https://gr1d.us/ 2026-10-26 weekly 1.0 https://gr1d.us/build 2026-10-26 monthly 0.9 https://gr1d.us/host 2026-10-26 monthly 0.8 https://gr1d.us/compute 2026-10-26 monthly 0.8 https://gr1d.us/sites 2026-10-26 monthly 0.8 https://gr1d.us/sites/south-houston-20mw 2026-10-26 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/sites/south-houston-150mw 2026-10-26 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/sites/east-austin-60mw 2026-10-26 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/sites/north-texas-370mw 2026-10-26 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/faq 2026-10-26 monthly 0.6 https://gr1d.us/insights 2026-10-26 weekly 0.8 https://gr1d.us/insights/flow-battery-data-center 2026-10-26 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/images/insights/flow-battery-data-center/flow-battery-data-center-vs-lithium-ion.pngScorecard comparing lithium iron phosphate batteries with vanadium flow batteries: round-trip efficiency 85% versus 70–80%, rated cycle life about 9,000 versus 20,000-plus, energy per 20-foot container about 5 MWh versus under 0.5 MWh, and installed cost for a 100 MW, 10-hour plant $379 versus $446 per kWh.Flow vs lithium-ion for data centers: more cycles, lower efficiency, less energy per container, higher cost. Sources: NREL Jun 2025; Faraday Institution Oct 2025; PNNL Sep 2024. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/flow-battery-data-center/flow-battery-data-center-hours-not-milliseconds.pngTimeline from milliseconds to days: IT power supplies ride through a 20 millisecond dropout, the fastest independently observed flow battery response is 110 milliseconds, most flow battery vendors target 4 to 12 hours, and the US Department of Energy's long-duration target starts at 10 hours.Flow batteries cover hours, not the first 20 milliseconds. Sources: ITI (CBEMA) curve via powerquality.blog Feb 2022; Invinity Feb 2021; Faraday Institution Oct 2025; DOE Jul 2023. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/insights/data-center-microgrid-solar-battery-gas 2026-10-23 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/images/insights/data-center-microgrid-solar-battery-gas/data-center-microgrid-solar-battery-gas-20mw-hybrid.pngA 20 MW AI load on a hybrid microgrid in GR1D's 2026 model: 40 MWac of solar supplies 38% of annual energy, a 20 MW, 80 MWh battery shifts another 5% and handles ride-through, 28 MW of N+1 gas engines supply 57%, for $122–162 million or $6–8 million per MW of load.A 20 MW AI load on a hybrid microgrid: what each layer supplies and costs. GR1D analysis. Sources: EIA-930 ERCOT solar 2025; Lazard Jul 2026; Rabobank May 2026; NREL Oct 2018; EIA Feb 2020. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/data-center-microgrid-solar-battery-gas/data-center-microgrid-solar-battery-gas-day-of-load.pngStacked hourly chart of an average day for a flat 20 MW AI load on a hybrid microgrid: gas engines carry all 20 MW overnight, solar carries 17–19 MW from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. while sending up to 4 MW into the battery, and the battery discharges from late afternoon to about 10 p.m., peaking near 7 MW at 7 p.m.; over the year solar supplies 38%, the battery 5% and gas 57%.One average day on a 20 MW hybrid: 40 MWac of solar, a 20 MW, 80 MWh battery and 28 MW of N+1 gas engines. GR1D analysis. Sources: EIA-930 ERCOT solar 2025; Lazard Jul 2026; EIA Feb 2020. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/insights/how-a-data-center-is-built 2026-10-15 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/images/insights/how-a-data-center-is-built/how-a-data-center-is-built-12-phases.pngTwelve-phase timeline of how a data center is built, from site control and power interconnection through design, long-lead procurement, sitework, shell, MEP fit-out, commissioning levels 1 to 5, energization, IT installation and operations, with typical durations and the five gates.The 12 phases of a data center build and the five gates that control the schedule. Sources: JLL 2026 Outlook; Wood Mackenzie Oct 2025; ERCOT Sep 11, 2026; Planera/Mastt 2026. