# How to vet a data center project: ten questions before you rely on it

By Spezia. Published November 10, 2026. Updated November 10, 2026.
Canonical page: https://spezia.ai/blog/how-to-vet-a-data-center-project

## The short answer

Ask ten questions of any data center project: its real stage, owner and tenant, size in clear units, power date, source of generation, open permits, financing, builder, local opposition, and what changed lately. A signed power date and a paying tenant matter most. In Spezia's tracker only 31% of planned capacity is under construction and 46% is announced only.

- Start with the stage. An announcement is the cheapest thing a project can have.
- Power is the main constraint on 56% of 1 GW+ projects, so ask for the power date before the groundbreaking.
- Check the units. Gross megawatts, critical IT load and full-campus size are three different numbers.
- Every question has a public place to check, and a good answer names a document.
- Treat an unanswered question as risk, not as a no.

## What are the ten questions?

An announcement says a developer wants to build something. A project says land, approvals, power, money and a builder are lined up. The ten questions below tell the two apart. Each has a good sign, a warning sign, and a public place to check.

| Question | Good sign | Warning sign |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1. What stage is it really in? | A recorded approval, a permit number or a construction start. | A press release and nothing else. |
| 2. Who owns it, and who is the tenant? | A named tenant under a signed lease. | A code name and no tenant. |
| 3. How big is it, in which units? | The first phase is sized separately, in critical IT load. | Only the full campus, in gross megawatts. |
| 4. When does it get power? | A utility agreement with a date, and a finished interconnection study. | Talks with the utility are under way. |
| 5. Where does the power come from? | A named plant or agreement behind the load. | A plan to be served by the grid, with no supply named. |
| 6. Which permits are still open? | Zoning, air and water permits granted and the appeal window closed. | A permit hearing ahead, or an appeal pending. |
| 7. Who is paying, and how? | A lease with a strong tenant behind the borrowing. | Financing described as in discussion. |
| 8. Who is building it? | A signed contractor and trades under contract. | Construction said to be starting, with no builder named. |
| 9. What does the neighborhood think? | Approvals with no vote, petition or lawsuit pending. | A moratorium proposal, a ballot measure or a suit. |
| 10. What changed since you last looked? | A dated update from a primary source this month. | The latest item is months old. |

## 1. What stage is it really in?

Start here, because it changes how much every other number is worth. In Spezia's tracker, 116 projects are under construction, which is 31% of the planned capacity. 96 are announced only, which is 46%. The full split is in [the U.S. AI data center pipeline](https://spezia.ai/blog/us-ai-data-center-pipeline).

- **Where to check:** city and county agendas and minutes, building permits, state environmental dockets, and the developer's own filings.
- **Good sign:** a recorded approval, a permit number or a construction start.
- **Warning sign:** a press release and nothing else.

## 2. Who owns it, and who is the tenant?

The owner builds it. The tenant pays for it. Many projects carry a code name and a shell company, and the end customer is not named until late. A named tenant under a signed lease is the strongest sign of demand.

- **Where to check:** land records, county incentive agreements, utility filings and company reports.
- **Good sign:** a named tenant and a lease term.
- **Warning sign:** a code name, a new company and no tenant.

## 3. How big is it, in which units?

Three different numbers are often called the size. The full campus is the plan for all phases. Gross power is what the site draws, including cooling. Critical IT load is what reaches the servers. Ask for the first phase on its own, and ask which unit is meant. The [glossary](https://spezia.ai/blog/ai-data-center-glossary) defines each.

- **Where to check:** utility load requests, site plans and the filing that names the first phase.
- **Good sign:** the first phase is sized separately.
- **Warning sign:** only the full campus, only in gross megawatts.

## 4. When does it get power?

This is the question that decides the schedule. Power is the main constraint on 56% of the projects of 1 GW or more in Spezia's tracker, against 21% of those under 500 MW. The reasons are in [the gigawatt power wall](https://spezia.ai/blog/gigawatt-data-center-power-wall).

- **Where to check:** utility and regulator filings, grid operator queue data and the utility's quarterly reports. [Entergy Louisiana](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/65984/000006598426000325/etr-20260930.htm) disclosed a service agreement for a new data center in its quarterly report, for example.
- **Good sign:** an agreement with a date, and a finished interconnection study.
- **Warning sign:** talks with the utility are under way.

## 5. Where does the power come from?

A utility agreement is a promise to deliver power. It is not always a plant. Ask what generates the electricity: the existing grid, a new plant, a long-term contract, or on-site generation that serves the site directly. [Vistra](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1692819/000169281926000025/vistra-20260930.htm) reported 20-year contracts with Meta for 2,609 MW, which is an example of a named supply. [Power plants near data centers](https://spezia.ai/blog/power-plants-near-data-centers) shows where new plants are being planned.

- **Where to check:** power purchase agreements, plant filings and the federal inventory of planned plants.
- **Good sign:** a named plant or agreement behind the load.
- **Warning sign:** a plan to be served by the grid, with no supply named.

## 6. Which permits are still open?

A project can hold its zoning and still lack an air permit or a water permit. [Global Data Center Hub](https://www.globaldatacenterhub.com/p/from-permit-to-power-on-how-data) puts permitting alone at 6 to 24 months of a project's timeline. Look for hearing dates and appeal windows, because they are the dates when a project can change.

