What a powered shell includes
The owner builds the shell: walls, roof, floor and site work. Utility power is brought to the building, and fiber paths are often included. The tenant then designs and installs the inside systems, such as power distribution, backup power and cooling.
Powered shell compared with turnkey
In a turnkey deal, the owner delivers a finished data hall that is ready for servers. In a powered shell deal, the tenant takes on the fit-out. Tenants pick a powered shell when they want control over the design and are able to manage the build themselves.
Where siting comes in
A shell is only useful if the site can get enough power on time. The same questions apply as for raw land: where the site connects, at what voltage, and how long the connection takes. See time to power.
Questions people ask
Who pays for the equipment in a powered shell?
Usually the tenant pays for and owns the inside electrical and cooling systems. The lease sets out the exact split, so read it closely.
Is a powered shell faster than building from raw land?
It can be, because the building and the power feed already exist or are under way. The real answer depends on how much power is actually committed to the building.
Related
More glossary
- What is time to power?
- What is powered land?
- What is large load interconnection?
- What is a point of interconnection?
- What is an interconnection queue?
- What is queue position?
- What is ERCOT?
- What is an ERCOT load zone?
Need a site, or have one?
Tell us what you need and Voltane finds, reports on and prices candidate sites in ERCOT. Or bring a site you already have for a path-to-power report (by request for now).