DCFR Insight 10 / Feasibility Reports
What a Planning-Grade Data Center Feasibility Report Should Include
A planning-grade feasibility report should translate user inputs into measurable site-fit outputs, risk flags, and confirmation actions.
Problem: reports that do not decide anything
Some feasibility packages are either too shallow to guide acquisition or too detailed for an early go/no-go decision. A planning-grade DCFR report should sit between marketing material and final engineering: specific enough to compare sites, transparent enough to show assumptions, and disciplined enough to separate outputs from confirmations.
User inputs and planning assumptions
The report should document parcel data, target IT load, rack density, phasing, cooling direction, redundancy assumptions, parking/loading expectations, utility assumptions, sensitive-edge conditions, and known constraints. It should make clear what the user provided and what DCFR assumed for screening.
Calculated outputs and visible constraints
A useful report should calculate usable area, fit ratio, rack count, module logic, building footprint, support-yard allowances, parking/loading/fire access, stormwater reserve, buffers, and expansion. It should also show visible constraints such as parcel shape, easements, access edges, floodplain indicators, residential adjacency, and utility route issues.
Risk flags and confirmation register
The value is not only the diagram. The report should identify power risk, access conflict, yard pressure, cooling/water/noise exposure, stormwater uncertainty, zoning exposure, and consultant confirmations. Each flag should become a confirmation register for utility, civil, code, fire/AHJ, environmental, acoustic, MEP, structural, and legal follow-up.
What it is not
A planning-grade feasibility report is not final engineering, stamped drawings, a utility guarantee, permit approval, environmental clearance, a legal zoning opinion, or a substitute for licensed professional services. It is a consultant handoff and acquisition-decision tool.
Early screening checklist
What to verify before advancing this site.
- User inputs and assumptions
- Calculated site-fit outputs
- Visible constraints and support-yard logic
- Risk flags by discipline
- Confirmation register
- Consultant handoff notes
- Clear exclusions from final engineering/legal approvals
What DCFR would flag
Risks surfaced at the screening stage.
DCFR would flag the site-fit conclusion, measurable constraints, missing information, risk tier, and discipline-specific confirmations needed before the buyer treats the site as acquisition-ready.
Professional confirmation required
Items requiring licensed validation.
Utility, civil, code, fire/AHJ, environmental, acoustic, MEP, structural, legal, survey, title, and zoning confirmation is required outside the planning-grade report.
Final takeaway
A strong feasibility report does not pretend to be final design; it tells the acquisition team what is plausible, what is risky, and what must be confirmed next.
Screen up to 20 candidate sites before selecting one for the full DCFR report.
Each DCFR Report Package includes a preliminary 20-site comparison PDF / export package plus one selected planning-grade feasibility report.