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/how-a-data-center-is-built/how-a-data-center-is-built-long-lead-equipment.pngLead times for long-lead data center equipment in 2026: power transformers 128 weeks, generator step-up transformers 143 weeks, 38 kV switchgear 78 to 104 weeks, 15 kV switchgear 52 to 80 weeks, standby generators 52 to 70 weeks, UPS 30 to 48 weeks, chillers 20 to 30 weeks, coolant distribution units 16 to 24 weeks.Order-to-delivery lead times for the equipment that gates a data center build, 2026. Sources: Wood Mackenzie Oct 2025; Terrapin via IndustrialSage Sep 2026; Global Power Supply May 2026; The Cooling Report Mar 2026; JLL Jan 2026. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/images/insights/how-a-data-center-is-built/how-a-data-center-is-built-commissioning-levels.pngThe five commissioning levels of a data center: Level 1 factory witness testing, Level 2 site receiving inspection, Level 3 de-energized installation checks, Level 4 energized functional testing of each system, Level 5 integrated systems test at design load with simulated failures.Commissioning Levels 1–5: what is tested, where, and what passing proves. Source: Anvilfield 2026; Uptime Institute 2025. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/insights/data-center-construction-timeline 2026-10-20 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/images/insights/data-center-construction-timeline/data-center-construction-timeline-gantt.pngGantt-style chart of data center development phases with best, typical and slipped durations in months: site control 1 to 12, Texas permits 1 to 18, design 3 to 18, distribution-level grid power 6 to 24, transmission-level grid power 24 to 84 or more, large power transformer 80 to 210 weeks, behind-the-meter power 4 to 48, powered shell 9 to 24, turnkey 20 to 60 MW 9 to 30, 100 to 300 MW campus phase 15 to 48, commissioning 2 to 9 and IT ramp under 1 to 6, with vertical markers at the 18-month build average and the 4-year grid wait that sets the date.How long each data center phase takes in 2026: best, typical and slipped durations, with the 18-month build average and the 4-year grid wait marked. Sources: JLL Jan 2026; Wood Mackenzie via POWER Jan 2026 and Apr 2024; ERCOT Sep 11, 2026; Foley Mar 2026; EC&M Aug 2026; Encino Environmental Sep 2026; Planera, LandGate, DCD 2026. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/data-center-construction-timeline/data-center-construction-timeline-scenarios.pngBest, typical and slipped timelines from site control to first live megawatt: 9–14, 18–30 and 36–60+ months for a 20–60 MW site with substation headroom or on-site power, versus 14–18 months per phase, 30–48 months and 5–7+ years for a 100–300 MW campus, with the reasons and dated examples for each.What to plan for: best, typical and slipped timelines for a 20–60 MW site and a 100–300 MW campus. Sources: JLL Jan 2026; Wood Mackenzie via POWER Jan 2026; Foley Mar 2026; EEI Sep 2026; Data Center Frontier, SEC, Hut 8, Fox34, DCD 2024–2026. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/images/insights/data-center-construction-timeline/data-center-construction-timeline-real-projects.pngSix dated data center builds ordered by months from start to first live load: xAI Colossus 4 months (122 days), IREN Horizon 1 about 9 months, Hut 8 Vega under 12 months, Galaxy Helios about 14 months, Stargate Abilene Phase 1 about 15 months and Applied Digital Polaris Forge 1 about 39 months, each with the reason it was fast or slow.Dated builds, 2024–2026: the fast ones started with power already on site. Sources: Data Center Frontier Nov 2024; DCD Jul 2025, Nov 2025, Jul 2026; Hut 8 Jun 2025; Galaxy Apr 2025; Fox34 Jul 2026; IREN 8-K Aug 2026. