The Three Ps and one very real industry challenge

by Sabrina Chambonniere – Senior Marketing Manager

 

Last week, for two days straight, I was attending DCD Connect London and as one would expect, there was plenty of discussion about AI, scale, power demand and how quickly this market is moving. But the comment that struck a chord with me came from my colleague, HSCALE’s Chief Development Officer, Bruce Stephenson. During his panel discussion, he described the challenge in three words which he called “The Three Ps”: Power, People and Permit. It was simple but also spot on! We can make data centre development sound incredibly complicated and, to be fair, it usually is. But if any one of those three things is missing, you do not really have a project. You have an idea, a site on a map or a very good presentation.

The timing struck me because this week, I will be in Berlin moderating a panel called “Hand in Hand: Mutual Benefits Between DCs, Grids and People” for dc metro (Wed. 23 Sept.). The title is slightly different but the conversation remains the same. How do we stop treating the different parts of development as separate issues and start joining them up together?

 

Power is not just a number

Power tends to dominate every data centre conversation at the moment. And the first question I’ve been hearing lately is: “how many megawatts?” Meanwhile, the more useful questions are “when, where and under what conditions”. A big number in a brochure means absolutely nothing if the connection date does not work, if the power route is unclear or if the site cannot grow with the customer’s needs. Power has to match the development plan. A site is rarely built and brought online in one go, so the power plan needs to reflect how capacity will be delivered over time. Getting that right as early as possible can make the difference between a credible programme and an optimistic one. Grid operators also need a realistic picture of the demand. Not the maximum possible load on day one, but what will actually be used, how the project will ramp up and where flexibility need to exist. That requires developers and grid operators to communicate early and openly.

 

People means more than recruitment

The people aspect of any data centre development is just as important. Yes, the industry needs engineers, construction specialists and experienced operators. We all know there is pressure on finding the right skills. But by “people”, I also mean planning teams, local authorities, suppliers, politicians and the communities living near a site. They are part of the project from the beginning, because their knowledge, questions and concerns can shape how it is planned and how it fits into the area around it. Bringing people into the conversation early will not only remove challenges, but it gives everyone a better chance to understand the project and address any issue before decisions become difficult to change.

Good engagement is usually quite straightforward. Explain what is being proposed, share what is known and be open about the questions still being worked through. Where a project can create local value (through jobs, skills, supply-chain opportunities or heat reuse) set out how that value can be delivered and work with local partners to make it real. Then keep the conversation going after the first meeting.

 

And then there is the permit

Permitting is not the most glamorous part of the data centre story, but it is where a lot of ambition meets reality. It brings together questions about energy, water, noise, traffic, construction and the character of a local area. Those are reasonable questions and they deserve proper answers with proper solutions that allows all sides to move forward with trust, clarity and confidence.

The strongest projects bring planning into the conversation from the outset, alongside the power strategy and the commercial case. This creates more opportunities to address potential challenges early on, align stakeholders and develop a project that is both commercially compelling and genuinely deliverable.

 

This is the conversation I want to have in Berlin

“Alles ist verbunden” or in English, “everything is connected”. That idea captures what I like about “The Three Ps”: none of them sits neatly with one party. The developer cannot solve the grid alone. The grid cannot create local support. And a permit alone cannot compensate for a project without a credible power path. We are all connected, whether or not we structure the work that way.
At HSCALE, we spend a lot of time looking at how those pieces come together in real projects. Sometimes the most valuable work is not finding another opportunity, but identifying early the issue that could prevent an opportunity from becoming deliverable and dealing with it.

So, in Berlin, I want to move beyond the familiar statement that we all need to collaborate and talk about what collaboration actually looks like. What information do grids need from developers? What should communities reasonably expect from a data centre? Where can public authorities provide greater clarity? And who takes responsibility for keeping everyone aligned when timelines change?

Two days in London confirmed that demand is not the problem. The difficult part is turning that demand into something that can be built, powered and supported locally. Power. People. Permit. Bruce was right. Alles ist verbunden. And that is the job.

I will be moderating the panel at dc metro Berlin at 11:35 on Wednesday, 23 September, at the Hilton Berlin. If you are there, please come and join the discussion.

Check out our dc metro Berlin page for more information: https://www.hscaledc.com/update/dc-metro-berlin-23-sept-2026/