Baker Botts is a market leader in the data center ecosystem—advising developers, operators, hyperscalers, investors, lenders, and energy suppliers on the full lifecycle of siting, powering, financing, building, and operating mission-critical facilities. Our deep Corporate bench that navigates at the intersection of power markets, digital infrastructure, and specialized agreements makes us the go-to firm for the full lifecycle of data center projects.

Our integrated teams span energy regulatory, project development, environmental and water, real estate and construction, tax and incentives, finance, privacy/cybersecurity, AI governance, and antitrust—delivering end-to-end counsel on data center matters. From wholesale and retail supply structures to behind-the-meter generation, microgrids, and storage, we help clients design and implement resilient, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions.

Why Baker Botts & How We Help

• Data Center Development & Operations
  • We have advised on hundreds of data center matters, including many end-to-end projects, with some projects exceeding 1 GW of total operational demand
  • Comprehensive support for greenfield and redevelopment projects, including site acquisition, leasing, EPC contracting, interconnection, and permitting to compress timelines and manage risk
• Power Strategy & Energy Market Expertise
  • Unmatched power market insights to secure approvals, structure participation, and optimize cost and reliability
  • Guidance on retail energy issues, private use networks, interconnections, PPAs, and complex behind-the-meter arrangements
  • On-site and BTM solutions: gas-fired, renewable, and storage-backed generation; microgrids; resiliency planning
• Specialized Data Center Agreements
  • Lease and services agreements, colocation (retail, wholesale, powered shell), MSAs, SOWs, and managed services addenda (remote hands, security monitoring, compliance reporting, backup, disaster recovery)
  • Data connectivity agreements with carriers, clouds, and data exchanges to ensure robust network integration
  • O&M contracts, facilities management, vendor/supply agreements for critical infrastructure procurement (e.g., GPUs, racks), SLAs, compliance, and certification agreements
  • Trade and compliance, CFIUS, sanctions, tariffs, and cross-border trade issues
• Regulatory & Permitting
  • Experienced team to help you manage local, state, and federal approvals
  • Deep bench of attorneys focused on environmental and water permitting, wastewater, and contested case defense
• Financing & Incentives
  • Corporate financing for data center-specific matters, including SPAs, APAs, SHAs, JVAs, and various other types of financing agreements
  • Project finance, tax equity, and structured capital solutions
  • Navigation of state and federal incentive programs as well as incentive stacking opportunity maximization
• Technology, Privacy & Security
  • Recognized strength in AI governance, data privacy, and cybersecurity risk allocation
  • Contracting for compliance frameworks and risk management in data center operations