Quick reference for the team. Any questions โ ask Ivan.
The Basics
This tool finds and ranks potential data center sites across the US. Type a city or address in the search bar at the top left, hit Go, and the map flies there. The Radius slider below it controls metro area rings (how far out from major cities we consider "close enough").
🔍 Site Scanner
This is the main feature. Zoom to an area you want to analyze (zoom 8+ works best), then hit Scan Region.
- Sweeps the entire viewport for parcels using state/county GIS databases
- Filters parcels by your Min Acreage slider setting (default 30 ac, range 30โ500)
- All parcels start green (score 100). Toggle data layers to recolor them (green → yellow → orange → red) based on suitability
- Proximity filters โ check Near metro or Near substation to instantly hide parcels that aren't near power/cities. The substation filter has its own tunable radius slider (0.1โ5 mi)
- Lock scores + filter to narrow down, then view them ranked in Top Parcels
How to use (step by step):
- Navigate โ zoom to the area you want to analyze (e.g. type "Dallas" and hit Go)
- Set Min Acreage โ drag the slider to your minimum parcel size (30โ500 ac). Default is 30 ac
- Scan Region โ click the button. The scanner runs for 30โ90 seconds depending on area size
- Review results โ parcels appear on the map (all green initially)
- Toggle data layers โ this is the key step. Turn on Substations, FEMA, Power Cost, etc. Each layer rescores every parcel in real-time:
- Parcels near substations stay green, far ones turn yellow
- Parcels in FEMA flood zones turn orange or red
- Parcels in expensive power states shift toward yellow
- Stack multiple layers โ the more you turn on, the more precise the colors get
- Lock Scores โ freeze the current scores. A min-score slider appears to filter out low-scoring parcels
- Top Parcels โ auto-opens in the sidebar with the 10 best parcels, each with a radar chart breakdown and Zoom/GMaps buttons
- Investigate โ click any scanned parcel on the map to see its scoring breakdown (per-layer +/- detail, strengths, risks). The popup now also includes action buttons: View Full Data (reverse-geocodes to pull APN, owner mailing, value, etc.), Queue (add to Scout queue), Streak (add to pipeline), GMaps, and Fiber. Or click "Zoom" on a Top Parcels card to fly to it
Lock Scores & Filter
Once you've turned on the layers you care about and parcels are colored, you can lock the scores to freeze them in place. This lets you:
- Lock Scores โ click the button below the legend. Scores freeze at their current values
- Filter by score โ a Min Score slider appears. Drag it to e.g. 60 to hide all parcels below 60/100
- Top Parcels โ the sidebar panel auto-populates with the 10 best-scoring parcels, each with a radar chart and quick actions
- Toggle layers freely โ you can now turn layers on/off to see the map clearly without changing parcel colors
- Unlock โ click again to resume live scoring and clear the Top Parcels panel
The panel shows the average score across all visible parcels so you know where to set the cutoff.
🌎 National Scan
Autonomous scanner that queries every state parcel service overnight. Instead of manually scanning one viewport at a time, National Scan batches the entire US (or specific states) into grid cells and processes them via a Cloudflare Worker running every 15 minutes.
How to use:
- Set criteria — Min Acres (default 80), Max Power Cost (default 8¢/kWh)
- Select target states — Ctrl+click to multi-select, or leave empty for all 16 covered states
- Start National Scan — submits the job. Batches are created automatically (~15 grid cells per batch)
- Monitor progress — the progress bar updates every 10 seconds. Top parcels stream in as they’re found
- Pause / Resume — pause the scan anytime. The worker stops claiming new batches until you resume
- View All — opens a full results modal with paginated table, sortable by score. Click “View” to fly to any parcel on the map
- Scan History — click any past scan to reload its results
- Runtime — A single state takes ~30 min. All 16 states takes ~50 hours (runs overnight)
- Scoring — initial scan uses 6 static layers (metro, power cost, climate, disaster, fiber, water stress). After scan completes, use Enrich to add 11 live infrastructure layers (substations, transmission, FEMA, water, grid, competitors, slope, OZ, soil, zoning, tax incentives) for full 17-layer scoring
- Deduplication — parcels are deduped by centroid (rounded to 4 decimals, ~11m precision)
- Rate limiting — 1 request per 2 seconds per state server, exponential backoff on 429/503
- Cost — $5/month for Cloudflare Workers paid plan
National Scan results are stored in Supabase and persist across sessions. The top parcels preview shows score, location, acreage, and owner. Click any parcel to fly to it on the map for detailed analysis with the viewport scanner.