- **Where to check:** agency dockets and the minutes of the body that voted.
- **Good sign:** permits granted and the appeal window closed.
- **Warning sign:** a hearing ahead, or an appeal pending.

## 7. Who is paying, and how?

Large projects are built on borrowed money, and lenders look at the tenant and the lease. Ask about the financing, any guarantee from a stronger company, and any local tax incentive and whether it is being challenged.

- **Where to check:** SEC filings, bond documents and county incentive agreements.
- **Good sign:** a long lease with a strong tenant behind the borrowing.
- **Warning sign:** financing described as in discussion.

## 8. Who is building it?

A signed contractor means the design is far enough along to price. If construction is said to be starting and no builder is named, one of the two is not true. If you are a trade contractor on a data center job, [the change recovery review](https://spezia.ai/services) is built for the extra work these jobs generate, which, as [StoneTurn](https://stoneturn.com/insight/managing-dispute-risk-in-data-center-construction/) describes, can start as a verbal directive that never becomes a formal change order.

- **Where to check:** contract award announcements, building permits and job postings.
- **Good sign:** a signed general contractor and trades under contract.
- **Warning sign:** construction said to be starting, with no builder named.

## 9. What does the neighborhood think?

Local approval and opposition are a common source of delay, and opposition uses formal tools: ballot measures, moratoria, zoning votes and lawsuits. [A month of that news, counted](https://spezia.ai/blog/data-center-opposition-and-delays) shows what each looks like and how often it appeared.

- **Where to check:** meeting agendas, petitions and court dockets.
- **Good sign:** an approval with no vote, petition or lawsuit pending.
- **Warning sign:** a moratorium proposal, a ballot measure or a suit.

## 10. What changed since you last looked?

A project is a moving target. Check the date on the newest primary source, and check again each week. [Global Data Center Hub](https://www.globaldatacenterhub.com/p/from-permit-to-power-on-how-data) puts a clean run at 18 to 36 months from land purchase to power-on, and [Opendock](https://blog.opendock.com/data-center-construction-timeline) puts hyperscale construction at 18 to 24 months from planning to deployment. [Data Center Knowledge](https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/energy-power-supply/gridlocked-how-power-constraints-are-shaping-the-future-of-data-centers) says a grid connection alone can take four to five years or longer.

- **Where to check:** the same sources, on a schedule.
- **Good sign:** a dated update from a primary source this month.
- **Warning sign:** the latest item is months old.

## What do you do with the answers?

Treat each question you cannot answer as risk, not as a no. A project with two good signs and eight blanks is an early project, and that may be fine if you are early too. A project with a warning sign on power or permits needs a date before it needs your time.

Spezia re-researches more than 1,000 U.S. projects every week. Open a project file to see its stage, who is named on it and the source for each fact. [Open the data center tracker](https://spezia.ai/tools/buildout)

## How this was made

The questions come from the stages every data center passes through, as described in published guides to permitting and construction, and from how the projects in Spezia's tracker fail to progress. The figures quoted come from Spezia's tracker as of 2026-11-09 and from the filings and reports linked in the text.

## Frequently asked questions

### How can you tell if a data center project is real?

Look for documents, not announcements: a recorded approval, a permit number, a signed utility agreement with a date, a named tenant under lease and a contractor under contract. A project with several of these is far along. One with only a press release is early.

### What is the most important sign a data center will be built?

A firm power date and a tenant that is paying. Power is the main constraint on more than half of the 1 GW and larger projects Spezia tracks, and a paying tenant is what lenders look for before they fund construction.

### Where do you find data center permit and approval records?

In the agendas and minutes of the city or county that voted, in state environmental agency dockets for air and water permits, in building permit records, in utility and regulator filings, and in the SEC filings of public companies involved.

### How long does it take to build a data center?

Published estimates range widely. Global Data Center Hub puts a clean run at 18 to 36 months from land purchase to power-on, and Opendock puts hyperscale construction at 18 to 24 months. Power, permits and equipment delivery are the usual reasons a project runs longer.

### Why do some announced data centers never get built?

Power timing, local approval and opposition, financing and customers changing their plans are the reasons that show up in the news. In Spezia's tracker, 46% of planned capacity is announced only, so many announcements have not yet cleared those steps.

## Sources

1. [Spezia U.S. data center project tracker, research run of November 9, 2026](https://spezia.ai/tools/buildout), Spezia
2. [Entergy Corp, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/65984/000006598426000325/etr-20260930.htm), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
3. [Vistra Corp, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1692819/000169281926000025/vistra-20260930.htm), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
4. [When Ambiguity Becomes a Claim: Managing Dispute Risk in Data Center Construction](https://stoneturn.com/insight/managing-dispute-risk-in-data-center-construction/), StoneTurn
5. [From Permit to Power-On: How Data Centers Actually Get Built](https://www.globaldatacenterhub.com/p/from-permit-to-power-on-how-data), Global Data Center Hub
6. [Data center construction timeline](https://blog.opendock.com/data-center-construction-timeline), Opendock
7. [Gridlocked: how power constraints are shaping the future of data centers](https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/energy-power-supply/gridlocked-how-power-constraints-are-shaping-the-future-of-data-centers), Data Center Knowledge

## Cite this

Spezia. "How to vet a data center project: ten questions before you rely on it" Spezia, November 10, 2026. https://spezia.ai/blog/how-to-vet-a-data-center-project