Which parcels sit within five miles of a transmission-class substation, and what voltage runs on the nearest corridor?

SubSurface Intel answers this from Watershed Basins, Stream Gauges, Reservoirs, Groundwater Wells and related layers across 17 western states. Screen the entire 17-state footprint on the four constraints that actually kill data center sites, rank candidates on a scored hex grid, and walk into diligence with the reasons already written down.

Is there water available at all, is it senior enough to survive a dry year, and is it clean enough to cool with untreated?

SubSurface Intel answers this from Watershed Basins, Stream Gauges, Reservoirs, Groundwater Wells and related layers across 17 western states. Screen the entire 17-state footprint on the four constraints that actually kill data center sites, rank candidates on a scored hex grid, and walk into diligence with the reasons already written down.

How many fiber providers serve the area, and how far is the nearest internet exchange?

SubSurface Intel answers this from Watershed Basins, Stream Gauges, Reservoirs, Groundwater Wells and related layers across 17 western states. Screen the entire 17-state footprint on the four constraints that actually kill data center sites, rank candidates on a scored hex grid, and walk into diligence with the reasons already written down.

Does critical habitat, a mapped wetland or a protected designation touch the footprint?

SubSurface Intel answers this from Watershed Basins, Stream Gauges, Reservoirs, Groundwater Wells and related layers across 17 western states. Screen the entire 17-state footprint on the four constraints that actually kill data center sites, rank candidates on a scored hex grid, and walk into diligence with the reasons already written down.

Is there a gas pipeline close enough to bridge with behind-the-meter generation while the interconnect queue runs?

SubSurface Intel answers this from Watershed Basins, Stream Gauges, Reservoirs, Groundwater Wells and related layers across 17 western states. Screen the entire 17-state footprint on the four constraints that actually kill data center sites, rank candidates on a scored hex grid, and walk into diligence with the reasons already written down.

Which retiring thermal plants leave interconnection capacity behind?

SubSurface Intel answers this from Watershed Basins, Stream Gauges, Reservoirs, Groundwater Wells and related layers across 17 western states. Screen the entire 17-state footprint on the four constraints that actually kill data center sites, rank candidates on a scored hex grid, and walk into diligence with the reasons already written down.

19 layers · Complete plan

Data center siting across the western United States

Power, water, fiber and permitting risk for every candidate site — before you send anyone to look at it.

Data center siting fails on sequencing, not on diligence. Teams shortlist on land and power, then discover a wetland in month six and start over. Screening all four constraints at once — power, water, fiber, environmental — is the only version of this that converges.

Built for: Site selection teams, hyperscale and colocation developers, energy procurement leads, and the advisors who serve them.

Start free Complete — $499/mo

Why data center siting goes wrong today

A data center site has to clear power, water, fiber and environmental permitting simultaneously, and each of those lives with a different agency in a different format. Teams run them sequentially — shortlist on land and power, discover a wetland in month six, start over. The sequencing is the problem, not the diligence.

What data center siting has to answer

Which parcels sit within five miles of a transmission-class substation, and what voltage runs on the nearest corridor?
Is there water available at all, is it senior enough to survive a dry year, and is it clean enough to cool with untreated?
How many fiber providers serve the area, and how far is the nearest internet exchange?
Does critical habitat, a mapped wetland or a protected designation touch the footprint?
Is there a gas pipeline close enough to bridge with behind-the-meter generation while the interconnect queue runs?
Which retiring thermal plants leave interconnection capacity behind?