🚀 Enrichment (16-Layer Scoring)
After a National Scan completes, the Enrich button adds 11 live infrastructure layers to the top N parcels. This upgrades the approximate 6-layer score to a precise 17-layer composite score matching viewport scanner quality. Enrichment also adds nearby power generation intelligence (MW capacity, fuel mix) and tax incentive savings as context for AI Analysis.
How to use:
- Complete a scan — the enrichment panel appears when the scan finishes
- Select count — Top 20, 50, 100, or 200 parcels (ordered by current score)
- Click "Enrich" — parcels are processed in batches of 10 (~15-25s per batch)
- Watch progress — the bar shows batch progress. Scores update in real-time
- View results — the results table shows 6-layer vs 17-layer badges. Click any row for per-layer breakdown
11 enrichment layers:
- Substations (0-10) — HIFLD ArcGIS: nearest substation distance + voltage bonus + estimated MW capacity
- Transmission (0-3) — HIFLD ArcGIS: nearest high-voltage line distance
- FEMA Flood (-5 to +2) — FEMA NFHL: flood zone intersection check
- Water Access (0-2) — USGS NHD: nearest water body/stream for cooling
- Grid Availability (-1 to +3) — Static: ISO queue congestion + state headroom + estimated wait time
- Competitors (0-2) — Static: sweet spot 5-15mi from existing DCs
- Slope (-3 to +3) — USGS 3DEP: max gradient from 5 elevation points
- Opportunity Zone (0-5) — HUD ArcGIS: +5 bonus if inside a federal OZ
- Soil Quality (-2 to +2) — NRCS SDA: drainage class + depth to restriction
- Zoning Compatibility (0-3) — Classifies parcel zoning/landuse codes for DC suitability: 3=by-right industrial, 2=conditional, 1=special exception, 0=residential/agricultural/unknown
- Tax Incentives (0-5) — State economic development agencies: property tax abatements, sales tax exemptions, investment credits. Score 5 = best-in-class (VA/NV 20yr abatement), 0 = no DC-specific incentives (CA/NY/MA)
+ Context intelligence (feeds AI Analysis):
- Nearby Generation — HIFLD Power Plants: total MW, plant count, fuel mix, and largest plant within 30mi
- Substation MW — Estimated capacity from voltage class + line count
Cost: $0 (all free public APIs). Runtime: ~15-25 seconds per batch of 10 parcels. Enrichment errors are logged per-layer — if one API is down, the other layers still score correctly.
🤖 AI Site Analysis (Satellite + Investment Memo)
After enrichment, the Analyze button triggers a Claude Vision AI call that fetches an ArcGIS satellite image of the parcel and generates a professional investment memo — all in one call. This combines visual terrain assessment with the 17-layer scored data plus generation capacity intelligence and tax incentive savings for instant site evaluation that would take a human analyst days.
How to use:
- Single parcel — click "Analyze" on any enriched parcel in the results table
- Bulk analysis — click "AI Analyze Top 20" in the results modal header to analyze the top 20 enriched parcels sequentially
- Wait ~5-10 seconds — Claude fetches the satellite image and generates the analysis
- View results — a full modal opens with satellite image, recommendation badge, terrain analysis, and investment memo
- Copy memo — the "Copy Memo" button copies a formatted text version to your clipboard
Satellite analysis covers:
- Terrain — flatness, grading needs, elevation changes
- Vegetation — density, type, estimated clearing cost
- Structures — existing buildings or development
- Road Access — nearest roads, quality, distance
- Water Bodies — ponds, streams, drainage patterns
- Adjacent Land — surrounding land use context
Investment memo includes:
- Executive Summary — 2-3 sentence overview
- Power & Infrastructure — substations, transmission, grid analysis
- Risk Assessment — flood, disaster, slope, soil risks
- Market Context — metro proximity, competitors, fiber
- Competitive Advantage — what makes this site special
- Timeline Estimate — months to energization
- Recommendation — STRONG BUY / BUY / HOLD / PASS with confidence %
- Key Risks — top 3-5 risk factors
Cost: ~$0.02-0.05 per parcel (Claude Sonnet Vision). Results are cached — re-opening an analyzed parcel loads instantly without re-calling the AI. A purple star ★ badge appears next to analyzed parcels in the results table.
