# Glossary of data center, grid and powered-land terms

**Access and connection permit** — In Spain, the _permiso de acceso y conexión_: the operator’s grant of the right to connect a given load at a given node. Since RDL 7/2026 it carries a CNAE activity code.

**Access capacity** — The capacity, in MW, a network operator publishes as available at a node for new consumers (demand) or new plants (generation). In Spain it is published per node and compiled by the CNMC. See [Spain grid capacity by province](https://ampervia.com/data/spain-grid/).

**AI factory** — Industry term for data centers built for AI training and inference, with much higher power density per rack than traditional facilities.

**AIFM** — Alternative investment fund manager, the regulated manager required under EU rules when capital is pooled from investors into a fund.

**Autoproducer unit** — In Irish rules, on-site or nearby dispatchable generation a data center must provide to cover its demand; required at 100% of MIC for sites of 1–10 MVA.

**Behind-the-meter power** — Generation on the consumer’s side of the grid meter (on-site gas, solar, batteries) supplying the data center directly.

**Brownfield site** — Previously developed land, often a closed factory. In Lombardy, brownfield data centers get lower construction charges than greenfield ones.

**Capacity reservation guarantee** — A deposit or periodic charge a developer pays to hold grid capacity before using it. Spain’s RDL 7/2026 created one for demand permits of 1 kV and above, payable until activity starts.

**Capex per MW** — Construction cost divided by IT capacity, the standard way to compare data center build costs.

**Club deal** — A transaction in which a small group of investors invest together, usually through an SPV, instead of through a blind-pool fund.

**CNAE code** — Spain’s classification of economic activities. Under RDL 7/2026 a demand permit states the CNAE code of the activity it will serve, and the permit lapses if the connected site does not keep that activity for three years.

**CNAE lock** — Shorthand for the RDL 7/2026 rule tying a Spanish demand permit to its declared activity code, which stops a factory’s permit being reused for a data center.

**Co-investment** — Investing directly in a specific deal alongside a sponsor or fund, usually on the same terms.

**Colocation** — A data center that leases space, power and cooling to several customers.

**Connection offer** — The operator’s formal offer setting the capacity, works, cost and date of a connection. The strongest evidence that a site is powered.

**Connection queue** — The list of pending connection requests an operator processes. Queue position, not land, often decides when a site can energise.

**Distribution grid** — The lower-voltage network run by distribution operators (in Spain, distributors such as i-DE, e-distribución or UFD). Most connections of a few to a few tens of MW sit here.

**DSO** — Distribution system operator: the company running the local lower-voltage grid.

**Edge data center** — A small facility, often under 5 MW, placed close to users for low latency.

**Energisation** — The moment a connection is switched on and the site can draw power.

**Firm connection** — A connection with guaranteed capacity at all times.

**FLAP-D** — Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin, Europe’s five primary data center markets, all power-constrained. See [FLAP-D connection thresholds](https://ampervia.com/rules/flap-d-grid-connection-thresholds/).

**GDV** — Gross development value: the expected value of a project once built and let.

**Greenfield site** — Land never developed before, typically agricultural.

**Grid capacity (site)** — The total power a site may draw from the grid, including cooling and losses. Higher than the IT load; the ratio depends on PUE.

**Hyperscale** — Very large data centers built by or for the biggest cloud providers, usually tens to hundreds of MW per campus.

**IT load** — The power drawn by the servers and network equipment, excluding cooling and losses. Data center capacity and prices per MW usually refer to IT MW.

**Land option** — A contract giving the right, not the obligation, to buy land at an agreed price within a period, so a developer can secure power and permits before buying.

**MIC** — Maximum import capacity: in Ireland, the contracted maximum a site may draw from the grid. Irish data center rules are tiered by MIC.

**MVA** — Megavolt-ampere, the unit of apparent power used for connection sizes. Close to MW for planning purposes; connection rules in Berlin, Amsterdam, Dublin and London are set in MVA.

**Node** — A point on the grid, usually a substation busbar at one voltage, where capacity is published and new connections are made.

**Non-firm (flexible) connection** — A connection the operator may curtail at times of grid stress, offered sooner than a firm connection. Used in Germany, the UK and Ireland to connect loads earlier.

**Powered land** — Land with a grid connection, or a secured right to one, large enough for a data center. Its price is driven by the megawatts it can draw, so it is usually quoted per MW rather than per square metre. See [What is powered land?](https://ampervia.com/answers/what-is-powered-land/)

**Powered shell** — A building with power delivered to it but without the tenant’s fit-out (cooling, racks, internal electrical). A step after powered land.

**Pro-rata allocation** — Sharing scarce capacity among applicants in proportion to their requests, instead of first come, first served. Used by Frankfurt’s and Berlin’s grid operators.

**PUE** — Power usage effectiveness: total facility energy divided by IT energy. A PUE of 1.3 means 30% on top of the IT load.

**Ready-to-build (RTB)** — A data center site with land control, a grid connection offer or permit, and the planning permits needed to start construction. See [What is a ready-to-build site?](https://ampervia.com/answers/ready-to-build-data-center-site/)

**Shovel-ready** — Informal synonym for ready-to-build: construction could begin without further permits.

**Single authorisation (Italy)** — The single procedure introduced by Italy’s Decree-Law 21/2026, article 8, covering a data center and its grid connection in one authorisation.

**SPV** — Special purpose vehicle: a company formed to hold one project, so its investors, debt and risks stay separate. See [How SPVs and club deals work](https://ampervia.com/answers/data-center-spv-club-deal/).

**Substation** — A facility that transforms voltage between grid levels. Distance to a substation with spare capacity is one of the first site-selection filters.

**Transmission grid** — The high-voltage network run by the transmission system operator (Red Eléctrica in Spain, Terna in Italy, RTE in France). Large campuses connect here.

**TSO** — Transmission system operator: the company running the high-voltage grid of a country or zone.

**Will-serve letter** — A utility’s written statement that it can supply a site. Common in the US; in Europe the equivalent evidence is a connection offer or permit.