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A data center campus is a contiguous site planned for one or more data center buildings plus the infrastructure that makes them usable: grid connections, substations, backup power, cooling, water and wastewater systems, drainage, communications, roads, and security. Developers divide the work into phases so construction, customer demand, permits, and power availability can line up.
A finished building shell is not the same as live capacity. A phase normally becomes operational only after critical systems are installed, integrated testing is complete, required approvals are issued, and at least one computer room is fitted out and ready for use.
What is a data center campus?
There is no single worldwide size or legal definition for “data center campus.” The term generally describes a geographically contiguous development containing multiple buildings, or a large site designed to be delivered in multiple phases, with shared or associated utilities and infrastructure.
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The California Energy Commission (CEC) defines data centers as “buildings designed and equipped to meet the needs of high-density computing equipment, such as server racks, used for data storage and processing.” A campus extends that idea from the building to the entire development. It may include:
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- Data center buildings and computer rooms
- Electrical substations, switching stations, transformers, and transmission connections
- Uninterruptible power systems, batteries, and backup generators
- Cooling plants and associated water systems
- Water supply, wastewater, stormwater, drainage, and flood-management works
- Internal roads, external road upgrades, loading areas, and construction compounds
- Fiber and other communications infrastructure
- Perimeter security, controlled access, and monitoring systems
The exact combination depends on the site and jurisdiction. An Australian environmental referral for Western Downs Digital Park, for example, lists substations, switching stations, transformers, transmission links, battery-backed power conditioning, roads, water, wastewater, drainage, stormwater, communications, security, and construction facilities alongside the data center buildings. That is a documented project scope, not a universal checklist for every campus.
Campus size is not a universal threshold
DeKalb County, Georgia, uses a local planning definition of a campus as a geographically contiguous development of one or more buildings, delivered in one or more phases, totaling at least 500,000 square feet. The threshold appears in the county’s Data Center Text Amendment FAQ. It should be treated as a county-specific planning rule, not an industry standard.
Why developers build campuses in phases
Phasing is a project-delivery decision, not a fixed requirement. A developer may phase work because electricity will become available in increments, customers will commit capacity over time, design changes are expected, or the site is too large to build economically in one mobilization.
One operator’s filing dated April 29, 2024, explains the rationale this way: “We usually construct our data centers in a single phase. However, in some cases, we construct data centers in several distinct phases for reasons such as optimal design, sales plan, and timing of activation of power supply.” The statement is an operator’s reporting, not a universal rule. The filing is available as a PDF filing.
Phasing can let a campus bring useful capacity online while later buildings, substations, or utility extensions are still under construction. It can also reduce the risk of installing equipment years before it is needed. The trade-off is added coordination: temporary works, interfaces between phases, construction traffic, testing boundaries, and the possibility that later approvals or utility work alter the original plan.
Construction status is different from operational status
The same operator separates development into categories that illustrate why a shell is not capacity. Its reporting framework distinguishes land held for future development, facilities under construction, and facilities in service.
| Status | What the cited filing requires | What it means for readers |
|---|---|---|
| Future development | Area controlled or reserved for later work | Land or planned capacity exists, but construction may not have started |
| Under construction | Site control, necessary construction and other permits, an established design, and building or engineering work in progress | Work is active, but customer-ready capacity is not implied |
| In service | Construction completed; critical systems installed; integrated systems testing completed; government approvals to operate obtained; at least one computer room equipped and ready for customers | Usable capacity has passed technical, regulatory, and fit-out gates |
These categories belong to that company’s reporting convention. Other developers, lenders, or authorities may use different milestones.
How a data center campus is built, step by step
The following sequence is a useful model for understanding a campus program. Actual order and overlap vary with local permits, weather, utility schedules, environmental constraints, and the selected construction method.
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1. Define the site and the project
The developer secures land control and evaluates site suitability, including flood risk, geotechnical conditions, transportation access, fiber routes, water availability, and nearby electrical infrastructure. The team establishes a master plan showing building plots, phase boundaries, utility corridors, security zones, and areas reserved for future expansion.
At this point, the power strategy is critical. The plan must distinguish the amount of information-technology (IT) load intended for servers from the electrical service and generation capacity needed to support it. It also identifies which works belong to the developer and which require a utility or transmission owner.
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2. Establish the site and perform enabling work
Construction begins with workforce facilities, fencing, temporary power and water, access controls, material laydown areas, and environmental protections. A staged project referral for Western Downs lists vegetation clearing, earthworks, grading, excavation, and trenching among its activities.
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3. Build buildings and major infrastructure
Structural work proceeds alongside the campus utility backbone. Depending on the design, this can include data center halls, administration and support buildings, substations, switchyards, transformers, battery systems, generators, cooling plants, transmission connections, water and wastewater networks, stormwater basins, communications duct banks, and permanent roads.
Some campuses build a central utility plant serving several halls; others give each phase dedicated equipment. The choice affects redundancy, maintenance, expansion space, and the boundary between phases.
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4. Fit out critical systems and computer rooms
After the structural shell is weather-tight, crews install electrical distribution, power conditioning, cooling equipment, fire detection and suppression, controls, security systems, and network pathways. The CEC notes that data centers typically use dedicated uninterruptible power and cooling systems.
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Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.Computer rooms are then fitted with equipment such as server racks, busways or power distribution units, containment systems, monitoring sensors, and telecommunications connections. A completed shell without this fit-out cannot provide the same service as an operating hall.
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5. Commission, test, and obtain approvals
Commissioning proves that systems work together under normal, emergency, and maintenance conditions. Teams test electrical protection, generators, batteries, cooling response, alarms, controls, fire systems, and failover sequences. Integrated systems testing examines interactions that individual equipment tests cannot reveal, such as a utility failure occurring while cooling equipment is switching to backup power.
