Quiz: AI Data Center Site Selection & Power Procurement (Part 3)

10 questions from Part 3 of the guide. Score instantly; every explanation links to the chapter that derives the answer.

What requirement set should drive site placement?
air-cooled or liquid-cooledlatency, sovereignty/residency, availability and egress, data gravity, energy/carbon, capacity and model fit, and service geographyowned or rentedGPU-rich or GPU-poor
A utility offers a slow firm-interconnection path and a faster curtailable path. What evidence decides whether the faster path is bankable?
a generic national lead-time rangethe site's distance from the nearest substationthe utility study and tariff, modeled curtailment events, bridge-power cost and permits, upgrade exposure, and the lender's firmness requirementthe regional queue headline
What are the four energy-supply structures in the guide's portfolio framing?
grid-only, grid + bridge generation, behind-the-meter island, co-located hybridutility, muni, co-op, IPPsolar, wind, gas, nuclearPPA, VPPA, tolling, merchant
Why does speed-to-power dominate the current energy decision?
GPUs expire if not deployedpower prices are fallingeach energized GW is worth roughly $12–13B of AI revenue per yearregulators require it
The guide's warning about buying speed-to-power with on-site generation is that…
it eliminates every grid dependencymodel heat rate, gas price, capacity factor, capex and financing, O&M, emissions and permits, interconnection, and standby costs for the named plantan islanded plant avoids permits and fuel constraintson-site generation has one universal cost advantage
What determines the permitting critical path?
the permit with the longest generic headline durationthe permit carrying the highest application feethe same two permits on every data-center projectthe dependency-network path to the project's common end milestone; an air permit enters only when a covered emitting source is in scope
For a training-shaped site, fiber is…
only needed post-launchthe primary screen, above powerirrelevant entirelya secondary screen — diversity and a long-haul path matter, raw latency doesn't
The water screen asks primarily whether the site can…
deliver a firm, permitted supply matched to the cooling architecture you intendreach a riverdrill unlimited wellsavoid water entirely in all designs
On incentives, the guide's discipline is to…
underwrite every announced incentive as cashunderwrite only the durable, statutory portion — treat discretionary packages as soft tailwindignore incentives entirelysite only where incentives are largest
PJM interconnection deposits illustrate what procurement reality?
real money commits before design freeze — a $500k study deposit plus $15k/MW commitmentsdeposits are refundable at any timequeues are free to enteronly utilities pay deposits

Check your understanding: Site Selection, Power & Permitting