THE DATA CENTRE INTERVIEW
A
s AI transitions from experimental technology to business-critical infrastructure, the data centre industry faces a fundamental challenge. How can operators meet surging demand for AI-ready facilities without the decade-long timelines and enormous capital requirements of greenfield construction?
For Steve Carlini, Chief Advocate for Data Centre and AI at Schneider Electric, the answer lies not in building from scratch, but in transforming what already exists.
Retrofitting existing data centres for AI workloads represents more than a pragmatic solution to capacity constraints – it’ s a democratising force that could reshape the competitive landscape.
While hyperscalers pursue massive greenfield developments, smaller and medium-sized operators are discovering that brownfield sites offer a faster, more strategic path to AI capability.
With the right strategic approach to power distribution, liquid cooling and infrastructure upgrades, yesterday’ s traditional data centres can become tomorrow’ s AI factories.
The strategic advantage of brownfield sites The appeal of retrofitting existing facilities extends far beyond simple economics. Steve identifies several compelling advantages that make brownfield sites particularly attractive for smaller to medium operators entering the AI space.
“ Sites that exist will already be permitted as a data centre and can circumvent any lengthy permitting cycle,” he explains.“ Additionally, many existing data centres may be strategically located close to the data sources or applications, which can have significant advantages in faster speed, lower latency and lower data transfer costs.”
This proximity advantage becomes increasingly critical as AI applications evolve from centralised training models to distributed inference workloads.
Businesses deploying agentic AI and real-time analysis tools need processing power located near their operations, not thousands of miles away in a hyperscale facility.
Retrofitted sites in strategic locations can deliver the performance edge that makes AI applications viable.
Identifying the right sites for retrofit Not every existing data centre makes a suitable candidate for AI transformation. Steve outlines a clear hierarchy of priorities when evaluating potential retrofit projects.
Power availability tops the list:“ Sites that have an abundance of utility power are pure gold as accelerated compute AI requires more power,” Steve notes.“ Second are sites where more utility capacity can be added quickly.”
The exponential power demands of AI workloads mean that sites with generous utility connections or the ability to secure additional capacity quickly
22 February 2026