Members of Congress, energy regulators, data center executives and policy experts will gather in Northern Virginia on October 15 for “Powering the AI Decade,” a forum examining the energy, infrastructure and regulatory challenges surrounding America’s AI boom.
What will it take to power America’s artificial intelligence boom? That question will take center stage on October 15, when members of Congress, energy regulators, data center executives, investors and policy experts gather in Northern Virginia for a half-day forum examining the future of the nation’s AI infrastructure.
The event, “Powering the AI Decade,” will be hosted by The American Bazaar in partnership with Knowledge Networks through its Regulating AI platform.
The forum will bring together stakeholders across the AI infrastructure ecosystem, from data center developers and power grid operators to lawmakers and regulators responsible for shaping the policies governing the industry’s expansion.
| Event Date & Time | October 15, 2026 10:30 a.m. – 3:20 p.m. |
|---|---|
| Venue | Towers Crescent Conference Center, 1850 Towers Cres Plaza, Tysons, VA 22182 |
| Registration | Register for the Event |
| Event Details | Powering the AI Decade A forum examining AI infrastructure, data centers, electricity demand, financing, permitting and regulatory policy. Vew the schedule and agenda |
“Data centers have stopped being a technology story and become a decision story: who pays for the power, who gives permission to build, and who takes the risk,” said Sanjay K. Puri, founder and chairman of Knowledge Networks. “Those decisions are being made right now, by regulators, legislators, builders and lenders, usually in separate rooms. Powering the AI Decade puts them in one nonpartisan room for a single focused afternoon. We are not here to cheer the buildout or to stop it. We are here to help the people deciding get it right before the 2027 agenda is set.”
The forum will be held at the Towers Crescent Conference Center in Vienna, Virginia, with registration and networking beginning at 10:30 a.m. The program will run through 3:20 p.m., covering electricity demand, data center development, permitting, financing and public concerns about the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure.
A highlight of the event will be a discussion featuring two Virginia members of Congress on the division of authority among federal, state and local governments over AI infrastructure development.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, who represents Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, and Rep. James Walkinshaw, who represents the state’s 11th District, will headline the panel “Permission to Build: Federal, State and Local” at 1:15 p.m.
The lawmakers will examine permitting, federal preemption, measurement standards, incentives and legislation affecting AI infrastructure projects.
Their discussion will follow sessions examining the practical challenges of building data centers and meeting their growing electricity needs, bringing a legislative perspective to the issues raised by industry leaders and energy experts.
Subramanyam has represented Virginia’s 10th District in the U.S. House since January 2025. Before entering Congress, he served in the Virginia General Assembly and worked as a White House technology policy adviser during the Obama administration.
Walkinshaw took office in September 2025 after winning a special election to succeed the late Rep. Gerry Connolly. He previously served on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and worked for Connolly for more than a decade.
With both lawmakers representing Northern Virginia, their discussion will have particular local relevance. The region is one of the nation’s largest data center hubs, placing questions about electricity demand, land use, permitting and community impact at the center of public policy debates.
Building the infrastructure behind AI
The program will open with introductory remarks at 11:25 a.m., followed by a keynote address, “America’s Digital Infrastructure at an Inflection Point,” from 11:35 to 11:55 a.m.
The keynote will examine electricity demand, grid readiness and federal priorities affecting the nation’s digital infrastructure.
At 11:55 a.m., the panel “The Builders: What It Actually Takes to Get Built” will explore the practical challenges of developing large-scale data centers, including power availability, water access, site selection and community considerations.
Nancy Novak, chief innovation officer emeritus and Compass ambassador at Compass Datacenters, will offer an industry perspective on data center development and innovation.
The discussion will examine what it takes to move major AI infrastructure projects from planning to construction and operation.
Who pays for the grid?
The growing electricity needs of AI data centers will be the focus of the next panel.
At 12:35 p.m., Ted Trabue, interim chairman of the District of Columbia Public Service Commission, will join Stephen D. Haner, senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Thomas Jefferson Institute, and Michael Giberson, senior fellow for energy at the R Street Institute, for “Who Pays for the Grid?”
The panel will examine how utilities and regulators are responding to rising electricity demand and who should bear the costs of expanding the infrastructure needed to support data center growth.
Trabue will bring a regulatory perspective to questions of grid readiness and cost allocation, while Haner will address Virginia’s electricity infrastructure and the broader implications of AI-driven power demand.
The discussion will also cover large-load tariffs and the challenges utilities face in planning for substantial new electricity demand.
Financing and public concerns
Following the congressional panel and a networking break, the forum will turn to the financial challenges of AI infrastructure development.
At 2:10 p.m., “Financing the Build: Capital, Funding and Policy Risk” will examine the investment landscape, including regulatory uncertainty, permitting delays, tariffs and community opposition.
The final session, “AI on the Ballot: What the Public Is Telling Washington,” will run from 2:45 to 3:20 p.m.
It will explore public attitudes toward AI infrastructure projects, community concerns and the implications for policymakers and companies planning future developments.
The forum is intended for technology professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, energy experts, policymakers, data center executives and members of the public interested in the future of America’s AI economy.
By bringing together policymakers, regulators, industry leaders and investors, the event aims to examine the decisions that will shape the nation’s energy and digital infrastructure in the coming decade.
Registration, the complete schedule and event details are available through The American Bazaar’s AB Events platform.