Scoring Engine

Data center site scoring — every parcel ranked 0–100.

Data center site scoring is the process of evaluating land parcels against the specific requirements of hyperscale and colocation data center development. GridAlpha automates this evaluation with a composite 0-100 index that weighs four dimensions: infrastructure proximity to substations, transmission lines, and fiber (30%), buildability including soil classification, flood zone, and wetland presence (30%), arbitrage economics comparing assessed value to data center land comparables (30%), and owner motivation signals like tax delinquency, absentee ownership, and long-term hold duration (20%). Bonus factors for fiber adjacency, rail access, and highway access push high-quality sites even higher. The result is a single, defensible number that replaces weeks of manual evaluation with an instant ranking across 10,000+ parcels daily — so your team pursues the best sites first, not the ones they happen to find.

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Four Dimensions, One Score

Every parcel evaluated on the factors that matter for data center site selection.

30%

Infrastructure Proximity

Distance to the nearest substation, high-voltage transmission line, and lit fiber route. Closer means lower interconnection cost and faster time to power.

Sources: HIFLD substations (47K+), HIFLD transmission lines (52K+), FCC Broadband Data Collection.
30%

Buildability

USDA soil classification, FEMA flood zone mapping, and National Wetlands Inventory presence. A buildable site means lower remediation cost and faster entitlement timelines.

Evaluates soil bearing capacity, flood zone designation (Zone X preferred), and wetland-to-parcel ratio.
30%

Arbitrage Economics

The spread between current assessed value (agricultural or rural-residential) and data center land comparables in the market. Larger spreads mean greater upside on acquisition.

Compares county assessor valuations to regional DC land comps ($150K-$500K+/acre in primary markets).
20%

Owner Motivation

Signals that indicate a higher probability of seller willingness: tax delinquency, absentee ownership, estate or trust ownership, and properties held for 10+ years without improvement.

Motivation signals reduce expected negotiation friction and time-to-close.
+10
Fiber Proximity
Under 1 mile to lit fiber
+5
Rail Access
Adjacent rail for heavy equipment
+5
Highway Access
Interstate or major highway proximity

Score Thresholds

How GridAlpha categorizes parcels for your acquisitions pipeline.

TierScore RangeInterpretation
Hot 85 – 100 Immediate acquisition target. Strong across all four dimensions. Highest urgency leads.
High 70 – 84 Strong candidate. Likely competitive. Move within days, not weeks.
Medium 55 – 69 Viable site with one or two weaker dimensions. Worth investigation for patient capital.
Low Below 55 Flagged but not recommended. May require remediation, rezoning, or infrastructure buildout.
21
States Covered
7
ISOs Monitored
10,000+
Parcels Scored Daily
$1B+
Arbitrage Spreads Identified

Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding the GridAlpha scoring methodology.

What is the GridAlpha Score?
The GridAlpha Score is a 0-100 composite index that evaluates a parcel's suitability for data center development. It combines four weighted dimensions — infrastructure proximity (30%), buildability including soil, flood, and wetland risk (30%), arbitrage economics comparing assessed value to data center land comps (30%), and owner motivation signals such as tax delinquency, absentee ownership, and long-term hold duration (20%). Bonus factors for fiber proximity, rail access, and highway access can push the score above the base calculation.
What factors are weighted in the scoring model?
The scoring model weights four primary dimensions: Infrastructure Proximity (30%) measures distance to substations, transmission lines, and fiber routes. Buildability (30%) evaluates soil classification, FEMA flood zones, and wetland presence. Arbitrage Economics (30%) calculates the spread between current assessed value and data center land comparables. Owner Motivation (20%) analyzes signals like tax delinquency status, absentee ownership, estate indicators, and hold duration. Bonus factors include fiber proximity (+10 points for under 1 mile), rail access (+5), and highway access (+5).
What is a good GridAlpha Score?
Scores are categorized into priority tiers. Hot leads score 85 or above — these represent parcels with strong infrastructure access, favorable buildability, significant arbitrage spread, and motivated sellers. High-priority leads score 70-84 and are strong acquisition candidates. Medium-priority leads (55-69) are viable but may have one or two weaker dimensions. Parcels scoring below 55 are classified as low priority and may require further investigation before pursuit.
How is infrastructure proximity measured?
Infrastructure proximity is calculated using spatial distance from each parcel centroid to the nearest substation, high-voltage transmission line, and fiber route. Substation and transmission data is sourced from HIFLD (Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data). Fiber proximity uses FCC Broadband Data Collection records. Distances are computed using KDTree spatial indexing for accuracy at scale. Fiber thresholds: under 1 mile is optimal (+10 points), 1-3 miles is good (+5), 3-5 miles is acceptable (0), 5-9 miles is marginal (-10), and over 9 miles is flagged as a risk factor.
What data sources inform the score?
GridAlpha's scoring model draws from multiple authoritative sources: HIFLD for substations and transmission lines, FCC Broadband Data Collection for fiber infrastructure, USDA Soil Data Access for soil classifications, FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer for flood zone mapping, National Wetlands Inventory for wetland presence, county assessor records for parcel valuations and ownership data, and ISO interconnection queues for demand signals. All sources are continuously refreshed to ensure scoring reflects current conditions.
Can I customize scoring weights?
Yes. GridAlpha's scoring engine is fully configurable. Territory and Operator tier clients can adjust dimension weights to align with their specific acquisition criteria — for example, increasing the infrastructure proximity weight for clients prioritizing powered-site adjacency, or increasing the arbitrage weight for firms focused on spread maximization. Minimum score thresholds for lead delivery are also configurable.

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