The Art of Site Selection

For data center developers, selecting the right site is akin to the foundation of a building—fundamental and unshakeable. The requirements are exacting, often non-negotiable, and vary significantly depending on the specifics of the project.

Al Cohen's 10 "P"s of AI-Powered Land:

Cohen's 10 "P"s 

1. The Plug – Available substation & energization timeline, existing and to be built substation
2. The Power – Scalable MW capacity (future expansion), other power sources availability 
3. The Pad – Flat, dry, geotechnically sound site, environmental studies, soil type
4. The Permit – By-right zoning & fast approvals
5. The Path – Fiber, logistics, and heavy haul access
6. The Price – Cost per acre & cost per MW
7. The Policy – Incentives and pro-development jurisdiction
8. The Protection – Zero trust approach, security (cyber & physical), flood, climate, and grid resilience
9. The Proximity – Talent, metros, railroad and infrastructure access
10. The Peace – Tenant/end-user engagement planning, Low community opposition / rural buffer, transaction management, backup plan strategy formulation 

Each parameter is a critical puzzle piece in the larger picture of a data center project. It’s not about finding a site that ticks a few boxes; it’s about a comprehensive fit that will facilitate the efficient, secure, and scalable function of the data center now and well into the future.

" “Shovel-ready” and “load-ready” are not the same thing.

A site can have land, permits, and a tenant lined up and still be years away from real deployment if substation, transmission, and interconnection timelines were not cleared early. That gap is where a lot of project value gets mispriced."-Al Cohen

"We have seen across financial, healthcare, telecom, and professional services tenants, successful data center transactions focused on:

· Build-to-suit & renewals – securing custom developments with migration flexibility, termination rights, and ~40% savings over initial proposals.
· Sale-leasebacks – monetizing owned facilities to REITs while lowering ongoing operating costs via strong SLAs.
· Portfolio renewals – leveraging multi-city footprints to reduce rent (~20%) and operating expenses (~17.5%), plus early termination and reduction rights.
· Colocation relocations – evaluating multiple markets, locking in long-term ramps, early exit options, and record-low $/kW pricing with over 40% savings from first-round offers.

In each case, the outcome was material cost reduction, contractual flexibility, and future-proofing (e.g., cloud portability, termination rights)."-Al Cohen

From Dirt to Data: The Full Power Chain Every Developer Must Control

The data center industry is a gold rush. AI compute demand, cloud expansion, and digital infrastructure needs are driving unprecedented capital into the sector. But the gap between raw land and a live, revenue-generating facility is where most projects die.

Understanding the full power chain — and knowing the right partners at every stage — is the single greatest competitive advantage in this space right now.

Turbines: Your First Decision Point
Turbines — gas, steam, or industrial generators — can be leased or purchased depending on your capital strategy. Leasing keeps upfront costs low and shifts maintenance to the provider. Buying makes sense when you have long-term site certainty and want full control. Either way, cost-per-megawatt of your source power dictates everything downstream. Cheap land with expensive or unreliable power is a trap many developers fall into after breaking ground.

MicroGrids: The Bridge Between Generation and Reliability
A microgrid is a localized energy system that integrates on-site generation with intelligent load management to deliver the uptime tenants require. They can be leased or owned. Leasing means a third-party operator owns and maintains the infrastructure while you buy the output — ideal for developers who want energy certainty without capital concentration. Owning builds long-term asset value and gives you complete dispatch control. The mistake is skipping this layer and assuming grid reliability is sufficient.

Transmission & Substation: The Hidden Killer
Often the longest lead-time item — sometimes 3 to 7 years for a new substation interconnect. You can have capital, land, permits, and a tenant — and still wait years because power wasn’t evaluated early enough.

The GPU and Compute Layer
This is where everyone wants to be. But a GPU cluster is only as good as the power feeding it.
We have them!

Insurance: The Step Nobody Talks About
The right partner evaluates power interruption liability, equipment breakdown, and builder’s risk from day one. If your insurance partner doesn’t understand turbine and microgrid assets — leased or owned — you’re over-paying, under-covered, or both.

A site with live power and room to ramp is worth multiples of a greenfield site. Shovel-ready is a valuation premium. Data center value is created at the intersections. We have partners for every stage.

"Data centers are the new industrial real estate — and the window is open right now. A decade ago, industrial warehouses were overlooked.

Then e-commerce exploded and industrial became one of the top-performing asset classes in commercial real estate. The same pattern is emerging with data center land.