The data center siting workflow

1
Screen the region on the score grid
Turn on the Site Score Grid across a state or a region and read the composite score by hex. Every cell carries a breakdown across power, fiber, water and environment, so a low score is an explanation rather than a verdict you have to take on faith.
2
Interrogate the top cells layer by layer
Drop a pin on a promising cell and run proximity analysis: measured distance to the nearest substation and its max voltage, distance to transmission by voltage class, fiber provider count, nearest IXP, water rights within radius with their priority dates, and every environmental polygon that intersects.
3
Pressure-test the water
Permitted flow is not available flow. Check the stream gauge upstream, the reservoir storage backing the basin, the snowpack that will refill it, and the drought classification on the county. If the basin is closed to new appropriation, the regulatory overlay layer says so before you commission a study.
4
Watch the shortlist
Put every surviving candidate on a watchlist. Change detection runs daily and alerts you when a water right near a site changes hands, a claim is staked, or the underlying record moves — which is usually the first sign a competitor is working the same ground.
5
Export the memo
Generate a PDF per site with the layer evidence attached, or pull the same data through the API into your own model. The point is that the committee sees the sources, not a score with no provenance.

The 19 layers this depends on

Each links to its source, refresh cadence and field list.

Capabilities data center siting uses

Site Score GridProximity analysisWatchlists and change alertsPDF site reportsREST API

Every capability is described in detail on the platform overview.

Recommended plan: Complete

$499/mo

Data center siting is the one use case that genuinely needs every pack. Power and fiber decide viability, water decides cooling, environmental decides schedule, and the Site Score Grid only exists on Complete because scoring across four datasets you cannot see would be a number you cannot check.

Compare plans Talk to us first

Terms worth knowing

Interconnection Interconnection queue Behind-the-meter Latency Site selection H3 hex grid Wet water Load

Other workflows

Water Rights Investing

Price seniority, spot the mismatch between paper water and wet water, and find positions before they are listed.

Water Brokerage

A complete owner database across 17 states, comparables for pricing, and a client-ready report in one click.

Mining & Exploration

Deposits, active claims, protected land and the water to run a mine — on one map.

Energy Development

Route corridors, site generation, and clear the environmental picture before the first landowner call.

Industrial & Manufacturing Siting

The same constraint stack as a data center, weighted for process load instead of compute.

Agriculture & Ranching

Know what your water is worth, how safe it is this year, and what your neighbors hold.

Legal & Title Diligence

Authoritative records, chain context and export-ready evidence for adjudication and title work.

Government & Basin Management

A statewide inventory, live supply monitoring, and a public-facing record without building the platform.

19 layers · Complete plan

Data center siting across the western United States

Power, water, fiber and permitting risk for every candidate site — before you send anyone to look at it.

Built for: Site selection teams, hyperscale and colocation developers, energy procurement leads, and the advisors who serve them.

Start free Complete — $499/mo

Why data center siting goes wrong today

What data center siting has to answer

Which parcels sit within five miles of a transmission-class substation, and what voltage runs on the nearest corridor?
Is there water available at all, is it senior enough to survive a dry year, and is it clean enough to cool with untreated?
How many fiber providers serve the area, and how far is the nearest internet exchange?
Does critical habitat, a mapped wetland or a protected designation touch the footprint?
Is there a gas pipeline close enough to bridge with behind-the-meter generation while the interconnect queue runs?
Which retiring thermal plants leave interconnection capacity behind?

The data center siting workflow

1
Screen the region on the score grid
Turn on the Site Score Grid across a state or a region and read the composite score by hex. Every cell carries a breakdown across power, fiber, water and environment, so a low score is an explanation rather than a verdict you have to take on faith.
2
Interrogate the top cells layer by layer
Drop a pin on a promising cell and run proximity analysis: measured distance to the nearest substation and its max voltage, distance to transmission by voltage class, fiber provider count, nearest IXP, water rights within radius with their priority dates, and every environmental polygon that intersects.
3
Pressure-test the water
Permitted flow is not available flow. Check the stream gauge upstream, the reservoir storage backing the basin, the snowpack that will refill it, and the drought classification on the county. If the basin is closed to new appropriation, the regulatory overlay layer says so before you commission a study.
4
Watch the shortlist
Put every surviving candidate on a watchlist. Change detection runs daily and alerts you when a water right near a site changes hands, a claim is staked, or the underlying record moves — which is usually the first sign a competitor is working the same ground.
5
Export the memo
Generate a PDF per site with the layer evidence attached, or pull the same data through the API into your own model. The point is that the committee sees the sources, not a score with no provenance.