In this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show, Matt Vincent, Editor-in-Chief of Data Center Frontier, talks to Axel Bokiba, General Manager Data Center Cooling for MOOG, about what is takes to deliver liquid cooling reliably at hyperscale.

In this episode of The Data Center Frontier Show, DCF Editor in Chief Matt Vincent speaks with Kevin Ooley, CFO of DataBank, about how the operator is structuring capital to support disciplined growth amid accelerating AI and enterprise demand.

Ooley explains the rationale behind DataBank’s expansion of its development credit facility from $725 million to $1.6 billion, describing it as a strong signal of lender confidence in data centers as long-duration, mission-critical real estate assets.

Central to that strategy is DataBank’s “Devco facility,” a pooled, revolving financing vehicle designed to support multiple projects at different stages of development; from land and site work through construction, leasing, and commissioning.

The conversation explores how DataBank translates capital into concrete expansion across priority U.S. markets, including Northern Virginia, Dallas, and Atlanta, with nearly 20 projects underway through 2025 and 2026. Ooley details how recent deployments, including fully pre-leased capacity, feed a development pipeline supported by both debt and roughly $2 billion in equity raised in late 2024.

Vincent and Ooley also dig into how DataBank balances rapid growth with prudent leverage, managing interest-rate volatility through hedging and refinancing stabilized assets into fixed-rate securitizations.

In the AI era, Ooley emphasizes DataBank’s focus on “NFL cities,” serving enterprise and hyperscale customers that need proximity, reliability, and scale while Databank delivers power, buildings, and uptime, and customers source their own GPUs.

The episode closes with a look at Databank’s long-term sponsorship by DigitalBridge, its deep banking relationships, and the market signals—pricing, absorption, and customer demand—that will ultimately dictate the pace of growth.

DCF Trends Summit 2025 Session Recap

As the data center industry accelerates into an AI-driven expansion cycle, the fundamentals of site selection and investment are being rewritten. In this session from the Data Center Frontier Trends Summit 2025, Ed Socia of datacenterHawk moderated a discussion with Denitza Arguirova of Provident Data Centers, Karen Petersburg of PowerHouse Data Centers, Brian Winterhalter of DLA Piper, Phill Lawson-Shanks of Aligned Data Centers, and Fred Bayles of Cologix on how power scarcity, entitlement complexity, and community scrutiny are reshaping where—and how—data centers get built.

A central theme of the conversation was that power, not land, now drives site selection. Panelists described how traditional assumptions around transmission timelines and flat electricity pricing no longer apply, pushing developers toward Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, power-first strategies, and closer partnerships with utilities. On-site generation, particularly natural gas, was discussed as a short-term bridge rather than a permanent substitute for grid interconnection.

The group also explored how entitlement processes in mature markets have become more demanding. Economic development benefits alone are no longer sufficient; jurisdictions increasingly expect higher-quality design, sensitivity to surrounding communities, and tangible off-site investments. Panelists emphasized that credibility—earned through experience, transparency, and demonstrated follow-through—has become essential to securing approvals.

Sustainability and ESG considerations remain critical, but the discussion took a pragmatic view of scale. Meeting projected data center demand will require a mix of energy sources, with renewables complemented by transitional solutions and evolving PPA structures. Community engagement was highlighted as equally important, extending beyond environmental metrics to include workforce development, education, and long-term social investment.

Artificial intelligence added another layer of complexity. While large AI training workloads can operate in remote locations, monetized AI applications increasingly demand proximity to users. Rapid hardware cycles, megawatt-scale racks, and liquid-cooling requirements are driving more modular, adaptable designs—often within existing data center portfolios.

The session closed with a look at regional opportunity and investor expectations, with markets such as Pennsylvania, Alabama, Ohio, and Oklahoma cited for their utility relationships and development readiness. The overarching conclusion was clear: the traditional data center blueprint still matters—but power strategy, flexibility, and authentic community integration now define success.