Data center solutions

The race to build data centers is on. Get solutions to accelerate development, attract investment, and build community trust.

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Data Centers Solutions and Consulting

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What we do
Who we help
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Data-informed insights

Make smarter decisions faster

Utilities, developers, and government agencies face mounting pressure to accelerate data center development while managing risks and maximizing economic benefits. ICF provides solutions that make smart decisions possible—without slowing progress.

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What we do

Expertise where it matters most

Energy access, regulatory hurdles, and community concerns add time and complexity to data center development, but the right strategies create win-win solutions for all stakeholders.

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Speed

Speed is critical for successful data center developments and the utilities and communities supporting them. Our strategies can help secure resources and clear hurdles faster.

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Access

Data centers need access to energy and viable sites. Stakeholders need access to economic benefits. We deliver both—helping you secure investment and ensuring affordable, reliable energy to power growth.

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Trust

Engaging with the local communities can make all the difference for projects advancing. We help you understand and address community sentiment to shape solutions with lasting benefits.

Navigate the big decisions

A few key decisions determine the speed, economic returns, and community impact of data centers. We use data, insights, and industry-leading expertise to help you make those decisions—and execute them.

We don’t just navigate policy—we inform it. Our deep analysis and expertise underpins forward-thinking policies that accelerate data center development while ensuring regulatory alignment, energy affordability, and community input.

Proof in practice

We helped the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency establish ENERGY STAR standards for data center efficiency, the industry’s gold standard.

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We identify high-potential locations that balance infrastructure readiness, environmental permitting, speed to market, and long-term returns. From fiber to power to permitting—we know what makes a site work.

Proof in practice

We helped Google, Meta, and AWS build 10,000+ miles of fiber to unlock new data center locations.

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We ensure data centers have the reliable and affordable energy they need. Our experts connect you to the grid, provide off-grid solutions, assess long-term power cost dynamics, and evaluate load flexibility options.

Proof in practice

Facing some of the fastest electricity demand growth in the U.S., we helped a Southeast utility assess data center load impacts, then implemented energy efficiency programs to reduce data center energy use.

Putting community outreach first ensures lasting impact. We engage communities and local governments early and often, building trust, sharing knowledge, and shaping solutions that reflect their needs and concerns.

Proof in practice

We advised Loudoun County, Virginia—home of Data Center Alley—and the Metropolitan Council of Governments on data center growth projections, community education, and solutions to maximize benefits while reducing negative impacts.

Who we help

Solutions for those who make it happen

Developers and owners aren’t the only ones with a stake in the data center boom. Utilities, energy investors, and government leaders all need accurate information to make critical decisions.

Card 1 - Utilities - Informed decision making. From strategy to implementation, we guide prudent, cost-effective investment decisions, interconnection processes, engineering needs, and customer programs. Card 2 - Developers - Site location and selection. Whether you're building data centers or the energy systems that power them, we help you choose viable sites that maximize speed and investment returns. Card 3 - Investors - Investment confidence. Our due diligence and independent engineering services give investors confidence in project feasibility, sustained performance, and long-term operational viability. Card 4 - Government and policy leaders - Unlocking opportunities. We help government leaders (local, state, and national) unlock economic opportunities, tackle affordability, and better serve their communities with the right tools and expertise.

Clients we’ve helped

A listing of client logos including Google, Meta, AWS, Georgia Power, DTE, MidAmerican Energy Company, Maryland Energy Administration, Loudoun County Virginia, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, and GSA

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How We're Different

Partner with a proven expert

20+ years of data center success

Well before the boom, we were helping clients navigate every critical stage of data center development—from informing policy to securing stakeholder alignment.

Working where the action is

Headquartered near Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley, we’ve worked on the front lines of the nation’s largest data center hub—and continue delivering growth solutions nationwide.

The right industry expertise

We’ve spent decades working with the people and organizations that can accelerate data center development. We know the players—and we bring them to the table.

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How to find the ‘sweet spot’ to build all those data centers

The race is on to build new data centers. Siting decisions are increasingly high stakes and complex.

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Navigate an intricate web of siting criteria

Investors and developers, utilities, and government agencies are searching for ideal locations to build data centers as quickly as possible while maximizing the economic benefits and minimizing the risks.

Our latest paper leverages ICF’s EnergyInsite platform to explore critical considerations that impact the feasibility and economic benefits of data center sites in relation to energy infrastructure, fiber optic network infrastructure, environmental requirements, and regulatory and policy environments.

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Get ahead in the data center race today

Schedule a time to learn how our data center solutions can empower smarter, faster decisions for success.

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