Research, analysis, and perspectives on the built world.
Data center construction costs in 2026 are being driven by power scarcity, long-lead electrical equipment, skilled labor shortages and cooling complexity. This post explains where budgets are moving, what developers need to underwrite earlier and where AI can improve cost visibility before a site is committed.
May 15, 2026 ·5 min read
Data center equipment procurement has become a critical-path development workflow as transformers, switchgear, generators and controls face constrained supply. This post breaks down the AI-assisted procurement workflow developers need to track specifications, vendor commitments, substitutions and schedule exposure before delays hit delivery.
May 15, 2026 ·5 min read
Data center tax incentives in 2026 are becoming more strategic as states compete for AI infrastructure, jobs and grid investment. The article explains how incentives affect site selection, why power and permitting still dominate and how development teams should underwrite incentive risk.
May 14, 2026 ·5 min read
Agentic AI for data center development coordinates multi-step preconstruction work across power, land, fiber, permitting and underwriting. The article explains what is deployable now, where human judgment remains critical and why institutional teams need auditable workflows rather than generic AI tools.
May 14, 2026 ·5 min read
Data center fiber route due diligence verifies carrier access, route diversity, latency, easements and construction risk before a site reaches LOI. The article breaks down the workflow developers should run and where AI can compress evidence gathering without replacing network engineering judgment.
May 14, 2026 ·5 min read
This post explains why land near a substation is not automatically viable for data center development. It breaks down the power, interconnection, easement, upgrade and underwriting checks developers need before treating proximity as a real advantage.
May 13, 2026 ·5 min read
This post lays out a practical interconnection queue due diligence workflow for data center developers. It covers queue pressure, utility studies, upgrade exposure, milestone tracking and where AI helps teams spot energization risk before LOI.
May 13, 2026 ·5 min read
This post explains how AI inference workloads change data center development requirements. It covers rack density, liquid cooling, latency, networking, redundancy, power phasing and the practical role of AI in planning inference-ready facilities.
May 13, 2026 ·5 min read
Data center permitting has become a live execution risk, not a back-office checklist. This post breaks down how AI can track approvals, local conditions, public hearing risk and escalation triggers without replacing legal or entitlement judgment.
May 12, 2026 ·5 min read