Altes Capital and Zero Intensity Collaborate to Advance Sustainable Data Center Underwriting

Altes Capital, an alternative investment manager, has forged a strategic alliance with Zero Intensity to revolutionize the underwriting of data center infrastructure. This partnership comes at a crucial time, as the data center industry experiences an unprecedented boom, driven by the escalating demands of artificial intelligence and cloud computing. However, this growth is increasingly met with challenges related to environmental impact, power grid strain, and local community opposition. The core objective of this collaboration is to embed a more rigorous, asset-level analysis of environmental, operational, and community factors into the financial evaluation of data center projects. Historically, environmental performance data for this asset class has been fragmented and difficult to verify, posing significant hurdles for investors and developers. The new initiative aims to overcome these challenges by leveraging Zero Intensity's Protocol (ZIP). ZIP is designed to standardize the measurement, verification, and reporting of environmental attributes at the asset level. This framework will provide market participants, including institutional investors and insurers, with consistent and credible information to assess environmental risks. The ability to accurately evaluate factors such as environmental intensity, power availability, and operating resilience is becoming paramount for project deliverability and long-term sustainability. The data center sector is currently undergoing one of the largest infrastructure build-outs globally, with Goldman Sachs estimating approximately $7.6 trillion in AI-infrastructure capital expenditures between 2026 and 2031. Despite this immense investment, many projects face delays or blockages due to concerns over power availability, permitting, and community acceptance. For instance, Data Center Watch reported that U.S. data center projects totaling at least $156 billion were stalled or canceled in 2025. This partnership signifies a shift towards a more disciplined approach to data center diligence, where environmental transparency and long-term asset quality are key. By providing a standardized method for evaluating environmental performance, Altes Capital and Zero Intensity aim to facilitate more responsible investment, redirect capital towards sustainable projects, and incentivize operators to optimize environmental outcomes. This proactive step is expected to support the development of cloud infrastructure that is not only high-performing but also environmentally sound and socially acceptable.