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/insights/how-data-centers-are-powered 2026-10-15 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/images/insights/how-data-centers-are-powered/how-data-centers-are-powered-7-configurations.pngSeven data center power configurations compared side by side — grid-only, grid plus backup, behind-the-meter gas, solar and wind plus storage, nuclear, bridge-to-grid and islanded microgrid — with scale, time-to-power from about 90 days to 84 months, cost signals from $90 to $220 per MWh and a dated example for each.Seven ways to power a data center in 2026, compared on scale, time-to-power, cost and a dated example. Sources: Rabobank May 2026; Potomac Economics May 2026; Heatmap Jan 2025; Nuclear News Network Oct 2026; Utility Dive Aug 2026; White & Case Aug 2026. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/how-data-centers-are-powered/how-data-centers-are-powered-delivery-chain.pngLeft-to-right data center power delivery chain: 69–345 kV transmission point of interconnection, main transformer to 34.5 or 13.8 kV with lead times above 160 weeks, medium-voltage switchgear, generators and battery storage at 15–40% coverage, UPS, 480/277 V busway and a 54 VDC rack busbar, with 8–12% losses, PUE of 1.54 average versus 1.10–1.15 for hyperscalers, and the N, N+1, catcher, 2N and 2N+1 redundancy topologies beneath.From 345 kV to 54 V: the power chain inside the fence, with typical values, losses and the redundancy topologies. Sources: amcompute Mar 2026; Compute Law Blog Oct 2026; Data Center Knowledge May 2026; pv magazine Jul 2026; NVIDIA May 2025; Uptime Institute 2025; mgrid Oct 2025. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/images/insights/how-data-centers-are-powered/how-data-centers-are-powered-time-vs-cost.pngTime-to-power in months plotted against cost in dollars per MWh for data center power configurations: fuel cells at about 90 days, reciprocating engines and aeroderivative turbines at 12–24 months and heavy-duty turbines at 36–84 months inside a $100–165 per MWh behind-the-meter gas band, grid connections at 36–84 months and $90–95 per MWh, solar plus storage at 18–36 months and $93–109 per MWh, islanded gas turbines near $86 per MWh, an existing-plant nuclear PPA at about two years and $130 per MWh, and new nuclear in the 2030s at $141–220 per MWh.Time-to-power versus cost: where each configuration lands in 2026. Sources: Rabobank May 2026; Heatmap Jan 2025; Lazard via pv magazine Jun 2025; Potomac Economics May 2026; The Energy Mag Jun 2026. The ERCOT all-in figure is a GR1D estimate. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/insights/800v-dc-data-center-vera-rubin 2026-10-15 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/images/insights/800v-dc-data-center-vera-rubin/800v-dc-data-center-vera-rubin-chain-comparison.pngTwo power chains side by side: the legacy AC chain from utility medium voltage through a low-voltage transformer, UPS, PDU and busway, in-rack 415 VAC to 54 VDC power shelves, 54 V busbar and tray VRMs at 82.0% end-to-end efficiency, versus the 800 VDC chain from medium voltage through a facility rectifier or sidecar power rack, 800 VDC busway and in-rack DC-DC conversion at 87.4%, with 45% less copper and about 750 A instead of 11,100 to 12,500 A for a 600 kW rack.The legacy AC power chain versus the 800 VDC chain, end to end. Sources: SemiAnalysis May 2026; NVIDIA May 2025, Oct 2025 and 2026 whitepapers. