2026 Q1 Luncheon: Understanding Data Centers
L-R: Nekabari Goka (Google), Rachel Attebery (Diode Ventures), Kara Lowe (KC Tech Council), Jason Klindt (Evergy), Tina Chace (Platte County EDC)
The Platte County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) hosted its first Quarterly Member Luncheon on Friday, February 20th, 2026, at Embassy Suites KCI. This event featured four guest panelists who shared their data center knowledge and expertise:
- Kara Lowe, President & CEO – KC Tech Council
- Rachel Attebery, Chief Operating Officer – Diode Ventures
- Nekabari Goka, Regional Lead | Global Infrastructure and Energy – Google
- Jason Klindt, Senior Director of External Affairs – Evergy
PCEDC Chairwoman Dr. Adrian James of Park University opened the luncheon by welcoming attendees and acknowledging elected officials and other key stakeholders, including high-level investors and board members. She also highlighted a few organizational accomplishments from 2025, including 4 project wins, 900+ new jobs, and over $517M in new capital investment in Platte County.
Event moderator Kara Lowe opened the program with a "State of Data Centers" presentation, highlighting key trends currently shaping the data center industry and their economic impact in Kansas City. Globally, data centers are bringing over $7 trillion in new investment, with over 4,000 active data center projects across the United States.
Lowe also presented data on the biggest drivers of demand for data centers, including generative AI, cloud migration & SaaS, digitization of public services, and other emerging tech trends like edge computing. To see the full presentation, click here.
The panelists were then welcomed to the stage, each offering a unique perspective from their respective sectors, including energy, technology, and development. The conversation covered a wide range of topics, including short and long-term benefits of data centers for a community. During the initial construction phase, thousands of skilled trades workers will be needed to build these large-scale data center campuses. Once completed and in operation, these campuses will employ 30 to 50 high-paying IT jobs to maintain the facilities.
Additionally, large hyperscale data centers offer STEM grants for area schools, CTE programs, and adult education support. These projects also help to build out a community's infrastructure, including water, power, and fiber. For instance:
- Water: Kansas City sits along the Missouri River, providing an ample source of water supply.
- Power: Evergy is the largest supplier of energy in the Kansas City metro. They offer a Large Load Power Service Tariff, which includes a pay-to-play component. Data centers pay a premium tariff to cover the cost of dedicated transmission and distribution infrastructure. There are NO additional costs to the residential consumer.
- Fiber: Kansas City was the first community to partner with Google for internet fiber, providing unmatched speed and reliability with future-proof capabilities compared to cable.
With Google being a leader in technology and data center development, its investment in Kansas City highlights the region as a hub for the tech industry. Their data centers are helping to grow the digital economy and driving sustainable innovation, which includes advancing sustainable water solutions and zeroing in on net-zero emissions. To learn more about how Google is driving sustainable innovation, click here.
From an energy standpoint, Evergy has implemented a franchise fee that communities negotiate as regulated income in addition to tax revenues. As these hyper-scale facilities use power around the clock, data center customers pay the premium tariff and cover the cost of dedicated transmission and distribution infrastructure. Additionally, data center customers pay higher rates than any other industrial project, and Evergy requires them to sign a 17-year contract with exit penalties to provide stability. That revenue is then used to protect residential customers from costs. For more information on Evergy and data centers, click here.
We genuinely appreciate our Event Sponsor, The City of Kansas City, MO, for their support of this event. Finally, thank you to Kara Lowe, Rachel Attebery, Nekabari Goka, and Jason Klindt for taking the time out of their busy schedules to participate in this conversation!
Additional Data Center Information: