DCF founder Rich Miller has spent much of his career explaining how the data center industry works. Now, with his latest venture, Data Center Richness, he’s also examining how the industry learns. That thread provided the opening for the latest episode of The DCF Show Podcast, where Miller joined present Data Center Frontier Editor in Chief Matt Vincent and Senior Editor David Chernicoff for a wide-ranging discussion that ultimately landed on a simple conclusion: after two years of unprecedented AI-driven announcements, 2026 will be the year reality asserts itself. Projects will either get built, or they won’t. Power will either materialize, or it won’t. Communities will either accept data center expansion – or they’ll stop it. In other words, the industry is entering its execution phase. Why Data Center Richness Matters Now Miller launched Data Center Richness as both a podcast and a Substack publication, an effort to experiment with formats and better understand how professionals now consume industry information. Podcasts have become a primary way many practitioners follow the business, while YouTube’s discovery advantages increasingly make video versions essential. At the same time, Miller remains committed to written analysis, using Substack as a venue for deeper dives and format experimentation. One example is his weekly newsletter distilling key industry developments into just a handful of essential links rather than overwhelming readers with volume. The approach reflects a broader recognition: the pace of change has accelerated so much that clarity matters more than quantity. The topic of how people learn about data centers isn’t separate from the industry’s trajectory; it’s becoming part of it. Public perception, regulatory scrutiny, and investor expectations are now shaped by how stories are told as much as by how facilities are built. That context sets the stage for the conversation’s core theme. Execution Defines 2026 After

Each January, the Pacific Telecommunications Council conference serves as a barometer for where digital infrastructure is headed next. And according to Nomad Futurist founders Nabeel Mahmood and Phillip Koblence, the message from PTC 2026 was unmistakable: The industry has moved beyond hype. The hard work has begun. In the latest episode of The DCF Show Podcast, part of our ongoing ‘Nomads at the Frontier’ series, Mahmood and Koblence joined Data Center Frontier to unpack the tone shift emerging across the AI and data center ecosystem. Attendance continues to grow year over year. Conversations remain energetic. But the character of those conversations has changed. As Mahmood put it: “The hype that the market started to see is actually resulting a bit more into actions now, and those conversations are resulting into some good progress.” The difference from prior years? Less speculation. More execution. From Data Center Cowboys to Real Deployments Koblence offered perhaps the sharpest contrast between PTC conversations in 2024 and those in 2026. Two years ago, many projects felt speculative. Today, developers are arriving with secured power, customers, and construction underway. “If 2024’s PTC was data center cowboys — sites that in someone’s mind could be a data center — this year was: show me the money, show me the power, give me accurate timelines.” In other words, the market is no longer rewarding hypothetical capacity. It is demanding delivered capacity. Operators now speak in terms of deployments already underway, not aspirational campuses still waiting on permits and power commitments. And behind nearly every conversation sits the same gating factor. Power. Power Has Become the Industry’s Defining Constraint Whether discussions centered on AI factories, investment capital, or campus expansion, Mahmood and Koblence noted that every conversation eventually returned to energy availability. “All of those questions are power,” Koblence said.

Vantage — Lighthouse (Port Washington, Wisconsin) Although the on-site ceremonial groundbreaking occurred in 2025, Vantage Data Centers’ Lighthouse campus in Port Washington, Wisconsin, remained one of the most closely watched AI infrastructure developments entering 2026, with updated local materials posted February 19 reinforcing the project’s scale and timeline. Announced in October 2025 in partnership with OpenAI and Oracle, Lighthouse is positioned as the Midwest anchor site within the companies’ broader Stargate expansion, which targets up to 4.5 gigawatts of additional AI capacity globally. Current plans call for four hyperscale data centers delivering nearly 902 MW of IT load on a site encompassing roughly 672 acres, with construction expected to run through 2028. From a Land and Expand perspective, the project exemplifies the new generation of AI campuses involving large-scale land banking paired with phased delivery designed to stay ahead of hyperscale demand curves. Just as notable is the project’s power and community framework. Vantage is working with WEC Energy Group’s We Energies on a dedicated rate structure under which the developer will underwrite 100% of the power infrastructure investment, a model explicitly designed to shield existing customers from rate increases. The utility partnership also includes plans to enable nearly 2 gigawatts of new zero-emission energy capacity, with approximately 70% allocated to the Lighthouse campus and the remainder supporting broader grid needs. Water and environmental positioning are also central to the project narrative. Lighthouse is designed around a closed-loop liquid cooling system intended to minimize water consumption, alongside local restoration investments aimed at achieving water positivity. Vantage has also committed to preserving significant portions of the site’s natural landscape while pursuing LEED certification for the campus. Economically, the development is expected to generate more than 4,000 primarily union construction jobs and over 1,000 long-term operational roles, while Vantage has pledged at