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/800v-dc-data-center-vera-rubin/800v-dc-data-center-vera-rubin-rack-power-ladder.pngRack power ladder from about 25 kW for A100-class racks and 40 kW for H100 to 132 kW for GB200 NVL72, up to 250 kW for Vera Rubin NVL72 in 2026, 600 kW for the Kyber rack and 1 MW native racks, with current at 54 VDC rising from roughly 460 A to 18,500 A while current at 800 VDC stays between about 30 A and 1,250 A.Rack power from 25 kW to 1 MW and the current each rack draws at 54 VDC versus 800 VDC. Sources: Schneider Electric Jul 2025; HPE Sep 2026; NVIDIA May 2025 and Mar 2026; DCD Mar 2025; SemiAnalysis May 2026. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/images/insights/800v-dc-data-center-vera-rubin/800v-dc-data-center-vera-rubin-roadmap.pngTimeline from 2025 to 2029: Mt. Diablo ±400 VDC and NVIDIA's 800 VDC announcement in 2025; Vera Rubin NVL72 and the ~660 kW Power Rack in 2026; Power Center pilots up to 2 MW and the planned 600 kW Kyber rack in 2027 with a reported slip to 2028; 4.8 MW DC Power Blocks and ~10 MW medium-voltage solid-state transformer blocks toward 2029; with Vertiv, Delta, LITE-ON, Eaton, Schneider Electric and Siemens ship dates beneath.800 VDC and Vera Rubin: what ships when, 2025–2029. Sources: NVIDIA May 2025, Oct 2025, Mar–Oct 2026 and whitepaper v2; DCD Mar 2025 and Mar 2026; SDxCentral/SemiAnalysis Jul 2026; Google Cloud Apr 2025; Vertiv 2026; IT Brief Mar 2026; Taiwan News Aug 2026; HPCwire Aug 2026. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/insights/small-bespoke-ai-data-centers 2026-10-15 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/images/insights/small-bespoke-ai-data-centers/small-bespoke-ai-data-centers-big-vs-small.pngSide-by-side comparison of data centers of 75 MW and above versus 20–60 MW bespoke sites across ERCOT class and security, queue and time to power, permits, equipment, financing size, tenant type and scrutiny: large loads face Batch Zero, $50,000 per MW of security and 2028–2032 capacity allocations, while 20–60 MW sites sit outside Batch Zero, use 45-day TCEQ standard permits and have delivered halls in 7 to 14 months.Big versus small: how the 75 MW line sorts data centers in 2026. Sources: ERCOT Dec 2025 and Sep 11, 2026; PUCT via White & Case Sep 2026; Utility Dive Aug 2026; TCEQ Apr 2026; CBRE and JLL Aug 2026; Colocation Scout Sep–Oct 2026; BNEF Jul–Aug 2026. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/small-bespoke-ai-data-centers/small-bespoke-ai-data-centers-speed-comps.pngHorizontal bar chart of documented AI data center timelines in months: Digi Power X/Cerebras 40 MW about 7 months to Phase 1 (target), Nscale Ward County about 9 months from empty shell to live, IREN Horizon 1 50 MW about 9 months from contract to acceptance, AIB/Nebius 50 MW halls at months 10 and 14, Hut 8 Vega 205 MW under 12 months, DC BLOX 20 MW in 22 weeks in 2018, all finishing before the Batch Zero window that allocates ERCOT capacity for 2028 to 2032.Months, not years: documented AI sites against the Batch Zero window. Sources: Colocation Scout (Jul–Oct 2026); Ionic Digital (Aug 2026); Hut 8 (Jun 2025); IREN 8-K (Aug 2026); Brasfield & Gorrie (2018); ERCOT (Sep 2026); Foley (Mar 2026); CBRE via Data Center Frontier (Jan 2026). © GR1D https://gr1d.us/images/insights/small-bespoke-ai-data-centers/small-bespoke-ai-data-centers-gpus-per-20mw.pngDensity arithmetic for a 20 MW IT load: at 120 kW per GB200 NVL72 rack it holds about 165 racks and about 11,900 GPUs; at the 600 kW Kyber NVL576 rack planned for 2027 it holds about 33 racks and roughly 19,000 GPU dies; a small bar pair shows AI inference load growing from 20.9 GW in 2025 to 93.3 GW in 2030.How many GPUs fit in 20 MW: derived from rack power and GPUs per rack. Sources: SemiAnalysis (Jul 2024); TechRadar on NVIDIA GTC (Mar 2025); Uptime Institute (2026); McKinsey (Feb 2026). © GR1D https://gr1d.us/insights/powered-shell-vs-turnkey-vs-colocation 2026-10-15 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/images/insights/powered-shell-vs-turnkey-vs-colocation/powered-shell-vs-turnkey-vs-colocation-who-builds-what.pngFour-column