Capital follows the power position
In data center development, the value of a site is driven overwhelmingly by its power. Land without a credible path to capacity is just land. Land with a documented, defensible power position — and a customer who wants it — can support a meaningful development capital structure.
That is why we structure capital around the power position, not around a marketed megawatt figure. Before we bring a site to a capital partner, its capacity has been traced to utility documentation through our power verification process. Partners underwrite what is evidenced, and we are explicit about what is not.
Structures we work with
Every site and every partner is different, so there is no single template. The building blocks we work with most often are below. Terms are always specific to the site, the partner and the stage of development.
- JV equity
- A joint venture in which a capital partner and DSpace share ownership of a site or project. JVs can also include the landowner, where the seller prefers to keep an interest rather than sell outright.
- Development capital
- Capital that funds the work that turns a powered parcel into a buildable, financeable project: studies, deposits, entitlements, engineering, long-lead equipment and substation scope.
- Land basis
- The acquisition cost of the land itself, structured through purchase, option, lease or contribution into a venture — and sized against what the site's documented power position can support.
Why evidence lowers risk
The largest risk in early-stage data center development is that the power is not what it was said to be. If a site's capacity is lower than marketed, or arrives later, the economics of the whole project change. Capital deployed against an undocumented number is capital deployed against a guess.
We reduce that risk by holding a standing powered-land checklist with evidence attached at every stage, not assembled at closing. A partner reviewing a site with us can see which capacity is claimed, which is documented, which is approved and which is energized, and which documents support each figure.
Evidence also connects capital to demand. A site whose timeline has been verified is a site we can credibly place with offtakers, which our offtake placement page describes in more detail.
Who we talk to
We review JV capital across all major markets. We speak with capital partners interested in data center development exposure, with landowners who would rather participate than sell, and with developers who hold a site and need a partner to take it further.
We do not publish targeted returns or rates; those depend entirely on the site, the structure and the stage. What we can describe is our discipline: we will tell you what we know, what we do not, and what it would take to close the gap.
From capital to first power
Capital is one stage of a longer chain. Our method runs Source, Verify, Place, Deliver: parcels screened and controlled through powered land acquisition, power evidenced, offtake and capital matched to the real energization timeline, then EPC, long-lead equipment and substation scope managed through to first power. Capital partners benefit from that continuity — the same team that underwrote the power position is accountable for delivering it.
For current requirements on the demand side, see our active mandates.
Submit a site
Have a site, a load, or capital?
If you control powered land, a powered shell or an existing facility, send it through. We review under NDA and respond with a clear yes or no.