Industry leaders gathered at Frederick Community College (FCC) on Thursday, August 29, 2024 for the Maryland Tech Council’s inaugural Data Center Summit, offering insights into the future of data center development and sustainability for Maryland.
The keynote panel, titled “Doing Data Centers Better,” was moderated by Maryland Tech Council CEO Kelly Schulz and featured Aligned Data Centers Chief Innovation Officer Phill Lawson-Shanks Rowan Digital Infrastructure Chief Executive Officer John Lucas, Quantum Loophole President and Co-Founder Scott Noteboom, and Infrastructure Masons (iMasons) Chief Executive Officer Santiago Suinaga as panelists. The panel highlighted the industry’s rapid growth and its pivot towards more sustainable practices, looking forward to the next 20 years of data center development through an Ecoscale lens in order to establish a collaborative ecosystem between industry, government and community.
Noteboom emphasized the importance of master-planned communities for data centers. He compared the current shift to master-planned data center communities to the prominence of suburban development between a Post World War II era: “It’s very similar to post-war housing and suburban populations, where people moved out of the cities, they started building suburban areas. And then in the last 20 or years or so, particularly in North America, there was a move to master planning communities, so you had a concentration of resources.”
Noteboom highlighted the benefits of master-planned data center communities, which include normalizing processes, concentrating skilled labor resources, making operations more efficient, and enabling a focus on environmental aspects. He emphasized the importance of sustainability in these master-planned communities, noting that they are “critical, because we’re such a large consumer of resources, both power and materials.”
Quantum Loophole’s master-planned approach to data center development is part of a larger industry pivot, according to Noteboom.
Lawson-Shanks also noted that “the data center industry is pivoting again.” As an American-based data center developer that specializes in building the most sustainable data centers, Aligned Data Centers is an important voice in the conversation. Lawson-Shanks remarked, “the data center industry is pivoting again. It’s pivoted many times in the last 20, 30 years, but there’s a whole new range of use cases which drives how we build, where we build, and why we build.” According to Lawson-Shanks, Aligned’s focus on sustainability is apparent in every aspect of their work, “from building, design, operations, [and] the materials we use.”
The panel discussed innovative technologies shaping the future of data centers, including increased density and advanced cooling systems. Lucas mentioned Rowan Digital Infrastructure’s focus on sustainability and carbon accounting. “We’re very glad that this project came together with true believers here,” Lucas stated, referring to their development in Maryland. “So we’re really excited to have the Frederick site be at the forefront.”
Suinaga stressed the importance of aligning industry goals up with sustainability targets. iMasons, a professional industry association with more than 6,000 participants from 130 countries around the world, is no stranger to the digital infrastructure evolution conversation. Suinaga explained, “if every piece of the equation is aligned, the priority is easier to achieve.” He also clarified that “we have many challenges to the industry to try to tackle, including education, sustainability, pollution and innovation.”
The discussion also touched on the economic impact of data centers and their role in enabling technological advancements. Panelists agreed that the industry’s growth is driven by increasing reliance on digital infrastructure across all uses and sectors.
Schulz, noted the event’s significance: “This is a generational opportunity for us to find this right, to do it better, because it is for the next generation.”
The summit, which attracted hundreds of attendees and a few protesters demonstrating against a proposed power transmission line, which is required to support sunsetting energy sources mandated by the state, underscored Maryland’s potential as a hub for data center development and highlighted the industry’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.