comparison of powered land, powered shell, turnkey build-to-suit and colocation showing what the landlord delivers, what the tenant installs, who owns the mechanical and electrical plant, the pricing unit, typical term, 2026 delivery cost from about $584,000 per MW for powered land and $4–8M per MW for a shell to $17.6M per MW turnkey all-in, and 2026 rent signals from about $65 per kW-month for a triple-net shell-type lease to $195.94 per kW-month colocation asking.Who builds what, who owns what, who pays what: powered land, powered shell, turnkey and colocation in 2026. Sources: Cushman & Wakefield Sep 2026; datacenterHawk Feb 2025; LandGate Jan 2026; Miller Thomson Apr 2026; JLL May 2026; CBRE Feb 2026; Ionic Digital 424B4 Jul 2026; Applied Digital 8-K Oct 2026; Core Scientific Feb 2025; MetLife IM 2024. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/powered-shell-vs-turnkey-vs-colocation/powered-shell-vs-turnkey-vs-colocation-cost-and-rent-ladder.pngTwo bar ladders: developer cost per MW by delivery stage in 2026, from $0.58M powered land, $1.8–3.5M and $4–8M for a powered shell on share and deal bases, $11.3M shell and core and $17.6M turnkey all-in to more than $25M with AI fit-out; and rent per kW-month by structure, about $65 for the Ionic–Nscale triple-net shell-type lease, $119 for the Core Scientific–CoreWeave hybrid, $138 for Applied Digital's turnkey build-to-suit and $195.94 colocation asking.The 2026 cost ladder by delivery stage and the rent ladder by structure; per-kW rents are derived from SEC-filed contract totals. Sources: Cushman & Wakefield Sep 2026; LandGate Jan 2026; datacenterHawk Feb 2025; JLL May 2026 and Jan 2026; Ionic Digital 424B4 Jul 2026; Core Scientific Feb 2025; Applied Digital 8-K Oct 2026; CBRE Feb 2026. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/images/insights/powered-shell-vs-turnkey-vs-colocation/powered-shell-vs-turnkey-vs-colocation-risk-allocation.pngRisk allocation matrix: power delay, construction cost and procurement, commissioning, obsolescence and density, re-leasing and operating risk, each assigned to tenant, landlord, operator or split under powered shell, turnkey and colocation, with footnotes on rent-tied liquidated damages, termination rights, utility-delay carve-outs, phased power with long-stop dates and the Ionic–Nscale no-penalty expansion clause.Who carries each risk under powered shell, turnkey and colocation, and the lease mechanics that move it. Sources: Troutman Dec 2025; Miller Thomson Apr 2026; Ionic Digital 424B4 Jul 2026; MetLife IM Jul 2024; Avison Young Q1 2025; Global Data Center Hub Nov 2025. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/insights/data-center-cost-per-mw 2026-10-15 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/images/insights/data-center-cost-per-mw/data-center-cost-per-mw-stack.pngStacked horizontal bar splitting the $17.6 million per MW all-in cost of a 2026 greenfield data center into Cushman & Wakefield's categories — land 7% ($1.2M), power infrastructure 21% ($3.7M), shell and sitework 17% ($3.0M), cooling 12% ($2.1M), IT and network 7% ($1.2M), owner-furnished equipment 8% ($1.4M), contingency 16% ($2.8M), design and escalation 6% ($1.1M) and 6% not itemized — with JLL's $11.3M per MW shell-and-core figure bracketed underneath, a $29–42M per MW GPU extension to the right, and a delivery-stage ladder from $584,000 per MW powered land to $4–8M powered shell, $12–16M turnkey and $17.6M all-in.Data center cost per MW in 2026: how $17.6M all-in splits by category, where JLL's $11.3M shell and core sits, and what GPUs add. Sources: Cushman & Wakefield Sep 2026; CRE Daily Aug 2026; Data Center Scouts Sep 2026; JLL Jan 2026; datacenterHawk 2025; IREN Nov 2025; Wing VC Aug 2026. