic Council