📊 Data Layers
Toggle overlays on/off. Each layer you activate also rescores parcels on the map โ they change color based on how well they perform against that layer's criteria. Use the "All" button next to each category header to toggle all layers in that group at once (shows ✓ when all on, ~ when mixed). Click the ℹ button in the Data Layers header to show/hide color legends & explanations under each layer (hidden by default to keep the sidebar compact). Infrastructure layers:
Analysis layers:
- Power Cost โ state choropleth showing industrial electricity rates (green = cheap like WA at 4.9¢, red = expensive like HI at 31¢). Hover any state to see both rates.
- Industrial ¢/kWh โ the retail rate you'll actually pay on your utility bill. This is your operating cost baseline.
- Wholesale $/MWh โ what utilities pay for bulk power on the open market. Lower wholesale = surplus generation in the region = more leverage to negotiate large-load contracts (DCs typically use 50โ200MW). A big gap between retail and wholesale means the utility has high margins โ room to negotiate a better deal.
Parcel scoring: +3 cheap / -2 expensive (based on retail rate only)
- Water Features โ rivers and lakes from USGS (zoom 8+ required). Parcel scoring: +2 if near water source
- Climate (CDD) โ Cooling Degree Days by state. Blue = cool climate, red = hot. Parcel scoring: +2 cool / -1 hot
- Disaster & Seismic Risk โ composite tornado + hurricane + earthquake risk by state, plus USGS seismic hazard overlay. Parcel scoring: 0 safe / -3 high risk
- Water Stress โ WRI Aqueduct baseline water stress index by state (0-5 scale). Measures how much demand there is on the regional water supply โ critical for DC cooling permits. A parcel near a river in Arizona still faces water stress because the entire region is oversubscribed. Parcel scoring: +2 low stress / -2 critical stress
- Fiber Connectivity โ state-level fiber penetration choropleth (green = high access like NJ/RI at 80%+, red = low like WY at 32%). Parcel scoring: +2 high fiber
- Slope / Topography โ USGS Elevation Point Query Service samples 5 points per parcel (center + 4 cardinal 100m away), computes max gradient %. Flat land = minimal grading costs. Hilly land = millions in earthwork. Parcel scoring: +3 flat (<2%) / -3 steep (>12%)
- Soil Quality โ NRCS Soil Data Access API queries drainage class and depth to bedrock/restriction layer for each parcel's soil map unit. Well-drained deep soils = cheaper foundations. Poorly drained or shallow bedrock = expensive drainage systems, pile foundations. Parcel scoring: +2 well-drained deep / -2 poorly drained or shallow
Tax & incentive layers:
- Opportunity Zones โ Federal OZ tract boundaries from HUD ArcGIS (zoom 8+). Orange dashed polygons show ~8,700 census tracts eligible for capital gains deferral/elimination. Parcels inside an OZ score +5 โ the highest single-layer bonus. Parcel scoring: +5 inside OZ / 0 outside
Grid capacity layers:
- Grid Availability โ states colored green-to-red by combined grid score (0โ22). Hover any state to see the breakdown:
- Queue (0โ10) โ how congested the ISO interconnection queue is. High queue = years-long wait to get your DC connected to the grid.
- Headroom (0โ8) โ how much spare transmission capacity the state has. Low headroom = the grid is maxed out, utilities may refuse new large loads.
- Generation (0โ4) โ total power plant capacity in the state (from EIA Form 860). More generation = more supply, less risk of capacity shortages, more options for direct PPAs with nearby plants.
Parcel scoring: +3 available / -1 congested. A state scoring 16+/22 means you can likely get connected within 2โ3 years; under 8 could mean 5+ years or denial.
