Podcast 222: How Energy Is Changing Site Selection with Anna Cardona

Episode 222 of the Econ Dev Show Podcast is out. Listen now.

In this episode, Dane talks with Anna Cardona, an economic development consultant with Wolves Development Group, about her path from architecture and design into economic development, her move from public and public-private work into the private sector, and the growing role of energy infrastructure in getting major projects across the finish line.

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Anna explains how power availability, behind-the-meter solutions, and infrastructure capital are shaping everything from advanced manufacturing to data centers, and why communities need to rethink economic development beyond job counts and CapEx.

The conversation also covers community backlash, board education, regenerative industrial ecosystems, family office conferences as an overlooked deal source, and how economic developers can become more empowered, proactive, and creative in building their own pipelines.

Episode Links

• Anna Cardona | LinkedIn
• Wolves Development Group

10 Actionable Takeaways for Economic Developers

1. Treat power as a front-end project requirement, not a late-stage utility question. Anna says energy, power, and infrastructure are often the real hold-up, especially for large manufacturing and data center projects.
2. Start asking earlier whether a site can actually serve the required load. Do not wait until after announcements or engineering work to find out whether the utility, municipality, or regulatory environment can support the project.
3. Build relationships with capital partners who can help close infrastructure gaps. Anna frames infrastructure capital as an "arrow in your quiver" that can help projects reach the finish line.
4. Understand the basic readiness boxes before bringing a project forward. In Anna's work, the key qualifiers are land under ownership or lease agreement, a power purchase agreement, and 40% of the capital stack in place.
5. Rethink incentives around long-term community value. Anna argues that economic development can no longer be only about job count and CapEx, especially when some projects may bring huge investment but fewer jobs.
6. Measure community impact, not just announcements. Ask how a project feeds the local ecosystem, creates revenue, supports other businesses, or improves the lives of residents.
7. Educate your board and community before backlash arrives. Anna identifies community backlash as a major hurdle and points to education and curriculum as part of the solution.
8. Look for a distinctive economic development strategy your community can own. Anna's Tate County example focused on sustainability and regenerative industrial development to make the place stand out.
9. Invest in relationships, not just transactions. Anna's advice for people entering the field is to follow up, stay connected, and focus on relationships because the relationship may produce the deal over time.
10. Go where projects are being imagined, not only where they are being shopped. Anna argues that some deals originate at family office conferences, where CEOs and capital are present earlier than they may be in traditional site selection circles.