Alternative Disruptors: Right-Sizing Data Centers

It’s no secret that the proliferation of AI has propelled data center demand to new heights these past two years. This resulted in unprecedented pressure on the nation’s power grid, leading developers and operators in search of new solutions. In this environment, power availability is the most important factor in developing new data centers.In this inaugural episode of Alternative Disruptors, guest Alex Stoewer, CEO of Greenlight Data Centers, drives home this point. His new company develops 'right-size' data centers, with a speed-to-market approach, capitalizing on pockets of power across the U.S., especially in smaller markets, where it can deliver modern facilities without the constraints that hyperscale projects face."For the majority of data center functions, especially now with AI and GPU-based computing, it's really all about the power," Stoewer said. "The power is the real estate. If you go and gain control of a certain amount of power in a place where a data center is viable, in a place where the latency is reasonable, and you have all the other ingredients that you need—that power is the land, effectively."What's more, Greenlight actively avoids competing with big hyperscalers for that power by targeting locations where obtaining 20 to 50 megawatts quickly is viable. Besides this availability, incentives are also a big factor in the decision-making process. Take a listen as Commercial Property Executive Senior Associate Editor Tudor Scolca-Seușan talks about these issues with Stoewer.Here's a summary of their discussion: (00:00) Welcome to Alternative Disruptors (01:27) How Greenlight Data Centers came to be (04:29) Power-first approach (06:30) Finding pockets of power across the U.S. (09:13) Due diligence (13:30) A different strategy than hyperscale (15:44) The importance of incentives (19:36) Community and economic impact (21:33) Transparency in the data center sector (23:03) Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond (25:22) Lightning round: risks, traits, and myths