- Interconnection Queue โ combined view: ISO region boundaries + queue hotspot circles + live MISO queue data. One toggle loads all three. Shows where the grid is congested
- Power Plants (EIA) โ power plant locations from US EIA. Color = fuel type, size = capacity. Requires EIA API key and zoom 7+
Market layers:
- Competitor DCs โ 111 verified data center locations (Equinix, Digital Realty, QTS, etc.) plus auto-loads PeeringDB (1,000+ facilities with network connectivity tiers). Competitors show as ■ squares, PeeringDB as ◆ diamonds, while substations remain ● circles โ so you can tell them apart at a glance. Parcel scoring: +2 if 5โ15mi from existing DCs (proven market)
🏆 Top Parcels
After you Lock Scores (and optionally filter), the Top Parcels panel auto-opens showing up to 10 best-scoring parcels from the visible set. Each card includes:
- Rank + Score โ #1 through #10 with the composite score and tier label (Excellent/Concerns/Issues/Avoid)
- Owner + Classification โ owner name with a colored badge (Corporate, Individual, Government, Trust, Nonprofit)
- Parcel details โ acreage, zoning, land use, address
- Strengths & Weaknesses โ top 3 positive and top 2 negative scoring factors at a glance
- Radar Chart โ visual breakdown across 7 grouped axes (Power, Transmission, Metro, Grid, OpCost, Connectivity, Safety)
- Zoom โ flies the map to that parcel and flashes its border
- GMaps โ opens the parcel location in Google Maps satellite view
The panel updates live as you adjust the min-score slider โ drag it higher to narrow the list to only top candidates.
📋 Streak Queue
Bulk Streak box creation โ now a floating panel on the map. Click the 📋 Queue button at the bottom-left of the map to open it, or it auto-opens when you add a site. Queue up parcels from scanner results or parcel clicks, then hit Sync All to Streak. Drag the panel header to reposition it. Use ─ to minimize, ✕ to close. The queue persists across page refreshes.
Data quality: When parcels are added to Queue or Streak, all available fields are now passed through โ APN, City, State, Zip, County, Assessed Value, Owner, Mailing Address, and Zoning. Box names are auto-formatted as "Address, City, ST" when a proper address exists, or "APN xxx โ County, ST" when only an APN is available.
Failsafe: If a direct "Create in Streak" upload fails (API down, auth issue, etc.), a Save to Queue button appears automatically so your parcel data is never lost. Click it to stash the site in the queue for later bulk upload.
🔗 Streak Leads
Loads existing leads from the "Data Center Sites" pipeline in Streak and plots them on the map as distinctive ⚡ rounded-square markers (colored by score, bordered by stage). Leads auto-load when you open DC Finder — cached for 5 minutes so reopening is instant. Each lead gets auto-scored so you can compare pipeline sites with new scanner results.
- Auto-load — leads appear automatically from cache or fresh API call (no button click needed)
- 👁 Leads toggle — bottom-left button shows/hides all lead markers. State persists across sessions
- Load DC Leads button — still available in the sidebar for manual force-refresh from Streak
- Click any lead in the sidebar panel to fly to it on the map
📂 Cloud Sessions
Save your scan results to the cloud. After a scan, click Save to store all parcels, scores, layer states, and filters. Load any saved session to restore it fully โ parcels reappear with their exact colors and scores. Sessions are shared across all team members.
⚖️ Site Comparison
Now a floating panel on the map. Click ⚖️ Compare at bottom-left to open it, or it auto-opens when you add a site via the parcel popup. Shows a side-by-side matrix of all key metrics with the best values highlighted in green. Drag to reposition, minimize, or close. Export the comparison as a PDF.
💰 TCO Analysis (Admin)
Now a floating panel on the map. Click 💰 TCO at bottom-left (admin only) to open it. Total Cost of Ownership estimator โ calculates the 10-year cost of building and operating a data center at any parcel. Drag to reposition.
- Land โ uses county assessed value from parcel data when available, otherwise estimates at $50K/acre (industrial average)
- Construction โ $12M/MW base cost (Turner & Townsend DC Cost Index), adjusted by RSMeans regional cost factors for each state
- Annual Power โ target MW × PUE × state industrial electricity rate × 8,760 hours (EIA data)
- Cooling Adjustment โ additional power cost based on Cooling Degree Days (hotter states pay more)
- Property Tax โ effective industrial property tax rate by state applied to total property value
- Water Cost โ baseline water operating cost, multiplied in water-stressed regions (WRI Aqueduct)
All figures are estimates based on verified industry data sources. Every line item shows its source. Actual costs vary by site, utility negotiations, and available incentive programs.