Operational approvals are obtained from the authorities with jurisdiction. The phase is not treated as in service under the cited operator’s criteria until testing is complete, approvals are issued, and at least one computer room is equipped for customer use.
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6. Operate completed capacity while later phases continue
A master-planned campus may operate one building while another is being excavated or fitted out. This requires carefully separated construction routes, security controls, maintenance windows, utility tie-in plans, and noise and dust management. Whether simultaneous operation and construction are allowed, and under what conditions, depends on local approvals and the facility’s design.
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Infrastructure that determines whether a campus can work
Power and electrical delivery
Electricity is often the pacing item. A campus may require a new utility service, substation, transmission work, transformers, switchgear, batteries, and generators. The CEC says most data centers use the grid as their primary supply and typically use on-site generators for backup; it does not mean every campus generates its normal power on site.
Power figures must be labeled carefully. IT capacity describes the intended server load. Facility or service capacity describes the electrical infrastructure available to the site. Regional demand describes the effect on a wider grid. These are different measurements and should not be substituted for one another.
Cooling, water, and wastewater
High-density computing produces continuous heat, so cooling is a core facility system rather than an optional finishing item. A project may use air-based, liquid-assisted, or other cooling arrangements, but the sources here do not establish a universal method or water consumption rate.
Large sites can require water supply, treatment, wastewater discharge, drainage, and stormwater controls. The Western Downs referral includes those systems in its project scope. Availability, drought rules, discharge limits, and flood-management requirements can change the preferred design and the approval path.
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Campus development needs room for setbacks, substations, generators, cooling equipment, drainage, roads, parking, loading, and future phases. Internal roads must support heavy equipment during construction and emergency access during operation. Fiber routes and diverse communications paths are planned with similar care because a building without reliable connectivity cannot deliver its intended service.
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Security is both a construction and operating concern. Temporary compounds, worker access, deliveries, perimeter controls, cameras, and separation between live halls and construction zones must be designed into the phasing plan.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Permits and approvals: why the answer changes by location
There is no single “data center permit.” Responsibilities can be divided among local planning and building departments, environmental regulators, water authorities, transportation agencies, fire officials, utilities, and national or state energy agencies.
California illustrates the distinction. The CEC’s data center program page says the agency does not permit data centers as such, while it does have jurisdiction over certain associated electricity-generation projects. A different state, country, or municipality may assign responsibilities differently.
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How large can a campus be?
Published proposals show why project figures must be kept in context. They are examples of specific developments, not benchmarks for a typical campus.
| Project or measure | Published figure | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| California electricity demand | About 1,000 MW, or 2% of California ISO peak demand in early 2026; projected 4,500 MW, or 9%, by 2040 | CEC Planning Forecast figures for California and a stated forecast horizon, not the capacity of one campus |
| Western Downs Digital Park, Australia | Four data center buildings and approximately 1.44 GW of combined IT capacity planned in four stages | A project-specific proposal described in an Australian Government EPBC referral |
| Mamre Road Data Centre Campus, New South Wales | Six four-storey buildings and 1 GW of proposed power capacity | A proposal on the NSW planning portal; the portal lists the project at “Response to Submissions,” so figures may change |
| DeKalb County, Georgia | At least 500,000 square feet | A local planning definition of “campus,” not a global industry threshold |
The Western Downs documentation is available through the Australian Government EPBC project referral. The Mamre Road proposal is listed by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.
How to compare two proposed campuses
Because there is no standardized campus-delivery model, compare proposals on the factors that determine when usable capacity can actually arrive:
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|---|---|
| Power availability | When will grid service, substations, transformers, and any transmission work be energized? Which capacity is firm, and which is planned? |
| Phase boundaries | What buildings and utility systems belong to each phase, and how much IT capacity becomes available at each milestone? |
| Approvals and constraints | Which permits are issued, pending, or required for later phases? Are environmental, water, traffic, noise, or habitat conditions likely to alter the design? |
| Cooling and utilities | What cooling architecture, water source, wastewater route, drainage capacity, and backup arrangements are planned? |
| Commissioning readiness | Are critical systems installed, integrated testing complete, operational approvals obtained, and computer rooms fitted out? |
Common mistakes when reading campus announcements
- Counting a proposal as live capacity: Announced buildings or megawatts may still depend on permits, financing, utility construction, or later design approvals.
- Confusing power and IT numbers: A site’s proposed power capacity is not automatically its server capacity, and neither is the same as regional electricity demand.
- Assuming every campus has the same phase size: Phases are shaped by design, customer commitments, land, and power timing.
- Treating one jurisdiction’s definition as universal: The 500,000-square-foot DeKalb rule applies to that county’s planning discussion only.
- Assuming a shell is ready for customers: Testing, approvals, controls, cooling, electrical fit-out, and an equipped computer room are operational gates.
- Assuming all electricity is generated on site: The CEC’s California overview describes the grid as the primary source for most data centers, with on-site generation typically used for backup.
- Expecting a fixed construction duration: The cited sources do not establish a generally applicable timeline. Utility interconnection, environmental review, procurement, and commissioning can dominate the schedule.
What “built in phases” means in practice
Phased construction is best understood as a controlled sequence of capacity releases. Early work establishes the site and shared backbone; subsequent phases add buildings, electrical and cooling equipment, and fitted-out computer rooms as demand and infrastructure permit. A phase can be physically complete yet remain unavailable until integrated tests and operating approvals are finished.
The result is a campus that grows as a coordinated infrastructure program rather than a collection of unrelated server buildings. The reliable question is not simply how many buildings are announced, but which phase has power, cooling, connectivity, approvals, tested systems, and customer-ready computer space.
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