Chuck Whisman Speaks on Data Centers Panel Discussion

Chuck Whisman, PE, will serve on the panel, "Powering Data Centers at the Intersection of American Energy: The Role of Oil, Natural Gas, and Geothermal in the Data Center Buildout," on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. CT.

The panel is cohosted by the American Bar Association and the law firm Sidley. Other panelists are Nicole Noelliste and Stephen Boone from Sidley, Shuvajit Bhattacharya from the University of Texas at Austin, and Sean Wion from Energy Transfer.

Chuck is a Senior Principal Engineer based in Pennsylvania with more than 30 years of experience helping his clients with their most challenging engineering, site development, and environmental projects across the world. He focuses on soil and groundwater assessment and remediation, site development, coastal engineering, due diligence, data and information management, regulatory compliance, and engineering automation and system optimization.

The American Bar Association serves members, their profession, and the public by defending liberty and delivering justice as the national representative of the legal profession.

Sidley is a global law firm that employs innovative strategies to support their clients in complex transactional, restructuring, crisis management, investigation, regulatory, and litigation matters.

About the Panel

AI-driven data center growth is straining the United States power system, demanding reliable, around-the-clock energy beyond what the grid alone can provide. Natural gas and geothermal are emerging as scalable, dependable solutions-supporting capacity, bypassing interconnection delays, and enabling behind-the-meter power.

As deployment accelerates, so do legal and regulatory complexities across permitting, contracting, interconnection, and environmental review.

Discussion topics include the following:

• Power needs and the role of oil and gas
• Permitting and co-located generation
• Geothermal development and subsurface rights
• Energy supply and capacity agreements
• FERC, interconnection, and environmental conflicts

More Information About Powering Data Centers

Learn more about the panel.
Learn more about Sidley.
Learn more about ABA.
For more information about the roles of oil, natural gas, and geothermal in powering data centers, contact Chuck at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Learn more about Chuck: Chuck Whisman