What makes land “powered”
In the data center market, “powered land” is one of the most overused phrases there is. A parcel next to a transmission line is not powered land. A parcel with a utility that has said, informally, that it could probably serve a load is not powered land either. For us, a site is powered when there is a documented path to a specific amount of capacity, on a specific timeline, from the utility or transmission owner that will actually deliver it.
That documentation can take several forms — a will-serve letter, a capacity or facilities study, an interconnection service agreement (ISA), a large generator interconnection agreement (LGIA) or a formal queue position. Each one means something different, and we explain them in detail on our power verification page. The short version: the megawatts that matter are the ones a utility has put in writing.
Everything else about a site — acreage, zoning, access, price — only becomes interesting once that power position is real. That is why we treat power as the first screen, not the last.
How we screen parcels
Every parcel we look at is run through the same screen before we spend meaningful time or money on it. The goal is to find out early whether a site can carry a data center load, and to kill the ones that cannot before anyone has invested in them.
- Transmission
- Proximity to high-voltage transmission, the voltage class available, and whether the lines nearby have room to carry new load or would need upgrades first.
- Substation headroom
- Whether an existing substation has spare capacity, whether it can be expanded, or whether a new dedicated substation is required — and who builds and pays for it.
- Water
- Availability and source of water for cooling, the capacity of local supply, and how the cooling approach the site can support affects that requirement.
- Fiber
- Distance to long-haul and metro fiber routes, the number of diverse paths available, and the latency profile that matters to the end user.
- Zoning
- Current zoning, whether data center use is permitted by right or needs a variance or rezoning, and how long that process realistically takes.
- Jurisdiction
- The local and state posture toward data centers, the regional grid operator (ISO/RTO) and its interconnection process, and any incentive or tax considerations.
Greenfield vs brownfield
We look at both, and each has a different risk profile. Neither is better in the abstract; the right answer depends on the power position and the timeline the end user needs.
Greenfield sites
Greenfield parcels — undeveloped land, often agricultural — tend to offer more acreage, cleaner title and more flexibility in campus layout. The trade-off is that power usually has to be brought to the site: new transmission taps, a new substation, and an interconnection process that can run for years. Entitlement and community engagement also start from zero.
Brownfield sites
Brownfield sites — former industrial, manufacturing or generation properties — can carry existing electrical infrastructure, existing industrial zoning and sometimes an existing utility relationship. That can shorten the path to energization considerably. The trade-off is environmental diligence, legacy infrastructure that may not match modern loads, and buildings that may need to be removed or repurposed.
Control before the market sees it
Our objective is to put sites under control before they are widely marketed. A site that has been shopped to every developer and every broker usually carries a price built on its advertised capacity, not its documented capacity. By screening early and moving quickly on the sites that pass, we aim to secure parcels on terms that reflect what the site can really deliver.
Control can take several forms depending on the seller — outright purchase, an option, a lease or a joint venture. Once a site is under control, we work it through the rest of our method: verifying power, then placing offtake and structuring development capital around the confirmed position.
What we need from a seller
If you control land you believe is suitable for a data center, the fastest way to a decision is to send us four things: the location (parcel, county and acreage, or building address and square footage), the power evidence you have, the expected energization timing and what gates it, and the asking price or lease terms along with who controls the site today.
A claimed megawatt figure without documentation is not a starting point, but it is not a reason to stay silent either — tell us what you have and we will tell you what is missing. You can see what our buyers are currently looking for on the active mandates page.
Submit a site
We have the buyers. Bring us the power.
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.