About this Event
The American Data Center Forum
Balancing AI, Energy, Water & Community Trust
Wednesday, February 17, 2027 | Charleston Gaillard Center | Charleston, South Carolina
We’re not bringing together people who agree. We’re bringing together people who need to talk.
AI is transforming America—and the infrastructure behind it is reshaping communities. Join leaders from industry, government, utilities, conservation, technology, economic development, and communities for a candid conversation about energy, water, growth, infrastructure, and public trust.
Across the country, artificial intelligence and our increasingly digital economy are driving unprecedented demand for data infrastructure. New data centers are bringing investment, technology, jobs, and economic opportunity—but they are also raising important questions about energy, water, land use, infrastructure, environmental impacts, quality of life, and the role communities should play in decisions that may shape them for decades.
Those questions deserve more than talking points.
They deserve a conversation.
The American Data Center Forum: Balancing AI, Energy, Water & Community Trust will bring together voices from across sectors for a thoughtful, factual, and balanced discussion about one of the most consequential infrastructure issues facing America today.
The Forum is not designed to be pro-data center or anti-data center.
It is designed to ask better questions, bring credible information to the table, and create space for perspectives that do not always appear in the same room.
Together, we will explore questions such as:
- How does America build the digital infrastructure necessary to support AI and a technology-driven economy while maintaining reliable and affordable energy?
- What should communities understand about water use, groundwater, stormwater, land, noise, and other potential impacts?
- What economic opportunities can data centers create—and what should communities examine when evaluating those opportunities?
- How should utilities, developers, local governments, and residents communicate before projects reach a point of conflict?
- What information should local leaders have before making decisions that could affect their communities for generations?
- And perhaps most importantly: How do we build the infrastructure America needs while maintaining the trust of the communities where it will be built?
Expect a conversation that is thoughtful, candid, sometimes challenging, and intentionally inclusive of different points of view.
Because the future of AI infrastructure cannot be shaped by one industry, one level of government, or one side of the debate.
The people making these decisions need to hear from one another.
Your Forum Ticket
The American Data Center Forum is open to the public, and individual Forum tickets are available through Eventbrite.
Already attending the American Resilience Conference?
Your Forum admission is included with your full ARC registration. Registered ARC attendees will receive access to the Forum as part of their conference experience and do not need to purchase a separate general admission ticket.
Stay for The Exchange
Immediately following the Forum, attendees are invited to The Exchange—an informal networking reception designed to keep the conversation going.
With drinks, light hors d’oeuvres, and time to connect, The Exchange allows Forum attendees to meet speakers, industry leaders, public officials, community representatives, and fellow participants in a more relaxed setting.
The Forum begins the conversation.
The Exchange is where it continues.
Part of the American Resilience Conference
The American Data Center Forum is a signature event within the 2027 American Resilience Conference, taking place February 16–18 in Charleston.
ARC brings together leaders from across sectors to explore a larger question:
How do we build stronger, healthier, more resilient communities?
Through conversations spanning health and wellness, preparedness, conservation, infrastructure, technology, economic development, community planning, and more, ARC is built around the belief that the biggest challenges facing our communities do not exist in separate silos—and neither should the people working to solve them.
Healthy People. Healthy Places. Healthy Economy.
The Data Center Forum adds one important conversation to that much larger discussion.
Want the Full ARC Experience?
A full American Resilience Conference registration includes admission to the Data Center Forum along with ARC general sessions, breakout sessions, networking opportunities, exhibitors, special events, and additional conference programming.
Conference agenda details, speakers, special events, exhibitors, and additional announcements will continue to be released in the months ahead.
Visit to learn more about #ARC2027.
Sponsorship & VIP Opportunities
Opportunities are available for organizations interested in supporting the American Data Center Forum, including sponsorships, premium boxed seating, and access to the VIP Networking Lounge.
For information, contact Michelle Harris at [email protected].
Continue the Conversation
Want a preview of some of the people and ideas shaping ARC?
Follow the for conversations with leaders participating in the conference and a closer look at the issues influencing resilience, communities, conservation, infrastructure, and our changing economy.
And follow the American Resilience Conference on , , and for speaker announcements, Forum updates, behind-the-scenes content, and the conversations leading up to Charleston.
America is changing. The question is not whether we build for the future—but how.
Join the conversation in Charleston.
Photos courtesy of SCNHC & the Charleston Gaillard Center.
Event venue & nearby stays
Charleston Gaillard Center, 95 Calhoun Street, Charleston, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.