liquid-cooling retrofit headline capex vs greenfield liquid-cooled build, per MW
~$2M/MW vs upwards of $11M/MWestimatecontested
| Value kind | estimate — Interpret this value according to its displayed kind, scope, source, and as-of date. |
|---|---|
| Caveat | Analyst estimate on a per-MW basis, not a project quotation; retrofit viability also depends on building suitability, which STL treats through a separate framework. |
| As of | 2026 |
| Source | STL Partners, 'The retrofitting roadmap: An evolution of liquid cooling' (press summary, 28 May 2026). Headline capex only; STL cautions that customer migration, downtime, lost tenancy revenue and legacy constraints can change the investment case. The release contains no 20-rack case and no performance-ratio figure. · Press release, 28 May 2026: "liquid cooling retrofits can cost around USD2 million per MW, compared with upwards of USD11 million per MW for new greenfield liquid-cooled builds." |
| Review | checking…review by 2027-05-28 · fast cadence |
| Recorded changes | last 2026-09-04 · 4 revisions tracked |
| Claim id | 20-rack-legacy-retrofit-all-in-vs-equivalent |
Where the guide uses it
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