📋 Parcel Brief (Premium PDF)
Click any scanned parcel, then hit Generate Parcel Brief at the bottom of the popup. Generates a premium investor-grade multi-page PDF with Inter/Playfair fonts, Chart.js visualizations, and striped tables:
- Cover Page โ dark premium design with Playfair headings, address, APN, county, large pill score badge, metric cards (acreage, zoning, owner, land use), indigo confidential badge
- Suitability Scoring โ radar chart visualization of active layer scores + striped scoring table with per-layer breakdown, color-coded +/- scores, strengths/risks summary with pill badges
- TCO Analysis โ 10-year cost projection (50MW default) with horizontal bar chart for CapEx breakdown, striped CapEx & OpEx tables: land, construction, power, cooling, tax, water
- Infrastructure โ striped tables for nearest substations, transmission lines, and competitor DCs within 25mi, plus Quick Facts info cards
- Risk & Incentives โ risk factors with pill badges (WARNING/NEUTRAL/FAVORABLE), Opportunity Zone status with large pill badge, benefits list
- Footer & Disclaimer โ dark footer bar on every page, legal text + Regrid deep link
Pro tip: Enable all scoring layers before generating for the most complete report. The radar chart and scoring table both populate from your active layers.
Area Analysis Report (PDF)
Click Area PDF in the toolbar to generate a comprehensive multi-page investor-grade report covering everything DC Finder shows on screen:
- Cover Page โ dark premium design with scan date, coordinates, viewport bounds, parameters, score distribution badges (Excellent/Concerns/Issues/Avoid counts), and top-scoring parcel highlight
- Map Overview โ full landscape map snapshot with active layer legend and scan area info
- Top Parcels Ranking โ top 20 parcels sorted by suitability score with color-coded ratings, owner, acreage, zoning, address, and state
- Scoring Layer Analysis โ per-layer statistics (avg/best/worst scores, positive/negative counts) with FAVORABLE/CONCERN/NEUTRAL assessments and strongest/weakest summary
- Infrastructure & Competition โ substations in scan area, transmission lines grouped by voltage/owner, and competitor data centers in viewport with distance
- Top 5 Parcel Details โ one page per parcel with score badge, property info grid, full 17-layer score breakdown, 10-year TCO estimate, and infrastructure proximity
Requires a completed scan with parcels. Enable all scoring layers for the most comprehensive report. 6-10 pages depending on parcel count.
⚙️ Tools
Push to ArcGIS syncs layers to the Experience Builder map. Market Summary lets you click any spot on the map to see a full site-readiness snapshot โ grid & power, connectivity, competition, climate & risk, all in one popup.
📌 Selected Sites
Build a persistent list of parcels you're interested in. Selections survive page refresh (stored in browser localStorage, up to 50 sites).
How to use:
- Click any parcel on the map (scanned or clicked at zoom 15+)
- Hit the green 📌 Select button in the popup
- Click 📌 Selected at the bottom-left of the map to open the panel
- The panel shows a summary bar (count, total acres, avg score) and a table with address, acres, score, state, and actions (zoom, remove)
- Export CSV downloads all selected sites with full details (address, city, state, county, owner, APN, zoning, value, coordinates)
- Click the same parcel's Select button again to deselect it
🌎 Parcel Data Coverage
We pull parcel boundaries, ownership, acreage, zoning, land use, assessed value, and mailing addresses from free government GIS endpoints. No API keys needed โ all public data. Zoom to 15+ and click any parcel.
Statewide coverage (29 states):
TX
NY
FL
PA
NC
CO
VA
NJ
WA
OH
WI
IN
MT
NV
MN
MS
MA
CT
MD
WV
AR
VT
HI
RI
DE
ME
NH
IA
ND
County-level (richer data โ owner, mailing, value):
- AZ โ Maricopa County (Phoenix metro)
- GA โ Fulton County (Atlanta), DeKalb County
- IL โ DuPage County (Chicago west)
- CA โ Los Angeles County, Alameda County (Bay Area), Sacramento County
- OR โ Portland Metro (3 counties)
- UT โ Salt Lake County
- SC โ Greenville County
- KS โ Wyandotte County (Kansas City)
- TX โ Denton County (DFW north)
- TN โ Nashville/Davidson County
- NE โ Douglas County (Omaha)
- LA โ Jefferson Parish, East Baton Rouge
- MI โ Wayne County (Detroit)
- PA โ Lehigh, Chester, Montgomery Counties
- MO โ Jackson County (Kansas City), St. Louis County
- OK โ Oklahoma County (OKC), Tulsa County
- KY โ Webster County
County-level data is richer: owner name, site address, APN, acreage, building SF, zoning, land use, assessed value, and mailing address.
