Amir SohailNEW YORK, (ZM NEWSWIRE) — Altes Capital and Zero Intensity today announced a strategic collaboration to support Altes’ underwriting of data center infrastructure opportunities. The goal is to bring more rigorous, asset-level analysis to the environmental, operational and community factors that increasingly determine whether data center projects can be delivered, financed, and sustained over time.
The data center sector is in the middle of one of the largest technology infrastructure build-outs underway today. Goldman Sachs estimates roughly $7.6 trillion of cumulative AI-infrastructure capital expenditures between 2026 and 2031. At the same time, project execution is becoming more complex as power availability, permitting, and community acceptance increasingly affect development outcomes.
Data Center Watch reported that U.S. data center projects with publicly disclosed values totaling at least $156 billion were blocked or delayed in 2025. The scale of those delays underscores a growing underwriting challenge: investors need more consistent, verifiable asset-level information to evaluate which projects are most likely to move from demand to delivery.
Under the strategic collaboration, Altes expects to evaluate the use of Zero Intensity’s Protocol, or ZIP, as part of its diligence and underwriting process for relevant data center infrastructure opportunities. ZIP is expected to support asset-level evaluation of the factors that increasingly determine whether projects can be financed, insured, permitted, and sustained over time.
The Protocol is designed to standardize how environmental attributes are measured, verified, and reported at the asset level. The framework is expected to help market participants evaluate environmental risk factors with greater consistency, supported by verified asset-level environmental performance data.
“The next phase of data center development will depend as much on deliverability as on demand. Power access, permitting credibility, community acceptance, and long-term financeability are becoming central to underwriting. We believe more rigorous environmental-intensity analysis can help improve transparency, reduce execution risk, and support infrastructure that is more resilient, more accountable, and better aligned with the communities where it is built.”
— Jonathan Siegel, Altes Capital
Qualifying assets may receive Zero Intensity’s Clean Compute℠ designation, reflecting satisfaction of applicable ZIP criteria. The framework can help differentiate compute infrastructure by giving market participants a clearer, more consistent basis for comparing asset-level environmental and operational performance. Clean Compute℠ is not a government certification, a guarantee of environmental performance, or an investment recommendation, and it is not a representation that an asset has zero emissions, zero water impact, or no community risk.
Data center demand is accelerating as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital infrastructure continue to expand. At the same time, technology companies and infrastructure owners are facing growing pressure to address electricity usage, grid reliability, water consumption, and local environmental impact. Recent Gallup polling found that seven in ten Americans oppose building AI data centers in their local communities.
Altes is focused on infrastructure opportunities where environmental intensity, power availability, community acceptance, and operating resilience can affect underwriting, execution risk, and long-term asset performance. The strategic collaboration with Zero Intensity is expected to give Altes a more rigorous asset-level framework for evaluating these risks and engaging institutional stakeholders.
“Environmental performance data for this asset class has historically been fragmented, inconsistent, and difficult to verify. Our goal is to change that, building a more standardized and credible framework that supports underwriting, diligence, and long-term infrastructure ownership, while laying the groundwork for markets that can reprice risk, redirect capital at scale, and create stronger incentives for operators to optimize outcomes.”
— David Tucker, Zero Intensity
The announcement comes as insurers are increasingly focused on how better environmental and operational data can inform underwriting, risk selection, and pricing for data center infrastructure.
CAC, part of The Baldwin Group, a leading insurance broker and advisor, works diligently to help clients navigate the changing risk landscape, ensuring their challenges are solved and needs are met.
“The insurance market is evolving as insurance carriers use environmental data in shifting from binary coverage decisions to dynamic premium pricing tied to measurable sustainability metrics. Businesses that can demonstrate superior performance across such metrics are increasingly being rewarded with better access to coverage in what remains a highly competitive market. Support from resources like Zero Intensity is making their data accessible and actionable, giving clients a real pricing advantage,” said Chelley Schaper, EVP, Property & Casualty at CAC, part of the Baldwin Group.
The strategic collaboration is expected to support a more disciplined approach to data center diligence at a time when deliverability is becoming more important to infrastructure investors and operators. Altes and Zero Intensity expect to continue engaging with institutional investors and other market participants, including insurers, seeking more rigorous approaches to data center infrastructure diligence, environmental transparency, and long-term asset quality.
No specific investment product, transaction, or offering is being announced at this time.
ABOUT ALTES CAPITAL
Altes Capital is an alternative investment manager focused on institutional allocators, including endowments, foundations, family offices, pension-oriented capital, and select RIAs.
The firm focuses on areas of the market that are often overlooked or under-allocated by institutional capital, where structural change, fragmentation, or complexity can create investable opportunity. Altes translates these dynamics into investment strategies through disciplined underwriting, thoughtful structuring, and institutional execution.
The Altes team has collectively managed or advised on more than $30 billion across global alternative platforms. Visit www.altes.com for more information.
ABOUT ZERO INTENSITY
Zero Intensity is developing data and verification infrastructure for the data center sector. Founded by Wall Street and energy industry veterans, the company is focused on making asset-level environmental performance information more consistent, comparable, and decision-useful for diligence, reporting, and long-term infrastructure ownership.
Zero Intensity operates on the view that more credible and comparable environmental performance data can help market participants better evaluate risk, support more disciplined decision-making, and improve transparency across the data center sector. The company believes that financial rigor and environmental analysis can reinforce each other when supported by consistent standards, reliable data, and appropriate verification. ZIP can help differentiate compute infrastructure by giving market participants a clearer basis for evaluating asset-level environmental and operational performance. Learn more at www.zerointensity.com.
ABOUT CAC
CAC, part of The Baldwin Group, is a leading insurance broker and advisor that provides expertise and placement capabilities across the spectrum of insurance and capital markets. Delivering comprehensive broker services spanning commercial risk, personal lines, and employee benefits, CAC serves large corporations and small-to-medium enterprises as well as individuals. For more information, visit www.cacgroup.com.
About The Baldwin Group
The Baldwin Group, the brand name for The Baldwin Insurance Group, Inc. (“Baldwin”) (NASDAQ: BWIN) and its affiliates, is an independent insurance distribution firm providing indispensable expertise and insights that strive to give our clients the confidence to pursue their purpose, passion and dreams. As a team of dedicated entrepreneurs and insurance professionals, we have come together to help protect the possible for our clients. We do this by delivering bespoke client solutions, services, and innovation through our comprehensive and tailored approach to risk management, insurance, and employee benefits. We support our clients, colleagues, insurance company partners, and communities through the deployment of vanguard resources and capital to drive our organic and inorganic growth. The Baldwin Group proudly represents more than three million clients across the United States and internationally. For more information, please visit www.baldwin.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND DISCLOSURES
This press release is provided for informational purposes only. It does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security, investment product, or investment advisory service. No specific investment product, transaction, or offering is being announced, offered, or recommended. Certain statements in this release, including statements regarding the expected benefits of the strategic collaboration, market developments, diligence processes, data center infrastructure, environmental performance data, and future engagement with market participants, may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. There can be no assurance that any expected benefits, outcomes, or market developments described herein will occur.
Emily Riley
emily@rileystrategic.com
914-330-1128
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