The DG & Data Center Development Forum 2026 is a New Project Media (NPM) conference on distributed generation (DG), onsite power and data center development. It runs October 21 to 22, 2026, at the Conrad New York Downtown in Lower Manhattan. NPM cites more than 750 attendees to date for the forum, with developers and independent power producers (IPPs) making up 50% of attendance.
The forum opens on the evening of October 21 with a welcome drinks reception cruise on New York Harbor, sponsored by Akin. The single-track conference program follows on October 22, with two keynotes and five panels.
Programming Focus
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Keynotes: Alan Cooper on how ON.energy grew from grid storage development into technology for AI-era computing facilities; NJBPU Commissioner Christine Guhl-Sadovy on lessons from expanding community solar in New Jersey
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DG's Response to Surging Data Center Demand: where behind-the-meter microgrids using solar, storage and fuel cells have an advantage; designing the DG reliability stack (islanding, black start, N+1 and 2N redundancy); bankability under tolling and PPA-style structures, including curtailment risk
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Financing Edge Expansion and Behind-the-Meter Power: financing structures for edge and colocation data centers and the power infrastructure for inference workloads
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The Emerging Role of Distributed Storage: where value is emerging for distributed storage, the domestic storage supply chain, and origination of behind-the-meter storage for data centers
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Are Accelerated DG Solicitations Creating a Path to Profitability? Accelerated utility solicitations that include DG capacity, and newer DG solar and storage markets such as New Jersey and Virginia
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Industry Consolidation and Repositioning for the Future: sponsor strategy, acquiring and repositioning older assets coming off expiring PPAs, and managing expiring tax credits alongside FEOC compliance
Featured Speakers
Keynotes:
- Alan Cooper, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, ON.energy
- Christine Guhl-Sadovy, Commissioner, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU)
Panel 1: DG's Response to Surging Data Center Demand
- Cameron Bard, Chief Revenue Officer, Madison Energy Infrastructure
- David Wang, Director, Energy Portfolio Management, CoreWeave
- Xio Gerlach, Senior Director, Data Center Development, Strata Clean Energy
- Scott Willis, President and Chief Executive Officer, DartPoints
- Bill Grinstead, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Orenda
- Elliot Hinds, Partner, Sheppard (moderator)
Panel 2: Financing Edge Expansion and Behind-the-Meter Power
- Syed Ahmed, Managing Director and Head of Digital Infrastructure, Apterra Infrastructure Capital
- Daniel Feitelberg, Co-Founder, President and Chief Operating Officer, Adara Infrastructure
- Al Dahya, Chief Financial Officer, Unison Energy
- Colin O'Gallagher, Founder and Managing Partner, IFSX
- Don Dimitrievich, Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Nuveen
- Ken Sanocki, Partner, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (moderator)
Panel 3: The Emerging Role of Distributed Storage
- Joseph Fiori, Head of Business Development and Sales, EDPR NA DG
- Gage Kellogg, Managing Director, Power and Infrastructure, Partner ESI
- Tyler Yorke, Managing Director, Sales, Eneon
- Emilie Flanagan, Chief Executive Officer, Carson Power
- Spencer Tweed, Senior Vice President of Energy & Infrastructure, Project Finance, Foss & Company
- Sven Hodges, Partner, Mayer Brown (moderator)
Panel 4: Are Accelerated DG Solicitations Creating a Path to Profitability?
- Blaise Cote, Chief Strategy Officer, Solar Landscape
- Steven Kiesling, Head of DG Development, Cypress Creek Energy
- Christine Guhl-Sadovy, Commissioner, NJBPU
- Teresa Mattamouros, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs
- Tim Polz, Chief Development Officer, SunVest
- Allan Hug, Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer, KAOH Media (moderator)
Panel 5: Industry Consolidation and Repositioning for the Future
- Bill Chamberlin, Managing Director, Utilities, Power & Renewable Energy Group, KeyBanc Capital Markets
- Nick Sangermano, President, GS Power Partners
- Seth Zeleznik, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, CenterNode
- Bessie Clark, Managing Director, Investments, HASI
- Robb Jetty, Chief Executive Officer, REC Power
- Ike Emehelu, Partner, Projects & Energy Transition Group, Akin (moderator)
Sponsors
Welcome Reception Partner: Akin
Premium Partners: Eneon ES, Anza RE
Strategic Partners: Wilson Sonsini, Akin, Foss & Company, Concentro, Partner Engineering & Science, KeyBanc Capital Markets, GS Power Partners, Mayer Brown, EDP Renewables, REC Power, Sheppard, Fieldwise Civic Engagement
Branding Partners: Standard Solar, Davis Wright Tremaine, Risa Solar, Conductor Solar, Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA), Basis, Willis Towers Watson (WTW), Comity, Modo Energy
Lanyard Partner: Anza RE
Who Should Attend
- Developers and independent power producers
- Investors, lenders, advisors, solutions providers and corporates
- Public utilities, ISOs, education and non-profit organizations
Logistics
The conference takes place at the Conrad New York Downtown, 102 North End Ave, New York, NY 10282. On October 22, registration opens at 8:15 AM and the program ends with a closing drinks reception at 5:00 PM. The welcome cruise departs at 5:30 PM on October 21. It is a $99 add-on for registered attendees, limited to 120 guests.
Standard tickets are $1,399 for developers and IPPs, and $1,649 for developer partners (investors, lenders, advisors, solutions providers and corporates). Reduced rates are available by application: Startup Developer ($1,049), Startup Developer Partner ($1,239), and Public Sector ($599).
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