Methodology
HOW WE SCORE A DATA CENTER SITE
Most brokers say a site is "good" or "close to power." We publish the rubric. Every facility on our platform gets scored against the same six dimensions, weighted 96 points total, sourced from public infrastructure data we maintain ourselves.
The Konative Availability Score™ — 96 points
POWER
35 of 96 pointsDistance to the nearest high-voltage transmission line and proximity to active interconnect queues.
Power is the gating constraint for every modern data center. A site that is more than 25 km from existing transmission carries 18–36 months of additional substation and line work before energization. Sites near operational generation with available interconnect capacity can move from LOI to dirt in under 12 months.
Sources: EIA-860M (2,317 planned generators), state PUCs, ISO interconnection queues
WATER
20 of 96 pointsProximity to USGS streamflow and groundwater monitoring sites with active permits.
Cooling water requirements vary by climate and design (air-cooled vs. evaporative vs. liquid loop), but all hyperscaler tenants underwrite to redundant water access. Monitored water sources are also a proxy for permittable supply — unmonitored aquifers and surface water carry far higher diligence cost.
Sources: USGS NWIS (1,414 active monitoring sites), state water rights records, EPA ECHO
FIBER
15 of 96 pointsDistance to the nearest network exchange or carrier hotel.
Latency tolerance varies by workload — AI training is more forgiving than financial services or content delivery — but every site needs at least two diverse fiber paths. Sites within 5 km of a peering exchange typically have multiple existing routes; rural sites often need 6–18 months of carrier negotiation.
Sources: PeeringDB exchange points, carrier route maps
LAND
10 of 96 pointsParcel size, topography, zoning, and ownership clarity.
Most public data center site lists ignore land entirely — they assume any 50-acre parcel will do. In practice, title encumbrances, easements, mineral rights, FAA height restrictions, and adjacent land use account for roughly 40% of LOI-to-PSA failures. Konative diligences this layer before the first conversation with a buyer.
Sources: County assessor records, Konative landholder direct-source intake
PERMITTING
8 of 96 pointsLocal permitting velocity, host community attitudes, and regulatory risk.
A site's legal feasibility is a function of the political and regulatory environment around it. Loudoun County (VA), Maricopa County (AZ), and Henrico County (VA) have permitted hundreds of MW. Other counties — even adjacent ones — have moratoriums or hostile zoning boards. The same dirt scores radically differently across a county line.
Sources: County records, AG decisions, public comment trackers
MOMENTUM
8 of 96 pointsActive build pipeline in the same market — a leading indicator that capital, contractors, and supply chain are flowing.
Momentum is a forward-looking signal. Markets with active hyperscaler builds attract follow-on capital, supply chain depth, skilled labor, and interconnect priority. A site in a market with one active 500 MW build is materially easier to close than the same site in a market with no recent activity.
Sources: Public DC announcements, EIA-860M planned generator pipeline, news ingestion
BRING US A SITE. WE'LL SCORE IT.
Every site we evaluate runs through this rubric before we put it in front of a buyer. The score isn't the deal — but it tells you in 60 seconds whether the deal is worth chasing.