👥 Ownership Intelligence
Every parcel owner is auto-classified into one of 5 types, shown as colored badges in popups:
Corporate
Individual
Government
Trust
Nonprofit
- Classification โ auto-detected from owner name (LLC/Inc = Corporate, City of/County = Government, Trust, Church = Nonprofit, etc.)
- Owner Aggregation โ the Ownership panel groups parcels by owner, sorted by total acreage. Click any owner to zoom to all their parcels
- Filtering โ use the Owner Type checkboxes to show/hide parcels by type (e.g. uncheck Government and Nonprofit to focus on purchasable land)
📊 Parcel Scoring System
DC Finder scores every scanned parcel on a 0โ100 scale based on 11 data layers. The system is interactive โ only the layers you have turned on affect the score.
How it works
- After a scan, all parcels start at score 100 (all green)
- Turn on a data layer (e.g. Substations) → every parcel gets rescored instantly
- Parcels that score well on that layer stay green; poor ones shift toward yellow/orange/red
- Stack more layers → the scoring gets more precise, colors become more differentiated
- The raw scores from all active layers are summed and normalized to 0โ100 based on the possible range
Click any parcel to see the per-layer score breakdown in the popup โ it shows exactly which factors are helping (+green) or hurting (-red), plus actionable advice for risks.
75โ100 Excellent
50โ74 Concerns
25โ49 Issues
0โ24 Avoid
The 11 Scoring Layers
| Substations | 0 to +10 | Distance (0โ4) + voltage bonus (138kV=+1, 230kV=+3, 345kV=+5, 500kV+=+6) |
| Transmission | 0 to +3 | Proximity to high-voltage transmission lines |
| FEMA Flood | -5 to +2 | Biggest penalty. 9-point boundary sampling catches partial flood overlap |
| Metro | 0 to +3 | Distance to nearest major metro area |
| Power Cost | -2 to +3 | Industrial electricity rates by state (cheap=bonus, expensive=penalty) |
| Climate | -1 to +2 | Cooling Degree Days โ cool climate reduces HVAC costs |
| Disaster Risk | -3 to 0 | Tornado, hurricane, earthquake composite risk by state |
| Fiber | 0 to +2 | State-level fiber penetration (NJ/RI 80%+ = max score) |
| Water | 0 to +2 | Proximity to rivers/lakes for cooling water supply |
| Grid Avail. | -1 to +3 | Can you actually get power connected? ISO queue congestion + state headroom |
| Competitors | 0 to +2 | 5โ15mi from existing DCs = proven market demand |
Radar Chart Axes (Top Parcels)
The radar chart in each Top Parcels card groups the 17 layers into 8 visual axes:
- Power = Substations
- Trans = Transmission Lines
- Metro = Metro Proximity
- Grid = Grid Availability
- OpCost = Power Cost + Climate
- Connect = Fiber + Water + Competitors
- Safety = FEMA Flood + Disaster Risk + Water Stress
- Finance = Opportunity Zone + Tax Incentives
A high score does NOT mean "buy this land." It means "this is worth a deeper look." Always do full due diligence (utility study, Phase I environmental, title search, zoning confirmation) before any acquisition.
📏 Measurement Tools
The floating toolbar on the right side of the map gives you 4 measurement tools, plus a clear button. All measurements show both US (feet, miles, acres) and metric (meters, km, hectares) units.
- 📏 Distance โ click to place points along a path. The total distance updates live as you add segments. Hit Finish (or Enter / double-click) to lock in the measurement. Shows ft, mi, m, km.
- ⬛ Area โ click to draw polygon vertices (minimum 3 points). Area updates live as you add points. Hit Finish to close the polygon. Shows acres, ft², hectares, m², plus perimeter.
- ◯ Radius Circle โ first click sets the center, move the mouse to preview the circle, second click locks the radius. Shows radius + enclosed area in all units.
- 📍 Coordinates โ click anywhere to drop a pin with lat/lng coordinates. Click multiple spots to compare locations.
- 🗑 Clear โ removes all measurement drawings from the map.
