Most estimates you find online are outdated or don't include utility interconnect fees.
Power infrastructure costs break into four buckets: (1) Utility service extension (0K-M+ depending on distance and capacity), (2) Switchgear and transformers (00-00/kW), (3) UPS systems (50-00/kW for N+1 lithium-ion), (4) Generator + fuel systems (50-00/kW). For a 10 MW facility, you're looking at -15M just for electrical infrastructure — before you touch HVAC, building shell, or IT equipment. Liquid cooling adds another 20-30% to mechanical costs.
The real cost driver is redundancy level. Going from N to N+1 to 2N essentially doubles your electrical spend. Lead times matter too: if you need gear fast, expect 30-50% premiums for expedited manufacturing. Utility interconnect timeline is the wildcard — some regions have 6-month waits, others are 2+ years. That delay costs money in carrying costs even before you're operational.
Budget for 15-20% contingency on power infrastructure. Equipment prices are volatile, and supply chain delays are common. Get a utility feasibility study (5-50K) before signing a lease or purchasing land. If the site can't support your load without a substation upgrade, you just added -10M and 24 months to your timeline.
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Text PJ: 773-544-1231AI compute infrastructure is moving fast. Companies are making expensive mistakes by committing to solutions before understanding their actual requirements. Good decisions come from understanding power, cooling, redundancy, and execution quality — not just hardware specs.