Webinar Series: Navigating the Data Center Boom: Rethinking Contracts, Risk, and Regulatory Strategy for 2026 and Beyond

As AI continues to drive unprecedented demand for data center capacity, developers, owners, operators, and capital providers must revisit their project delivery, contracting, permitting, and stakeholder strategies. Traditional risk allocation and deal structures are antiquating under energy constraints, interconnection delays, supply chain pressure, and evolving federal and state regulatory frameworks around air, water, and large load power usage.

This three part webinar series brings together Troutman Pepper Locke construction, energy, environmental, and real estate attorneys to explore how these dynamics are reshaping the data center landscape in 2026 and beyond. Each session will provide practical perspectives on how market participants are reallocating risk, structuring contracts, and positioning projects to remain bankable and scalable in a rapidly changing environment.

CLE credit will be available.

Session 1 – Rewriting the Rules: 2026 Data Center Contracting & Risk Allocation for AI-Driven Facilities

Tuesday, March 31 | 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET | Zoom

Click here to register.

Speakers: Jason Spang, Vaughn Morrison, Brandon Lobb, Carl Bivens
Moderator: Jamey Collidge

As AI-driven workloads push data centers to unprecedented levels of scale and power intensity, traditional construction and real estate risk allocation are being rewritten. Join us for a practical, cross-disciplinary discussion of how operators, contractors, and power providers are reshaping contracts for data center projects — from interconnection and schedule risk to supply chain pressure and innovative, behind-the-meter power solutions.

Key Topics:

• Power and Grid Risk: How contracts address interconnection delays, power constraints, and “grid risk” across the project stack.
• Supply Chain and Price Volatility: Tools to manage long-lead equipment, early procurement, tariff developments, and pricing swings while preserving budget certainty.
• Standards, Compliance, and Liability: Balancing schedule pressure with equipment standards, code compliance, and risk allocation.
• Construction in Live Facilities: Approaches to outage planning, uptime exposure, and SLAs when building in operating data centers.
• Hybrid and Behind-the-Meter Power: Contracting for campus, modular, and alternative power solutions while managing interface and performance risk.

Session 2 – Permitting and Regulatory Challenges and Uncertainty

Tuesday, April 21 | 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET | Zoom

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Speakers: Mack McGuffey, Melissa Horne, Casey Bell, Ben Cowan
Moderator: Jamey Collidge

Driven by the rapid expansion of AI and other digital infrastructure, data centers are facing heightened regulatory scrutiny over energy use, emissions, and community impacts. This webinar will explore the latest environmental and infrastructure considerations that influence project timelines, siting decisions, and risk allocation in high growth markets, including how emerging regulatory frameworks may influence permitting strategies and utility relationships.

Key Topics:

• Major vs. Minor Air Permits: Understanding the differences between major and minor air permits, and how those classifications affect project timelines, costs, and flexibility.
• Air Permitting Challenges: The likelihood and mechanics of air permit challenges, and how appeals, public comments, and litigation can impact project schedules and stakeholder engagement.
• Air Quality and Site Selection: How existing local air quality and attainment status should factor into siting decisions, permitting risk, and long-term expansion potential.
• Temporary Power Options – Turbines vs. Engines: Comparing emissions and permitting implications of portable turbines and reciprocating engines for temporary power.
• Managing Curtailment and Outages: Strategies to address curtailment and power outages, and how these risks influence project design, contracting, and operational planning.
• Other Permitting and Site Selection Considerations: Understanding how wildlife, natural resources, and other environmental liability and permitting matters influence site selection decisions.
• Local, State, and Federal Regulations: An overview of state and federal legislative efforts to pause or restrict data center construction.

CLE credit will be available.

Session 3 – Navigating Power, Capital, and Construction in Data Center Development

Thursday, May 14 | 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET | Zoom

Click here to register.

Speakers: Jason Spang, Matt Dials, Cindy DeLisi, Shelli Willis
Moderator: Jamey Collidge

In a market defined by power constraints, regulatory flux, and rapid technological change, data center owners, operators, and capital providers are rethinking how they structure, finance, and deliver projects. Join us for a candid discussion of the key risks and considerations shaping the next wave of data center development and what each party to a project needs to understand to navigate them.

Key Topics:

• Getting a Project Off the Ground: How identifying the right tenant or end user, securing power, and assembling the right team vary depending on the project type and structure.
• Power as the Central Risk: How power availability and sourcing shape every aspect of a project, from site selection and financing to construction sequencing and lease structuring.
• Financing and Bankability: What lenders, investors, and capital providers are looking for in a data center project and what uncertainties are affecting their evaluations.
• Construction, Procurement, and Delivery: The risks and considerations that arise when coordinating early equipment purchases, phased delivery, and nontraditional project structures.
• Risk, Performance, and Project Completion: How parties are thinking about schedule risk, performance standards, commissioning, default, and termination.

CLE credit will be available.