The drivers:

• AI computing demand growing exponentially
• Hyperscale operators competing for limited suitable sites & Urban Data Center (Edge 5MW)
• Power infrastructure constraints creating scarcity
• Long-term NNN-style lease structures for operators

Developers and landowners who move now are positioned ahead of this cycle." -Al Cohen

Strategic land acquisition

Our hands-on approach includes thorough due diligence on land entitlement and zoning regulations. We identify and qualify sites that can support your specific requirements.

More Site Selection Criteria in Case of Onsite Natural Gas Plant Addition:

• Fuel & Power:
  • Natural Gas Access: Proximity to existing high-pressure pipelines with available capacity (firm supply).
  • Electrical Grid: Easy connection to transmission lines for selling excess power or backup.

  • Onsite power generation: power for data centers is critical for uptime and sustainability, requiring a mix of primary, backup, and renewable sources. Key options include diesel/natural gas generators, fuel cells, battery storage, and solar/wind, with 48+ hours of fuel storage. Key checklist items focus on 100% uptime SLA,

    𝑁+1 or 2𝑁 redundancy, and regular maintenance testing. Data Center Dynamics +4

    Onsite Generation Options Checklist 

    • Backup Generators (Primary Backup):
      • Diesel generators (standard, reliable)
      • Natural gas turbines (lower emissions, continuous)
      • Fuel storage: Minimum 48 hours on-site
      • Refueling contracts: At least two vendors
      • Testing schedule: Weekly/monthly load testing
    • Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) & Storage:
      • Battery energy storage systems (BESS) for bridging
      • Flywheel (kinetic) storage
      • UPS capacity: Minimum 150% of time needed for generators to start
    • Sustainable & Continuous Generation:
      • Hydrogen or natural gas fuel cells for clean base load
      • On-site solar PV arrays
      • On-site wind turbines
      • Combined Heat and Power (CHP) to reuse generator heat
    • Infrastructure & Reliability Checklist:
      • A+B
        𝐴+𝐵 power feeds to all racks
      • N+1 or 2N generator redundancy
      • Automatic Transfer Switches (ATS) installed and tested
      • Regular maintenance of all fuel systems and engines
      • Fire suppression systems for generation equipment
      • Fuel polishing system to prevent degradation Data Center Dynamics +6

    Operational & Strategic Considerations 

    • Scalability: Modular "Lego block" approach for adding power capacity as IT load grows.
    • Regulatory: Proper permits for, and environmental compliance of, onsite fuel storage.
    • Testing: Documented procedures for switching to generator power (load bank testing).
• Network Richness:(The Backbone Connectivity)

  . Physical Layer (The "Last Mile") 

  • Diverse Entry Points: Does the building have at least two physically separate fiber entry points (vaults) on different sides of the property?
  • Path Diversity: Do the fiber paths follow different street routes to ensure a single construction accident doesn't cut both?
  • Dark Fiber Availability: Is there "unlit" fiber already in the ground that you can lease and manage yourself? 

   

  . Logical Layer (The Network) 

  • Carrier Neutrality: Is the facility "carrier-neutral," or are you locked into a single provider?
  • Meet-Me-Room (MMR) Health: Is the MMR well-managed, with clear cable labeling and easy access for new cross-connects?
  • On-Ramps: Does the site have direct SDN (Software Defined Network) on-ramps to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud? 

   

  . Performance & SLAs 

  • Latency Benchmarks: Request a latency report to key hubs (e.g., "What is the round-trip time to Ashburn, VA?").
  • SLA Guarantees: Look for
    99.999%
    99.999% (five-nines) uptime guarantees on the network backbone.
• Water:
  • Availability: Access to sufficient water for cooling towers or heat exchangers.
  • Source: Avoiding reliance on local municipal water supplies.
• Environmental & Regulatory:
  • Air Quality: Siting in "attainment" areas (good air quality) is easier; "non-attainment" zones are difficult.
  • Permitting: Navigating EPA, state, and local environmental impact assessments.
  • Zoning: Compliance with local land use and zoning laws.
• Logistics & Land:
  • Land: Sufficient, affordable, and appropriately zoned land.
  • Lease/Purchase: Long-term agreements ensuring security and future needs.
  • Traffic: Minimal impact on local roads.
• Safety & Community:
  • Separation: Adequate distances between plant components (process units, storage, control rooms) for fire/explosion safety.
  • Wind Direction: Layout should prevent gas clouds from reaching ignition sources (flares, electrical).
  • Noise: Managing turbine noise to meet or exceed local standards.
  • Aesthetics: Visual impact from public areas.