Nov 10, 2026 · 32 min
Data center developers must earn power and public trust
The Times They Are A-Changin’: Where Data Center Demand Goes Next
As AI-driven demand collides with constrained power, financing risk, and community resistance, development success increasingly depends on infrastructure and persuasion together.
- 1Site selection now weighs demand, power, connectivity, politics, workforce, water, and market access rather than land alone.
- 2Funded forwards and a merchant-building model help developers manage financing volatility while prioritizing on-time, on-budget delivery.
- 3Data centers need a stronger community case, showing how energy flexibility, infrastructure investment, and broader economic benefits serve local interests.
Don't miss
Adam Kramer reframes storytelling as a core development skill, arguing that projects must clearly demonstrate how they improve a community’s future.
The brief
Adam Kramer of Panettone describes a developer-led data center strategy built on local relationships, capital connections, contractors, and hyperscaler demand—not simply acquiring land and power.
The location decision spans customer demand, grid access, connectivity, politics, workforce, water, and proximity to markets, forcing developers to balance established hubs against higher-risk future demand.
Financing volatility makes funded-forward transactions central to Panettone’s merchant-building model, allowing the company to manage interest-rate risk while concentrating on delivery.
Adaptive reuse can accelerate projects by leveraging existing infrastructure, interconnection, and remediation opportunities, while on-site generation and batteries offer flexibility where grids are constrained.
Kramer’s central challenge is reputational: developers must explain how data centers can support communities through infrastructure savings, jobs, renewable energy, and reclaimed water.
The episode closes on storytelling as a practical development skill, linking public persuasion to the ability to show communities how projects improve their future.
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