Case Study | Brownfield‑to‑Data Center: Technical Due Diligence To De‑Risk 300 MW Of Capacity

What Was Ankura Hired to Do?

An institutional investor engaged Ankura as its technical advisor to evaluate a former industrial site being repositioned as a large‑scale data center campus with an adjacent high‑voltage substation. The investor was considering a development agreement and needed an independent view of feasibility, risk, and likely cost and schedule outcomes before committing capital. Ankura’s scope covered site conditions and remediation, power‑to‑site feasibility for 300 MW, and the design and budget of the proposed switchyard and substation infrastructure.

How Did Ankura Execute the Engagement?

Ankura structured the review around four core workstreams: site assessment, site condition review, power feasibility, and infrastructure evaluation. The team conducted a site visit to observe conditions directly, met with the remediation contractor and advisors to understand work completed and planned, and verified zoning and environmental program status against regulatory documentation.

In parallel, Ankura reviewed engineering drawings, remedial and civil documents, cost estimates for sitework and interconnect, and schedules for remediation and substation construction. Stakeholder interviews with the development team, engineers, utility and gas providers, and an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor were used to challenge assumptions, surface hidden dependencies, and clarify approval processes and lead times. Findings and exposures were then synthesized into a risk matrix, with recommended monitoring and mitigation actions for each risk item.

Key Insights Ankura Delivered

1. Feasibility of 300 MW Power‑to‑Site

Ankura confirmed that the adjacent 230 kV transmission line and regional substations could technically support a 300 MW data center load, based on a third‑party feasibility analysis, while flagging the need for full supporting documentation to validate reliability conclusions. The team mapped the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) interconnection process, highlighted realistic approval durations, and identified that modest schedule extensions could be absorbed but major delays would push power‑to‑site dates and impact revenue timing.

2. Brownfield Remediation and Construction Timing

By reviewing the brownfield cleanup agreement, remedial action plan, stormwater plan, and program timeline, Ankura concluded that site remediation and capping could reasonably be completed on the stated schedule, with construction allowed to start before final program close‑out. However, the team emphasized the importance of continued regulatory approvals, careful coordination between remedial and civil works, and change‑control on evolving designs to avoid cost and schedule drift.

3. Budget Realism and Cost Exposure

Ankura’s review of the conceptual sitework budget found unit rates broadly consistent with industry norms but noted missing allowances for project management and contingency, exposing the investor to under‑estimated costs. On the power side, the preliminary interconnect estimate lacked sufficient detail for validation, and Ankura benchmarked against regional data to show that total utility improvement costs could reasonably fall in a higher range, pending detailed design and negotiation of cost responsibility with the utility.

4. Interconnect, Redundancy, and Equipment Risk

Ankura confirmed that the proposed substation configuration could deliver 300 MW with N+1 redundancy, allowing continued operation at acceptable transformer loading even if one or two units were out of service. The team also identified that long‑lead equipment, particularly 230 kV breakers and large transformers, were on the critical path, and that procurement for some breakers was committed while others were still pending, creating schedule risk if purchase orders or deliveries slipped.

5. Gas and Cooling Strategy Considerations

Coordination with the gas utility showed that a firm transportation contract and lateral pipeline could provide the natural gas needed for 300 MW of backup generation, but with a minimum 24‑month lead time. Ankura recommended that stakeholders plan for scenarios where vertical construction might complete before gas redundancy is fully in place and further evaluate cooling water and discharge requirements against stormwater system capacity and regulatory temperature limits.

Decisions and Outcomes Enabled for the Client

Through this work, Ankura provided the investor with a clear, consolidated view of both opportunity and risk: The site is viable for a large‑scale data center with robust power, fiber, gas, and water access, but that success hinges on managing specific technical and schedule exposures. The risk matrix and action items gave the client a concrete agenda for next steps: secure missing feasibility and interconnect documentation, obtain detailed budgets and procurement logs, formalize design‑change notification obligations, and embed approval and equipment milestones into project controls.

This enabled the client to move forward in negotiations with a more informed position on contingencies, timelines, and required commercial protections, rather than relying on optimistic baseline assumptions. In effect, Ankura’s technical due diligence translated a complex brownfield‑to‑data center concept into a quantified risk profile and actionable delivery plan that could be used to underpin investment decisions.

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