Build cost — $/MW capex
How much does it cost to build an AI data center? Model facility shell+MEP ($11.3M/MW global average), IT fit-out, an explicit project-priced facility premium, and regional multipliers into program capex and $/W excluding servers.
Build cost — capex per megawatt
Benchmarks: JLL global-average shell/core ≈ $11.3M/MW (50 MW single-tenant, air-cooled; liquid +10%); Epoch's 1 GW model runs facility+land+utility ~$11.8M/MW and network ~$4.9M/MW, with servers ~$21.2M/MW on top → ~$38B/GW up-front. Electrical dominates the facility split → Ch 2.5, Ch 1.8.
Scope & how the benchmarks reconcile
This models construction-period capex excluding the server fleet. The benchmarks, reconciled on Epoch AI's May-2026 1 GW model: $11.3M/MW is JLL's global-average shell-and-core (air-cooled, 50 MW single-tenant; liquid cooling adds ~10%); Epoch's facility + land + utility works line is ~$11.8M/MW and its network and cluster infrastructure ~$4.9M/MW; servers — GPUs included — add ~$21.2M/MW, which is how a 1 GW campus reaches ~$38B up-front. Electrical systems are 45–70% of construction cost (as of 2026 → register). The server fleet is deliberately outside this calculator — the TCO model owns it, and adding it here would double-count.
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