While measuring: map panning is disabled so your clicks register as points, not drags. You can still zoom with scroll wheel or pinch. When you exit the tool (ESC or Cancel), panning is restored.
Action buttons: once you have enough points, Finish, Undo, and Cancel buttons appear in the results panel.
Keyboard shortcuts:
- Enter โ finish current measurement
- Escape โ exit measurement mode
- Delete / Backspace โ undo last point
- Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z โ undo last point
📌 Map Annotations
Draw shapes on the map and attach structured DC notes โ great for marking power corridors, competitor zones, risk areas, growth opportunities, or sharing observations with your team. Annotations auto-save to Firebase and persist across page reloads automatically.
Drawing Tools:
- ▱ Polygon โ click to place vertices one by one. Double-click, press Enter to close the shape. Minimum 3 points.
- ▭ Rectangle โ click first corner, then opposite corner. Two clicks.
- ○ Circle โ click center, then click to set radius.
- 👁 Show/Hide โ toggle annotation visibility on/off without deleting them.
- 🗑 Clear All โ delete all annotations from Firebase (with confirmation).
Annotation Details (in the modal after drawing):
- Category (multi-select) โ Power Grid, Connectivity Hub, Competitor Zone, Growth Area, Risk Zone, Opportunity, Avoid, General Note. Select all that apply to the region.
- Note โ free-text description of what you observed.
- Priority โ Low, Medium, or High. High-priority annotations get a red accent border on the map label.
- Status โ Flagged, Investigating, Cleared, or Rejected. Tracks the lifecycle of each observation.
- Action Required โ multi-select: Info Only, Site Visit, Research Needed, Contact Owner.
- Color โ 6 options, manually selectable per annotation.
Auto-persist: every annotation you create, edit, or delete is immediately saved to Firebase. No need to manually save โ annotations survive page refreshes, browser restarts, and are shared across the team in real-time.
Interacting with annotations: click any annotation on the map to see the full details popup showing categories, status, priority badges, the note, required actions, creator, and date. The popup has Edit and Delete buttons.
Session integration: annotations are independent from scan sessions. Sessions save a snapshot of annotations at save-time. When you exit a loaded session, the global annotations are re-fetched from Firebase.
Keyboard shortcuts (while drawing):
- Enter โ finish polygon
- Escape โ cancel drawing
- Backspace / Delete โ undo last point (polygon mode)
📚 Where Our Data Comes From
Full breakdown of where each data layer comes from and how reliable it is.
| LAYER / DATA |
SOURCE |
WHO RUNS IT |
ACCURACY |
NOTES |
| Substations |
HIFLD (Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data) |
US Dept of Homeland Security + DOE |
High โ locations and voltage verified by federal agencies |
Federal database, also used by military for infrastructure planning |
| Substation Capacity (MW est.) |
Our formula based on HIFLD voltage + line count |
Calculated from HIFLD voltage + line count using industry standard heuristics |
Estimate โ industry heuristic, not actual nameplate |
Screening tool only. Exact capacity requires a utility capacity study. |
| Transmission Lines |
HIFLD Electric Power Transmission Lines |
US DHS + DOE |
High โ federal data, verified routes and voltages |
Same federal database as substations. Routes and voltages are verified. |
| FEMA Flood Zones |
FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer (via ArcGIS) |
Federal Emergency Management Agency |
High โ official federal flood maps |
Official FEMA data. For legal/lending purposes a formal flood certificate is still needed. |
| Seismic Hazard |
USGS Seismic Hazard Maps (PGA 2% in 50yr) |
US Geological Survey |
High โ gold standard for seismic risk |
Same data used for US building codes. |
| Power Cost |
EIA Electric Power Monthly (industrial rates) |
US Energy Information Administration |
Good โ state averages, not utility-specific |
State-level industrial averages. Actual rates depend on utility and negotiated tariff. |
| Grid Availability |
ISO/RTO public queue reports + state utility data |
PJM, ERCOT, MISO, CAISO, SPP, NYISO, ISO-NE (published quarterly) |
Good โ directional, queue data is 1-3 months old |
Real ISO interconnection queue data. Queue backlogs are public record. Exact timing requires a utility study. |
| ISO Regions |
FERC jurisdictional boundaries |
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission |
High โ official boundaries |
