How the data center model works

Total IT load

Σ phase MW (the single capacity input)

Data halls

⌈ IT load ÷ MW per hall ⌉

Total racks

⌊ IT load × 1000 ÷ rack kW ⌋

Facility power

IT load × PUE

Equipment count (Tier III = N+1)

⌈ served load ÷ unit rating ⌉ + 1 spare

Per-phase sizing & pooled redundancy

each phase's base units are sized from its own MW; the redundancy spare is added once (with phase 1) and shared across the facility, not repeated per phase

System sub-total

Σ (unit count × unit cost), all four systems

Shared / core infra (×1)

Σ shared line items

Per-hall infra (× halls)

Σ per-hall items × hall count

By function (MECE)

every line classified into Land / Building / Power / Cooling / IT / Security / Soft

Sub-total

systems + shared + per-hall

Contingency

sub-total × 8%

Interest during construction (IDC)

total × debt% × interest% × (months ÷ 12) × ½

Total project cost

sub-total + contingency + IDC

Cost timing (upfront vs phased)

upfront = built once with phase 1 (land, grid, design…); phased = drawn pro-rata as each phase commissions. Contingency + IDC are allocated so upfront + phased = total.

Construction-cost escalation

each phase's phased capex × (1 + 5%)^(build year). Phase 1 (year 0) is unescalated, so a single-phase build is unaffected; staging later raises the as-built total.

Land (Own vs Lease)

owned land sits in CapEx; leased land is dropped from CapEx and recovered as an annual OpEx

Stamp duty on land

land value × 6% — owned land only, capitalized into the land basis (never depreciated, insured or maintained). 5–7% by state; UP/TN data-center policies waive it.

GST (planning note, not a model line)

18% GST applies on equipment and construction services; input tax credit on the civil shell is blocked u/s 17(5) CGST — budget unrecoverable GST on the building share as cost

CapEx per MW (derived)

total project cost ÷ IT load

Facility power drawn

IT × occ + (PUE−1) × IT × (fixedOH + (1−fixedOH) × occ)

Energy cost

facility power × 8760 h × tariff × 1000 × (1+esc)^(yr−1)

Power pass-through (revenue)

when pass-through is on, energy is billed back on the revenue side (margin-neutral)

Generator fuel

facility power × test hours × 1000 × 0.27 L/kWh × diesel price × (1+esc)^(yr−1)

Maintenance (split by class)

building base × 1% + equipment base × 3% (land excluded)

Insurance (excl. land)

installed base excl. land × 0.35% / yr

Upkeep only on commissioned assets

in a staged build, maintenance, insurance and genset-test fuel scale with the commissioned share of the as-built cost — phases not yet built carry no upkeep

Land lease (lease tenure only)

land value × 8% / yr — only when land is leased

Fixed lines escalate

base × (1 + 5%)^(yr−1)

Rent revenue

occupied IT kW × rate/kW/mo (₹7,200) × 12 × (1+esc)^(yr−1) + (pass-through ? energy : 0)

Power pass-through

pass-through on → tenant energy billed on top of the rate; off → operator absorbs energy as a cost

Occupancy ramp (per phase, linear)

start + (stabilized − start) × (age−1) ÷ (ramp yrs − 1)

Phase commissioning (fixed year vs fill-triggered)

phase 1 commissions on its online year; a later phase either pins a fixed year or commissions when the PRIOR phase hits its fill threshold, plus a build lag

Single-source phasing

phases are the only schedule — capacity = Σ phase MW; each phase draws capex the year before online and leases up on its own ramp; shared/upfront cost is carried by the first phase

Debt / equity split

debt = total cost × debt% ; equity = remainder

Principal moratorium

interest-only for the first N years from first online, then amortize

Equal-principal repayment

debt ÷ (tenor − moratorium) each amortizing year

Annuity (EMI) option

debt × r ÷ (1 − (1+r)^−(tenor−moratorium))

Interest

outstanding balance × interest rate

Depreciation (straight-line, by class)

building-class base ÷ building life + equipment-class base ÷ equipment life (from the CapEx functional categories; land excluded, soft/contingency/IDC allocated pro-rata)

Tax (with loss carryforward)

max(0, PBT − losses) × 25% ; losses carry forward

EBITDA

revenue − operating cost

Unlevered (project) FCF

EBITDA − project tax − CapEx (project tax excludes interest)

Equity FCF

PAT + depreciation − principal − equity-funded CapEx

NPV

Σ unlevered FCF ÷ (1 + discount)^t

Payback

year cumulative unlevered cash flow first turns positive

DSCR

CFADS ÷ debt service ; CFADS = EBITDA − tax (amortizing years only)

LLCR

PV(CFADS over loan life) ÷ debt

Equity multiple (MOIC)

Σ equity cash returned ÷ equity invested

Terminal value at exit

exit multiple × final-year EBITDA (− capital-gains tax)

Break-even occupancy

stabilized occupancy at which NPV = 0

Effective PUE

facility power ÷ IT power (≥ design PUE when overhead is fixed)

Design availability (by tier)

Uptime Institute target; downtime = (1 − uptime) × 525,600 min

Carbon

grid energy (net of renewables) × grid factor + diesel test energy × diesel factor

Water

WUE × IT energy

Binding constraint

min( racks by power, by white-space, by cooling )