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/data-center-cost-per-mw/data-center-cost-per-mw-worked-examples.pngTwo stacked budget columns compare a 20 MW IT powered shell at $80–160M — land $4–8M, utility and switchgear $25–45M, building and sitework $39–82M, soft costs $12–25M, gross draw about 25 MW and under the 75 MW line — with a 60 MW IT liquid-cooled turnkey facility at $780–960M before GPUs — land $55–67M, power $164–202M, shell $133–163M, cooling $94–115M, electrical and equipment $164–202M, soft costs $172–211M, gross draw about 75 MW at the §25.194 line — and a to-scale strip showing the turnkey facility reaching $2.5–3.5B with GPUs.Worked examples: a 20 MW powered shell versus a 60 MW turnkey AI facility in Texas, 2026. Derived from datacenterHawk via Data Center Scouts Sep 2026; Cushman & Wakefield Sep 2026; IREN Nov 2025; Wing VC Aug 2026; PUCT §25.194 via White & Case Sep 2026. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/images/insights/data-center-cost-per-mw/data-center-cost-per-mw-by-market.pngHorizontal bars of construction cost per MW from the Turner & Townsend 2025–26 index — Dallas $9.5M, Charlotte $9.5M, Phoenix $9.8M, Atlanta $9.9M, Northern Virginia $10.9M, Portland $10.9M, Chicago $11.2M, Silicon Valley $13.3M — beside Cushman & Wakefield's all-in ranges of $9.1–14.3M for Austin–San Antonio, $9.0–15.8M for Dallas, $9.4–17.6M for Northern Virginia, $10.2–17.0M for Phoenix and $14.0–23.3M for Silicon Valley against the $17.6M US average, with equipment price increases since December 2021: switchgear +60%, copper +46%, generators +33%, cooling +32%, transformers +29%.Data center cost per MW by market, construction-only and all-in, with equipment inflation since 2021. Sources: Turner & Townsend Nov 2025 via Data Center Scouts Sep 2026; Cushman & Wakefield Sep 2026 via CRE Daily Aug 2026; Mortenson Q1 2026. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/insights/ercot-large-load-interconnection-texas 2026-10-15 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/images/insights/ercot-large-load-interconnection-texas/ercot-large-load-interconnection-texas-process-flow.pngLeft-to-right flow of the nine gates for an ERCOT load of 75 MW or more — request to the utility with officer-attested disclosures, $100,000 screening fee, $50,000 per MW security, ERCOT batch study and allocation, SLLIA with greater-of security, non-refundable CIAC, minimum billing demand, quarterly stability assessment and energization approval — with the August 3, 2026 ERCOT energization pause and the September 21, 2026 TCEQ permit pause marked, and thinner lanes for 25–75 MW medium loads and loads under 25 MW.Getting power in ERCOT at 75 MW and above: nine gates, two pauses. Sources: PUCT 16 TAC §25.194 via White & Case and Colocation Scout, Sep 2026; ERCOT Aug 20 and Sep 11, 2026; Bracewell Sep 2026. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/ercot-large-load-interconnection-texas/ercot-large-load-interconnection-texas-batch-zero.pngBatch Zero's September 3, 2026 provisional classification drawn as three blocks sized to GW: Base Load 204 projects and 66.4 GW, Studied 158 projects and 127.9 GW, Excluded 373 projects and 302.2 GW, with definitions, the top base-load counties Dallas 5,713 MW, Harris 5,672 MW and Haskell 2,689 MW, the 18% first-pass dynamic-model acceptance rate, 17 loads totaling 6,608 MW fully processed but waiting on the energization pause, and the April 9, 2027 results date ERCOT says it will miss.Batch Zero: who is in, who is studied, who waits. Sources: ERCOT Batch Zero Update, Sep 11, 2026; ERCOT PUCT presentation, Aug 20, 2026; Texas Commercial Plans, Jul 2026; Utility Dive, Jun 2026. