Black & Veatch

An integrated data center campus is a facility where power generation, power delivery, water systems, environmental infrastructure and data center design are engineered as one coordinated system, not procured or delivered in isolation. This approach is increasingly essential for hyperscale, colocation, and neocloud operators facing grid interconnection delays, water constraints and rising sustainability expectations. Integrated campuses are increasingly evaluated not only on reliability and scalability, but also on efficient use of power, water and land resources. Black & Veatch defines the integrated campus across seven interconnected zones: 

• Power generation: On-site and behind-the-meter generation 

• Power delivery: Substations, transmission and distribution 

• Industrial water: Supply, treatment, reuse and disposal 

• Data center core and shell: Buildings, cooling and MEP systems 

• Environmental: Permitting, community engagement and compliance 

• Advisory services: Transaction, regulatory and engineering studies 

• Lifecycle services: O&M, asset performance and modernization 

When engineered together, these zones eliminate the sequential bottlenecks that traditionally delay data center projects by months or years. 

Engineering studies play a foundational role in de-risking major data center design and investment decisions. Black & Veatch provides three specialized studies that inform every stage of campus development:

• RAM studies: Quantify uptime risk across power, cooling and MEP systems by modeling failure scenarios and identifying potential single points of failure. RAM studies inform underwriting models, tenant SLA negotiations and capital allocation decisions.

• CFD modeling: Validates cooling performance before construction by modeling airflow, thermal distribution and equipment cooling behavior. CFD is essential for AI-ready facilities where traditional cooling assumptions break down at high densities.

• EMF studies: Support permitting, regulatory approval and community engagement for substations and high-voltage transmission infrastructure.

Together, these studies turn assumptions into evidence, helping protect investments that often run into the billions.

Owner's site generation (OSG) is a specific type of on-site generation where the data center operator owns, controls and operates the power generation assets, rather than relying on generation delivered by a utility, developer or third-party provider. The distinction matters because it shifts control:

• On-site generation: Describes where the power is generated (at or near the load).

• Owner's site generation: Describes who controls the generation and why. The operator finances, owns and directs the operational strategy.

For hyperscale, colocation and neocloud operators facing grid interconnection queues of 7 to 10 years, owner’s site generation decouples the power timeline from the utility's, putting the operator in control of schedule, cost and technology choice. Black & Veatch designs and delivers owner’s site generation configurations including natural gas turbines, reciprocating engines, fuel cells, microgrids and renewables paired with battery energy storage (BESS).

Water use in modern data centers is evolving toward reduced freshwater demand through engineering innovation, closed-loop cooling and alternative supply strategies. Water consumption varies widely depending on cooling technology, climate and site conditions. Leading operators are reducing consumption through:

• Direct-to-chip and immersion cooling: Dramatically reduces evaporative cooling water demand.

• Closed-loop systems: Minimize freshwater withdrawal by recirculating cooling water on-site.

• Water reuse and reclaimed sources: Fit-for-purpose reclaimed water for cooling, process and non-potable applications.

• Hybrid supply strategies: Blends of potable, reclaimed, brackish and recycled water that balance cost, performance and stewardship.

• Zero-liquid-discharge (ZLD): Systems that eliminate wastewater discharge in constrained regions.

Black & Veatch has helped hyperscale clients evaluate configurations such as 100% recycled water versus hybrid potable and reclaimed water strategies, delivering

MEP systems help determine how efficiently, reliably and sustainably a data center operates. As AI workloads push rack densities past 130 kW, MEP systems must be designed for cooling loads, power distribution densities and reliability requirements that traditional designs weren't built to support. Black & Veatch MEP engineering for data centers includes:

• Advanced cooling: Chilled water plants, air-cooled, liquid-cooled, direct-to-chip and immersion cooling architectures

• Power distribution: Medium- and low-voltage systems engineered for dense rack configurations

• Emergency power: UPS, generators and battery systems designed for concurrent maintainability

• Fire protection: Detection and suppression engineered for high-value, high-density equipment

• Plumbing systems: Cooling makeup, process water and life safety

• Integrated controls: BMS, EPMS and control platforms unify system operations

MEP systems must be engineered not just for today's densities, but for the workloads coming three to five years from now.

Black & Veatch integrates power generation, water and design into one campus solution through a coordinated delivery model where all disciplines are engineered together from the earliest planning stages. This integrated approach helps organizations scale campus infrastructure while balancing performance, resource stewardship and long-term operational objectives.
Instead of sequentially procuring power, water and design services from separate firms, hyperscale and colocation operators get one integrated firm responsible for:

• Simultaneous engineering: Power generation, substations, water systems, environmental permitting and MEP systems are engineered in parallel rather than sequence

• Trade-off analysis: Real-time engineering decisions across zones (e.g., cooling technology choices affect both water strategy and power demand)

• Master planning: Campus layouts that account for generation, delivery, water and design interactions from day one while supporting future expansion

• Reference designs: Pre-engineered configurations that compress cycle time and support portfolio-scale growth

• Integrated advisory and lifecycle: RAM, CFD and EMF studies, asset performance and O&M continuity that extend across the campus lifecycle.

This approach helps eliminate the seams where projects lose time while creating a scalable foundation for future campus growth.

A data center reference design is a repeatable, pre-engineered design platform that captures proven configurations across power densities, cooling architectures, building footprints and campus layouts while adapting to each client's site, scale and performance targets. Reference designs matter because they:

• Compress early-stage engineering timelines

• Reduce surprises during detailed design and construction

• Support portfolio-scale growth by adapting proven designs rather than starting from scratch

• Enable faster budgeting and financing through pre-validated cost baselines

• Standardize quality across multiple sites and phases

Black & Veatch reference designs combine proven MEP, structural and electrical configurations into scalable platforms that can be adapted to individual site requirements. This approach helps operators streamline planning, improve consistency across deployments and support portfolio growth with greater confidence and predictability.