What a campus means for a municipality.
Numbers from published projects in Germany and from conversations with operators. No promises, orders of magnitude.
- 50 to 80
- Permanent jobs per 500 MW in operation, plus the construction phase over several years.
- Source: Telis, Mehrum project (municipality of Hohenhameln), 2026.
- ca. 1 m EUR
- Trade tax per 10 MW of connected capacity per year, depending on structure and apportionment.
- Source: experience from operator conversations.
- 35 to 55 °C
- Temperature of the waste heat, usable for local heating, greenhouses and drying.
- Source: EnEfG, manufacturer specifications.
- 0 trucks
- Truck traffic in ongoing operation. Traffic occurs only during the construction phase.
- No water extraction
- for cooling in ongoing operation. Closed loops, no evaporative cooling.
- 45 to 55 dB(A)
- Sound emissions at the property boundary. No longer perceptible from 500 m away in rural areas.
Frequently asked questions
Jobs in the construction phase over several years and permanent jobs in operation. Orders for local trades and businesses. Training of skilled workers at the site. Trade tax. Waste heat for local heating or agriculture. Plus standard participation models: a municipal development fund or a stake in the project company. Direct payments per kilowatt hour are not permissible.
Contact for municipalities, districts and the state
We reply within one working day.
What we need from municipality, district and state
From municipality and district
The council's basic position, access to the owners, readiness for a formal zoning resolution as soon as the grid operator has classified the capacity, and a working level in the building authority and economic development office.
From the state
Focus regions at transmission nodes and power plant sites, a coordinator for large-load settlements, a model Bebauungsplan (zoning plan) for a Sondergebiet Rechenzentrum, and a practical review of the procedures. Goal: building rights in 12 instead of 24 to 36 months.
Our procedure
The steps in the order a building authority expects them.
Preliminary check
Review of transmission nodes, power plant sites and landing points for connection capacity, land and surroundings; preliminary check with the grid operator.
Land security
Contiguous land via options, not purchases. Owners remain owners until an operator is confirmed.
TSO maturity-level procedure
Application in the transmission system operators' Reifegradverfahren (TSO maturity-level procedure): land security and permitting status, technical connection concept, capability of the applicant, grid and system benefit.
Zoning: special-use zoning for data centres
Formal zoning resolution, land-use plan and development plan together with municipality and district, including the environmental assessment.
Energy and heat concept under the EnEfG
Direct supply from wind and solar, storage at the connection point, waste heat use under the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) with offtakers or a documented exemption.
Handover
The operator takes over land, building rights, connection path and concepts, and builds.
Preliminary check
Review of transmission nodes, power plant sites and landing points for connection capacity, land and surroundings; preliminary check with the grid operator.
Land security
Contiguous land via options, not purchases. Owners remain owners until an operator is confirmed.
TSO maturity-level procedure
Application in the transmission system operators' Reifegradverfahren (TSO maturity-level procedure): land security and permitting status, technical connection concept, capability of the applicant, grid and system benefit.
Zoning: special-use zoning for data centres
Formal zoning resolution, land-use plan and development plan together with municipality and district, including the environmental assessment.
Energy and heat concept under the EnEfG
Direct supply from wind and solar, storage at the connection point, waste heat use under the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) with offtakers or a documented exemption.
Handover
The operator takes over land, building rights, connection path and concepts, and builds.
Waste-heat concept
Site criteria for a data centre region
The criteria we use to assess sites: capacity, grid connection, land, zoning, water, heat, exclusion criteria. In German.
One page. PDF.
Reference projects in Germany
Third-party projects, public figures.
Mehrum
Telis in Mehrum, municipality of Hohenhameln: up to 500 MW on the site of a decommissioned coal power plant, 38 ha, unanimous zoning resolution on 19 March 2026, construction start 2028.
Lübbenau
Schwarz Digits in Lübbenau: 200 MW on a power plant site, EUR 11 bn over 15 years, groundbreaking 18 November 2025.
Dummerstorf
Schwarz Digits in Dummerstorf: 240 MW by 2033, option for 1 GW by 2045, the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as partner, announced 27 August 2026.