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/images/insights/ercot-large-load-interconnection-texas/ercot-large-load-interconnection-texas-calendar.pngCalendar from October 2026 to summer 2027 for Texas large-load interconnection: TCEQ compliance report October 19, ERCOT quarterly stability assessment November 1, election November 3, ERCOT verification and community-impact reports December 10, PUCT open meeting December 17, SB 6 4CP deadline December 31, legislature convenes January 2027, ERCOT Board on Batch 1 rules February 8–9, Batch Zero results due April 9 which ERCOT says it will miss, the pre-pause plan for allocation and commitments in spring to fall 2027, and Batch 1 applications expected summer 2027, each with what it means for a project.What changes next, and what each date means for a project. Sources: ERCOT Aug 20 and Sep 11, 2026; Office of the Governor Sep 2026; Troutman Aug 2026; NatLawReview Jul 2025; Utility Dive Jun 2026; ZeroEmissionGrid Aug 2026; Sempra Aug 2026; POWER Aug 2026. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/insights/liquid-cooling-gpu-data-centers 2026-10-15 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/images/insights/liquid-cooling-gpu-data-centers/liquid-cooling-gpu-data-centers-rack-density-ladder.pngRack-density ladder from 5 kW to 1 MW per rack showing which cooling method carries each band: air with containment to about 40 kW, rear-door heat exchangers from 30 to 75 kW, single-phase direct-to-chip liquid for 100 to 250 kW racks such as GB200 NVL72 at 120 to 135 kW and Vera Rubin NVL72 at up to 250 kW, direct-to-chip with a sidecar for the 600 kW Kyber rack, and 1 MW racks after that, with the share of heat leaving through liquid rising from near zero to 100 percent and Uptime Institute markers showing most operators say direct liquid cooling is needed above 20 kW and 25 percent put air's limit at 40 to 49 kW.Rack-density ladder: which cooling method carries 5 kW to 1 MW per rack, and how much of the heat leaves through liquid. Sources: Uptime Institute Jul 2025; Motivair; Supermicro Feb 2025; NVIDIA Oct 2025, Mar 2026, Oct 2026; DCD Mar 2025, Oct 2025; Schneider Electric Jul 2025. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/liquid-cooling-gpu-data-centers/liquid-cooling-gpu-data-centers-dlc-loop.pngDirect-to-chip cooling loop from GPU die to cold plate, rack manifold and coolant distribution unit with a 4 °C approach, N+N pumps and 25–50 micron filtration, then the facility water loop to dry coolers with adiabatic assist or a trim chiller, with 45 °C supply and about 55 °C return on the technology loop and about 41 °C supply and 51 °C return on the facility loop; flow callouts of 1.5 L/min per kW, about 200 L/min per NVL72 rack, about 890 L/min per Kyber rack and 3,400 L/min through a 2.3 MW CDU at 32 °C in and 36 °C out; and a comparison showing dry coolers carry a 45 °C loop up to about 33–36 °C ambient but a 27–32 °C loop only up to about 15–23 °C.The direct-to-chip loop: two circuits, one heat exchanger. Temperatures for a 45 °C design at a 10 K rise; flows are GR1D calculations cross-checked against the Vertiv CDU 2300 data sheet. Sources: Vertiv Nov 2024; NVIDIA Oct 2025; Supermicro Feb 2025; Motivair by Schneider Jan 2026; DCD Mar 2025, Jul 2024; Dell'Oro Jan 2026; NOAA; ASHRAE via ERCOT. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/images/insights/liquid-cooling-gpu-data-centers/liquid-cooling-gpu-data-centers-water-and-heat-rejection.pngFour heat-rejection options compared on water use and energy use: evaporative cooling towers with the highest water use and 22% of operators, adiabatic dry coolers using water only for pre-cooling, closed-loop dry coolers with near-zero water and 6% of operators, and air-cooled chillers with no water but the most energy and 35% of operators; water usage effectiveness benchmarks of 0.36 L/kWh industry average rising to 0.45–0.48 by 2028, 0.32 hyperscale median and 0.30 Microsoft fleet, Microsoft's zero-evaporation design saving more than 125 million liters per datacenter a year, and a 1 million gallon one-time fill with about 