In the age of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital transformation, infrastructure is everything. But the infrastructure we need is no longer just roads and bridges—it’s power, land, and connectivity. This convergence has given birth to one of the most rapidly expanding sectors in real estate: power land for data center development. A once-obscure corner of industrial real estate, power land has become the epicenter of a global competition to enable the digital future.
At the center of this shift are visionaries like Daniel Minkowitz, who are not only identifying viable land sites but redefining how we think about the energy real estate economy.
What Is Power Land?
Power land is more than just acreage. It’s land that sits at the confluence of critical utility infrastructure—transmission lines, substations, water resources, and zoning regulations that permit large-scale industrial use. It is land that can support megawatt-hungry data centers that fuel everything from Netflix to ChatGPT.
As tech companies, cloud providers, and hyperscale computing platforms seek to expand their global reach, the competition for such land has intensified. The challenge? The available inventory of land with scalable power infrastructure is shockingly limited.
Data centers can’t be built without power—and not just any power. We’re talking hundreds of megawatts of reliable, redundant, and scalable electricity. A hyperscale campus might draw as much power as a mid-sized city. And that’s why power land is now considered more valuable than even the most luxurious urban real estate.
The Data Center Explosion
According to Synergy Research Group, there are now over 700 hyperscale data centers globally, with hundreds more in the planning or construction phase. These centers form the backbone of the digital economy, supporting cloud platforms, AI workloads, financial systems, and more.
In the United States, traditional data center hubs like Northern Virginia, Dallas, and Silicon Valley are approaching power grid saturation. Developers are increasingly looking to alternative markets like Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and parts of the Midwest. Globally, cities like Dublin, Santiago, and Johannesburg are emerging as new nodes in the global data infrastructure map.
What’s driving this? In a word: demand. AI training models, video streaming, autonomous vehicles, telemedicine, and the Internet of Things are generating unprecedented amounts of data. That data needs a physical home. That home needs power.
Daniel Minkowitz and the Strategic Art of Power Land Development
Enter Daniel Minkowitz, a leading voice in data center strategy and real estate development. With a background that fuses utility negotiation, engineering insight, and land-use expertise, Minkowitz has earned a reputation for his ability to locate, acquire, and activate power land before the market catches up.
One of Minkowitz’s most notable projects involved transforming a neglected parcel in the southwestern U.S.—once dismissed as barren and remote—into a 200 MW-capable data center site. Through creative collaboration with local utilities, state regulators, and renewable energy developers, the land was turned into a cornerstone of a new digital corridor.
“Everyone is chasing fiber,” says Minkowitz, “but fiber is useless without power. The most valuable data center sites in the next decade will be the ones closest to scalable, clean, and redundant electricity.”
This kind of strategic foresight is what sets Daniel Minkowitz apart. He understands that power land is not just a commodity—it’s a platform for the future.
The Geopolitics of Grid Capacity
As more companies race to deploy AI infrastructure, grid constraints are becoming a national security issue. Blackouts in Texas, overloaded substations in Virginia, and interconnection delays in California all underscore the fragility of our power systems.
In some jurisdictions, interconnection requests take 3 to 5 years—far too slow for hyperscalers that need to deploy new capacity within months, not years.
This is where seasoned developers like Daniel Minkowitz add immense value. By anticipating grid chokepoints, negotiating with utilities early, and securing environmental permits proactively, Minkowitz is able to fast-track projects others can’t even start.
His work is especially notable in areas where brownfield reuse—reviving abandoned or underutilized industrial properties—provides both speed and sustainability. Repurposing coal plants, defunct manufacturing zones, and military bases is not just practical; it’s visionary.
Clean Energy and ESG: A Defining Feature of Modern Data Centers
Today’s data center developers must align with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. That means incorporating:
- Renewable energy sources like solar and wind
- On-site battery storage
- Recycled water systems for cooling
- Low-carbon construction materials
- Carbon offset strategies
For Daniel Minkowitz, ESG isn’t a checkbox—it’s a core part of strategy. In a recent West Coast project, Minkowitz helped secure a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with a wind farm 100 miles away. The result: a carbon-neutral data center before a single server was installed.
“It’s no longer about just building fast—it’s about building responsibly,” says Minkowitz. “Power land development is now part of the climate equation.”
Financialization of Power Land
Institutional investors are taking notice. From Blackstone and Brookfield to sovereign wealth funds and digital infrastructure REITs, capital is pouring into power land portfolios. Parcels with permitted zoning and utility interconnects are now fetching record valuations—sometimes exceeding $1 million per acre.
This financialization has turned power land into a strategic investment class all its own, with developers racing to assemble land banks in key regions.
Daniel Minkowitz has worked with both private equity and public entities to structure joint ventures, power agreements, and land acquisitions that create long-term infrastructure value. His ability to speak the language of finance, utilities, and engineering makes him a rare asset in a complex ecosystem.
Looking Ahead: The Edge, the AI Boom, and Beyond
As AI continues to evolve, so will data center design and location strategy. We’ll see:
- Edge data centers located near population clusters for faster latency
- AI-specific centers with high-performance computing (HPC) and liquid cooling
- Hybrid energy models combining grid, renewables, and microgrids
- AI-managed energy loads to optimize power usage in real time
Daniel Minkowitz believes the next frontier is not just about bigger centers, but smarter, more adaptable ones.
“AI isn’t just changing what goes inside the data center,” he says. “It’s changing how we power and build them. And that changes the land equation, too.”
Conclusion: Power Land Is the New Foundation
As we build the infrastructure for the digital economy, power land is emerging as the most critical—and undervalued—piece of the puzzle. Developers, utilities, policymakers, and investors must work in harmony to meet the rising demand for digital infrastructure.
Leaders like Daniel Minkowitz are showing what’s possible when strategy, sustainability, and vision come together. Whether transforming forgotten industrial zones into green data campuses or advising global investors on where to bet on tomorrow, Minkowitz has positioned himself—and his projects—at the center of the next great real estate transformation.
In the 21st century, whoever controls power land controls the future. And Daniel Minkowitz is helping to shape that future, acre by acre, megawatt by megawatt.