Afternoon General Session — Big Trends

We’ll kick off with Yuma, Arizona, the first of our 2025 Great American Defense Communities, then meet this year’s cohort from ADC’s Military Spouse Leadership Initiative and our partner Liberty Housing. Our featured panel, “Powering AI on Public Lands: What It Means for Communities and Bases,” tackles a timely issue every community needs to understand: AI data centers need massive, reliable power, and the grid is stretched. We’ll explore a fast-track approach, pairing data centers with new, resilient energy projects (including natural gas and advanced nuclear) on or near DoD installations, and break down how agencies aim to speed approvals and construction, plus what it could mean for costs, reliability, national security, and local communities.