Powering the future: Navigating the intersection of energy and data in modern data centers
With over 20 years of experience in the energy sector, Justin DeAngelis, Partner in the International Power Fund, will be speaking on The Debt & Equity Capital Stack session at IMN's Data Centers Power Capital conference. Justin shares early insights on the evolving intersection of energy and data, and the strategies shaping the future of power infrastructure for data centers.
How is your power strategy evolving to meet the 'build, bring, or buy' mandate, and how are you managing the upfront infrastructure costs?
Our overall power strategy hasn’t actually evolved at all to meet the requirements of today. We have always looked to create power solutions by building or buying, low cost, reliable large scale power assets. Where there has been an evolution is in our network. Up until a couple of years ago, we did not normally communicate with data center operators or hyperscalers, but now they are the ultimate customers. We are not looking to build data centers, but rather to help enable data centers by developing, building, owning and operating the power infrastructure that allows data centers to come on-line many years sooner then just waiting for large load supply agreements. Thus, we have had to create a network we previously didn’t have.
2. Are data centers now being viewed as hybrid investments (Data + Power), and how does adding on-site power impact your expected returns when selling in 5–7 years?
One for sure needs both, but for now we are seeing a split of investments. I believe that will change in the future. The asset class is evolving from pure real estate to integrated energy infrastructure, and rather than being a stranded cost, on-site power generation is emerging as a compound value driver throughout the facility lifecycle. Initially serving as the sole energy source during grid interconnection delays, these assets don't depreciate in value once utility power arrives—they transition into high-reliability backup infrastructure supporting strict uptime commitments while simultaneously creating optionality for grid services revenue through demand response, ancillary services, and peak optimization. The timing advantage alone reshapes project economics significantly: industry analysis indicates that accelerating energization by even two years can justify paying double for power when considering GPU economic life and compute revenue. What differentiates winning strategies is designing power systems from day one for this dual-phase model—primary baseload initially, then permanent resiliency plus grid participation—which transforms a temporary solution into a durable income-producing infrastructure asset that enhances rather than dilutes exit valuations.
4. What are you looking to gain from IMN's Data Center's Power Capital conference?
We're focused on advancing industry collaboration around the practical realities of executing integrated power-plus-data strategies at scale, particularly as the market moves beyond conceptual discussions toward live project deployment where execution experience separates successful outcomes from extended timelines. The most valuable insights will come from direct engagement with data center operators, developers, and hyperscalers who are navigating site-specific challenges around permitting, interconnection, fuel procurement, and the regulatory coordination required to bring behind-the-meter solutions online in compressed timeframes. Beyond deal flow, we're seeking to contribute to and learn from the evolving playbook on topics like equipment procurement strategies in constrained supply environments, partnership structures that align incentives across the development lifecycle, and grid operator engagement models that facilitate rather than hinder on-site generation while planning for long-term grid integration.