The data center industry has spent the past two years obsessing over power constraints, AI density, and supply chain pressure. But according to longtime mission critical leader Dennis Cronin, the sector’s most consequential bottleneck may be far more human. In a recent episode of the Data Center Frontier Show Podcast, Cronin — a founding member of 7×24 Exchange International and board member of the Mission Critical Global Alliance (MCGA) — delivered a stark message: the workforce “talent cliff” the industry keeps discussing as a future risk is already impacting operations today. A Million-Job Gap Emerging Cronin’s assessment reframes the workforce conversation from a routine labor shortage to what he describes as a structural and demographic challenge. Based on recent analysis of open roles, he estimates the industry is currently short between 467,000 and 498,000 workers across core operational positions including facilities managers, operations engineers, electricians, generator technicians, and HVAC specialists. Layer in emerging roles tied to AI infrastructure, sustainability, and cyber-physical security, and the potential demand rises to roughly one million jobs. “The coming talent cliff is not coming,” Cronin said. “It’s here, here and now.” With data center capacity expanding at roughly 30% annually, the workforce pipeline is not keeping pace with physical buildout. The Five-Year Experience Trap One of the industry’s most persistent self-inflicted wounds, Cronin argues, is the widespread requirement for five years of experience in roles that are effectively entry level. The result is a closed-loop hiring dynamic: New workers can’t get hired without experience They can’t gain experience without being hired Operators end up poaching from each other Workers may benefit from the resulting 10–20% salary jumps, but the overall talent pool remains stagnant. “It’s not helping us grow the industry,” Cronin said. In a market defined by rapid expansion and increasing system complexity, that

The AI infrastructure boom is forcing a hard reset in how the data center industry thinks about power. What was once a relatively straightforward utility procurement exercise is rapidly evolving into a complex, multi-disciplinary strategy problem spanning generation, fuel logistics, finance, and system architecture. That reality framed a recent special edition of The Data Center Frontier Show Podcast, which recast and updated one of the most consequential sessions from the DCF Trends Summit 2025: From Grid to Onsite Powering: Optimizing Energy Behind the Meter for Data Centers. Moderating the discussion was Fengrong Li, Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, whose questions and analytical framing shaped the conversation’s direction. With more than 20 years of experience across energy and infrastructure—including expert testimony before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and multiple state bodies—Li brought a systems-level perspective that pushed the panel well beyond a simple technology tour. Her premise was clear from the outset: the rise of AI is not just increasing data center demand. It is restructuring the entire power delivery paradigm. A Moderator Focused on the System-Level Shift Li’s role went well beyond traditional moderation. Drawing on a career that includes 13 years at Siemens focused on grid issues and eight years at Mitsui in commodity trading and infrastructure investment, she constructed the discussion around what she described as “one of the most urgent topics shaping digital infrastructure deployment.” “Onsite power and the rise of co-located, integrated power and AI campuses,” Li told the panel, “are accelerating data centers beyond traditional hubs and changing how they interact with the grid.” Throughout the session, Li repeatedly pushed panelists to connect near-term deployment realities with longer-term structural implications particularly around redundancy, financing, and regulatory exposure. The result was a grounded look at an industry that is

Each month Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Pkaza, posts some of the hottest data center career opportunities in the market. Here’s a look at some of the latest data center jobs posted on the Data Center Frontier jobs board, powered by Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting. Looking for Data Center Candidates? Check out Pkaza’s Active Candidate / Featured Candidate Hotlist Electrical Applications Engineer Pittsburgh, PA This position is also available in: Denver, CO and Andrews, SC Our client is a leading provider and manufacturer of industrial electrical power equipment used in industrial applications for mission critical operations. They help their customers save money by reducing energy and operating costs and provide solutions for modernizing their customer’s existing electrical infrastructure. This company provides cooling solutions to many of the world’s largest organizations and government facilities and enterprise clients, colocation providers and hyperscale companies. This career-growth minded opportunity offers exciting projects with leading-edge technology and innovation as well as competitive salaries and benefits. Electrical Commissioning Engineer Dallas TXThis traveling position is also available in: New York, NY; White Plains, NY;  Ashburn, VA; Richmond, VA; Montvale, NJ; Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; Hampton, GA; New Albany, OH; Cedar Rapids, IA; Phoenix, AZ; Salt Lake City, UT; Kansas City, MO; Omaha, NE; Chesterton, IN or Chicago, IL. *** ALSO looking for a LEAD EE and ME CxA Agents and CxA PMs and a Director of CxA Colos in Dallas, TX *** Our client is an engineering design and commissioning company that has a national footprint and specializes in MEP critical facilities design. They provide design, commissioning, consulting and management expertise in the critical facilities space. They have a mindset to provide reliability, energy efficiency, sustainable design and LEED expertise when providing these consulting services for enterprise, colocation and hyperscale companies. This career-growth minded opportunity offers exciting projects with leading-edge