Harmonics, IEEE 519, IEEE 1547 IBR framing, filter topology, and the Talen-Amazon Susquehanna ruling. Why interconnection studies now include power quality.
Rack density is the common boundary condition for both power and thermal architecture. Three couplings — density, interface, failure/control — with GB300 NVL72 as the case study.
Retrofitting an AC facility to 800 VDC is technically possible but rarely economic. Greenfield beats retrofit on 10-year TCO by 30-50 percent under typical assumptions. Retrofit only makes sense in three narrow cases; most operators should scope a satellite greenfield instead.
Native 800 VDC UPS collapses 4 conversion stages to 2 and connects the battery directly to the DC bus. End-to-end efficiency climbs 4-6 points. BMS complexity increases sharply. LFP is displacing NMC in data centre UPS applications faster than in the EV market.
Grounding topology at 800 VDC is a Stage-1 architecture decision that interacts with arc-fault protection and insurance. TN-S vs IT-System has different scaling properties at hyperscale. Insulation-resistance monitoring runs into engineering limits above 100 MW connected load.
DC arcs sustain because DC current never crosses zero. Schneider Electric's August 2026 study found 800 VDC arc-flash risk comparable to AC when architecture, capacitor placement and clearing are specified correctly. Protection topology drives insurance tiering.
What Changed Issue 01. A one-page monthly recap on AI infrastructure power. What NVIDIA, OCP, hyperscalers, and power equipment vendors did in July 2026, what the market is getting wrong, and what to watch over the next six months.
Scoping decides what to test. Execution decides whether the tests get run with signal or noise. Team composition, workstream sequencing, and data room engagement.
A chip vendor guaranteeing $105B of a customer's lease and power obligations, taking a $1.5B direct equity investment in the project SPV, and standing behind a $4.2B utility grid partnership. Operational DD lens on the NVIDIA-OpenAI PORTS-Pike deal.
Partners Group exits atNorth. CPP takes 60 percent, Equinix takes 40 percent as strategic operator. Commercial DD scoping applied to a joint sponsor-plus-strategic acquisition of Nordic data centre capacity.
Most of what determines whether DD creates or destroys value happens before the data room opens. What to examine, at what depth, against what walk-away criteria, with what pre-committed authority.
Eight sovereign capital pools, twelve national industrial policy programmes, and how the landscape reshapes over the next 24 months. Part VIII of The Investment Layer.