Case Study

AI-Ready Regional Data Center

Challenge

Rapid growth in AI, cloud services, and real-time digital applications created demand for a high-density compute facility capable of delivering low-latency infrastructure to major population centers across the Southwestern United States. The project required a facility large enough to support AI and HPC workloads while remaining agile enough to serve regional enterprise and edge market demands.

In addition to performance requirements, the client prioritized energy efficiency, water conservation, and accelerated deployment timelines. Traditional evaporative cooling systems common in hyperscale environments can place significant strain on local water resources, making a sustainable, water-free cooling solution a critical design objective.

Solution

The result was a purpose-built 200,000+ sq. ft. Tier III data center engineered specifically for high-density AI and advanced compute workloads. The facility delivers 38 MW of critical IT capacity and was designed with concurrently maintainable infrastructure, ensuring continuous operations without downtime during maintenance.

To support emerging compute demands, the facility incorporates hybrid high-density rack capabilities, enabling both traditional and advanced cooling strategies:

Air-cooled racks up to ~80 kW per rack
Liquid-cooled racks up to ~150 kW per rack

A defining feature of the project is its closed-loop waterless cooling architecture, designed to dramatically reduce environmental impact while maintaining thermal performance.

The system integrates:

Air-cooled chillers
Glycol-based heat transfer loops
Zero water consumption cooling operations
Ultra-high-density compute support

The electrical infrastructure follows a Tier III resilient power architecture, including:

Utility grid primary power supply
Medium voltage switchgear distribution
A/B redundant UPS systems
PDUs and rack-level power distribution
Diesel generator plant with battery UPS and automatic transfer switching

To accelerate project delivery and enable earlier operational capability, on-site self-generated power was initially deployed using a combination of stationary diesel generators and portable natural gas turbines until the full utility power capacity became available.

Outcome

The completed facility delivers a high-performance regional digital infrastructure platform designed to support the next generation of AI, cloud, and real-time data applications. Positioned near major population centers with access to multiple network backbones, the site serves approximately 72 million people across the Southwest region.

Connectivity was engineered for resilience and performance, featuring:

Multiple fiber providers
Four diverse fiber entrances
Dual meet-me rooms
Carrier-neutral interconnection ecosystem

Today, the facility supports critical digital workloads that power everyday online activity across the region, including:

AI compute clusters and LLM inference
Video analytics and autonomous systems processing
Content delivery, streaming, and gaming platforms
5G edge computing and real-time analytics

By combining high-density compute capability, sustainable cooling innovation, and resilient infrastructure architecture, the project establishes a next-generation regional data center platform capable of supporting the evolving demands of AI-driven digital ecosystems.