At Othersphere we are constantly working to make it easier for our users to site, design, and vet infrastructure assets. For example, we recently integrated our Global Land Cost Model 🌍 , which estimates land values globally. This 5-tier ensemble model is trained on terabytes of data, considering factors such as infrastructure, land use, topography, population density, and GDP.
Included within our Explorer tool, this new data helps users more quickly assess one of the many (many) considerations that go into infrastructure developments. In this case, land cost can have a significant impact on project economics, especially for assets with large physical footprints and more modest hardware or operating costs.
Curious about the key factors influencing the results? The example SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) graph provides a breakdown of the six most impactful drivers for a rural landscape, highlighting GDP, population density, and water stress as important drivers of land value.
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The data provided herein is made available on an "as-is" basis, without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The provider does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the information. By downloading this data, the user acknowledges that the provider shall not be held liable for any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions in the data, nor for any damages, losses, or consequences arising from the use, misuse, or reliance on this data. The user assumes full responsibility for the use of the information provided and agrees to use it with caution and at their own risk.
Data center locations today show a moderate skew toward grid regions with lower carbon intensity—but how much does this really influence site selection?
At CERAWeek 2025, data centers were very heavily discussed, including topics such as geopolitics, data sovereignty, monetization opportunities for previously-stranded energy supplies, and the overall uncertainty data centers have introduced into energy demand forecasting.
Climate change factored into conversations on the role of natural gas, nuclear, and geothermal, but global warming was generally just one of the many complexities described by the developers, funders, and policymakers working on the future of compute.
Data center locations today show a moderate skew toward grid regions with lower carbon intensity—but how much does this really influence site selection?
Speed to market, economics, data sovereignty, and end-user latency are some of the most critical factors for developers, operators, and financiers of compute / AI infrastructure.
Focus on carbon intensity of compute will continue to grow however, particularly as policymakers and the public become ever more aware of the rising energy demand and climate impact of data centers.
But as the annual solar PV capacity factor data above shows, today’s data centers show little sun-seeking behavior. Hourly capacity factor data shows a similar pattern.
This makes sense given the challenges created by solar intermittency and limited incentive to experiment with new operating strategies to date.
But in the right locations, this will likely shift going forward due to:
⬡ Falling delivered costs of solar power
⬡ Increasing market and behind-the-meter supply options
⬡ Corporate GHG goals and public attention shaping demand
⬡ Proving out reliable data center operating strategies that take advantage of intermittent power and/or load shifting.
Annual solar PV capacity factor data above shows, today’s data centers show little sun-seeking behavior. Hourly capacity factor data shows a similar pattern.
Please reach out if you would like to learn more about Othersphere, our products, and opportunities to partner in accelerating global industrial decarbonization.