50,000 gallons per building per year at Crusoe Abilene; and the Texas timeline from the August 3, 2026 audit order through the September 14 ERCOT RFI and TWDB enforcement, the September 21 TCEQ permit pause, the October 19 compliance report and the December 10 ERCOT report.Heat rejection decides water use: four ways to reject GPU heat in Texas, the WUE benchmarks and the autumn 2026 Texas water timeline. Sources: LBNL Dec 2024; Uptime Institute Jul 2025; Redmond Magazine Dec 2024; Crusoe Aug 2025, Apr 2026; Bracewell Sep 2026; Beveridge & Diamond Sep 2026. © GR1D https://gr1d.us/insights/ai-data-center-site-selection-texas 2026-10-20 monthly 0.7 https://gr1d.us/images/insights/ai-data-center-site-selection-texas/ai-data-center-site-selection-texas-scorecard.pngGR1D's weighted site-selection scorecard for Texas AI data centers, eleven criteria totalling 100 points led by power at 35 (distance and voltage 15, queue and classification 12, behind-the-meter option 8), then land 15, entitlement, fiber and community 10 each, water 8, market 7, hazards 3 and labor 2, each with a data source and a pass/fail gate; a score of 75 or more with every gate passed advances, and any failed gate is a hold.Power is 35 of 100 points on GR1D's Texas site scorecard: 11 criteria, weights, data sources and pass/fail gates. Sources: GR1D method Oct 2026; JLL Jan 2026; datacentres.com 2026 and Aug 2026; Build.inc Mar 2026; Gibson Dunn Aug 2026; Bracewell Sep 2026. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/ai-data-center-site-selection-texas/ai-data-center-site-selection-texas-evidence-ladder.pngThe four-rung power evidence ladder for a data center site. Rung 1, power nearby: a substation of 138 kV or more within 1 to 3 miles, a red flag on its own. Rung 2, studied: a utility load study on file and the ERCOT 25 or 75 MW classification letter, the minimum to advance a site; 75 MW or more pays a $100,000 study fee. Rung 3, delivery path: a facilities study, a transformer slot Oncor quotes at about 36 months and $50,000 per MW of security posted. Rung 4, contractually credible: an executed interconnection or supply agreement with an energization date, or behind-the-meter gas with a pipeline interconnect and an issued air permit. New large-load power takes about 4.4 years globally and 5 in the Americas against an 18 to 24 month target, and pre-entitled, power-reserved DFW land carries a 15 to 20 percent premium.Time to power is proved with documents, rung by rung. Sources: datacentres.com 2026 and Aug 2026; Build.inc Mar 2026; Global Data Center Hub Aug 2026; White & Case and Bracewell Sep 2026; Propmodo/C&W May 2026; JLL via Datacentre Magazine Jan 2026. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article. https://gr1d.us/images/insights/ai-data-center-site-selection-texas/ai-data-center-site-selection-texas-submarkets.pngTexas data center submarket comparison, 2026: Dallas–Fort Worth on Oncor with more than 38 GW of large-load requests, under 1 percent vacancy, 3,202 MW under construction and land at $150,000 to $400,000 per acre; Austin–San Antonio on Oncor, LCRA and Austin Energy with 2.3 percent vacancy and 462 MW under construction, 97 percent preleased; Houston on CenterPoint with 19.7 percent vacancy, the only market above GR1D's 5 percent vacancy gate, and 15 MW under construction; West Texas on gas and wind with 2.9 GW under construction and a planned 765 kV backbone; no sourced 2026 market data for Corpus Christi, South Texas or East Texas.DFW builds the most; Houston holds Texas's only slack. Sources: datacentres.com Aug 2026; Dallas Innovates/JLL Aug 2026; W.Media/JLL Feb 2026; CBRE Sep 2025 and Aug 2026; Propmodo/C&W May 2026; Utility Dive Jul 2026; Data Center Knowledge Feb 2026; KBTX/Texas Tribune Jun 2026; TRG Apr 2026; Center Square Oct 2025. © GR1D — free to republish with a link to this article.