Official grid operator territories (PJM = mid-Atlantic, ERCOT = Texas, etc.) |
| Queue Hotspots |
Compiled from ISO queue reports + industry research |
Compiled from public ISO queue filings |
Good โ real GW numbers, locations approximate |
Known congestion areas with real GW figures from public filings. |
| MISO Queue (Live) |
MISO Generator Interconnection Queue API |
Midcontinent Independent System Operator |
High โ real-time from MISO directly |
Live data from MISO's API. Only covers MISO territory (central US). |
| Power Plants (EIA) |
EIA Form 860 + facility fuel data |
US Energy Information Administration |
High โ mandatory federal reporting |
All US power plants are required to report to EIA. Official government data. |
| Connectivity Hubs |
PeeringDB Facility Database |
PeeringDB (nonprofit, industry-standard) |
Good โ self-reported by operators, widely trusted |
Industry standard directory. Major carriers and DC operators self-report their facilities. |
| Fiber Connectivity |
FCC Broadband Data Collection (Form 477 / BDC) |
Federal Communications Commission |
Moderate โ state-level averages, not parcel-specific |
State-level fiber availability. For a specific address, check with local ISPs. |
| Competitor DCs |
PeeringDB + datacentermap + operator websites |
Compiled from PeeringDB + operator sites (111 verified locations) |
High โ manually verified addresses |
111 verified locations (Equinix, Digital Realty, QTS, etc.) cross-referenced from multiple sources. |
| Parcel Data |
State/County GIS ArcGIS Feature Servers |
State governments + county assessors (29 statewide + 14 county) |
Good โ official, but may lag recent sales by months |
Official county assessor data. Boundaries accurate, ownership may lag recent sales by a few months. |
| Water Features |
USGS National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) |
US Geological Survey |
High โ comprehensive federal water data |
Definitive US water features database from USGS. |
| Climate (CDD) |
NOAA Cooling Degree Day normals |
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
High โ 30-year climate averages |
NOAA 30-year averages, same data HVAC engineers use for cooling system sizing. |
| Disaster Risk |
NOAA Storm Events + USGS seismic + FEMA historical |
Multiple federal agencies |
Good โ historical composite, state-level |
Tornado, hurricane, earthquake history combined. State-level average, local conditions can vary. |
| Measurements |
Haversine (distance) + Geodesic trapezoidal (area) |
Standard geospatial math (same as Google Maps) |
High โ <0.5% error for typical parcels |
Same math as Google Maps, under 0.5% error. Legal surveys still need a licensed surveyor. |
Quick summary:
- 8 out of 18 layers come from US federal agencies (DHS, FEMA, USGS, EIA, NOAA, FCC)
- MISO queue data is live from their API
- PeeringDB is what the industry uses for connectivity data
- Parcel data comes from county GIS servers (same raw data as Regrid)
- The only thing we estimate ourselves is substation MW capacity (based on voltage + line count)
- This is all for screening โ real due diligence (utility study, Phase I, title search) comes after we narrow down candidates
All data should be independently verified before making acquisition decisions.
☁ Cloud Sessions
Save complete scan sessions to the cloud so the whole team can share, review, and reload results later. Everything is saved โ parcels, scores, layer states, filters, map position.
- Save โ after a scan, click the Save button next to Grid/Clear. Name your session (auto-suggested) and hit Save. It uploads to Firebase instantly.
- Load โ click the purple ☁ Sessions pill in the top-left corner of the map. Click Load on any session to restore parcels, colors, layers, filters, and map position exactly as they were.
- Exit Session โ after loading a session, a red ✖ Exit Session button appears next to the Sessions pill. Click it to return to whatever you had on screen before loading โ your previous scan, map position, layers, everything is restored.
- Delete โ only the person who saved it (or an admin) can delete a session.
- Sharing โ everyone on the team can see and load all saved sessions. Great for "Hey, check out this Phoenix scan I did."
Sessions save parcels with polygon geometry, composite scores, layer score breakdowns, owner classification, and all filter/layer toggle states. Typical session size: ~200-300KB for 200 parcels.
Coming soon: Real-time ISO LMP pricing, utility IRP tracking, AI site narratives, scenario builder (custom scoring weights), time-to-power estimates, entitlement risk scoring, PJM/ERCOT/CAISO live queue feeds.
Open Deal Globe โ
