Akerman is a sponsor of the 2025 Solar + Wind Finance & Investment Summit presented by Infocast. The summit is the preeminent networking event for leaders in finance, solar, wind, and storage. James Grice, Co-Chair of Akerman’s Data Centers and Digital Infrastructure Practice, will moderate a panel titled “The Economics of Demand: Data Centers & Load Growth.” The panel will discuss how renewables can meet the new need for reliable, cost-effective energy, and what the load growth means for the markets. The panel will review the follow topics:

• Not just thermal replacements anymore: Does the industry need to pivot its thinking on where and how new projects get built to take into account load growth rather than thermal retirements?
• What is the impact of load growth on pricing, plans, and contracting? What solutions appear in the mix: On Site/Co-location vs PPAs/VPPAs vs REC, and do structures differ from other agreements?
• Bundling generation with data center build: how is this changing project financing, what about utility expectations and cooperation? What’s a realistic view on gas peakers and other technologies?
• What are data centers and other large energy users doing to manage their costs? Where is the line for cost reliability vs grid reliability?