← Professional Profile / Applied Finance Projects Project 02 · Infrastructure & Project Finance · Financial Modeling
Data Center Investment Model Completed Hypothetical $50M data-center expansion analyzing operating economics, project financing, debt service, CFADS, DSCR, project and equity returns, and downside sensitivities.
Project Business question Assumptions / data Analysis Model / dashboard Key findings What this demonstrates Evidence Project overview An interactive infrastructure and project-finance work sample connects operating economics, sources & uses, debt amortization, CFADS, DSCR, and investor returns. An eight-screen recruiting mode uses the same model inputs. The completed work sample includes a downloadable Excel model and an eight-page PDF presentation.
Business question How is the expansion financed, what operating cash supports repayment, and how do project returns and debt coverage change in a downside case?
Assumptions / data HYPOTHETICAL PROJECT FINANCE CASE STUDY Every starting input is an editable illustrative assumption, not an industry average. No LightEdge investment, pricing, capacity, customer information, facility architecture, or operating data is represented.
Inputs are labeled user assumptions or synthetic data. Calculated values and model outputs derive deterministically from those inputs. Public data must have a source before it is used.
USER ASSUMPTION · Illustrative assumptions authored for this educational model; no external operating data
PUBLIC DATA · IEA · Energy and AI (2025), Energy demand from AI · sector context only · accessed 2026-10-12 · View source
Open recruiting work sample · 8 screens Work sample and model share the current scenario and assumptions. Download the completed PDF case study and formula-based Excel model in Evidence. Downloads contain the starting base case; on-page edits are session-only.
Editable project assumptions User assumption · HYPOTHETICAL PROJECT FINANCE CASE STUDY · USD
Starting development CapEx: $50 million, before contingency, financing fees, and construction interest. Edit the base inputs below; changes remain in this page session. Scenario overlays are explicit teaching assumptions. No public operating data is connected.
Reset assumptions Construction / delay (years) IT capacity (MW) Power cost ($/kWh) Power usage effectiveness (PUE) Capacity revenue ($/kW/month) Other operating expenses ($/year) Maintenance ($/year) Staffing ($/year) Cooling service, excluding power ($/year) Network ($/year) Property / facility ($/year) Revenue price growth (%/year) Project discount rate (%) Debt / development budget (%) Debt interest rate (%) Operating useful life (years) Cash tax rate (%) · assumption Working capital / revenue (%) Maintenance CapEx ($/year) Depreciable development cost (%) Debt term after construction (years) Operating principal grace (years) Financing fees / debt (%) Contingency / development CapEx (%) DSCR threshold (x) · assumption, not covenant Terminal disposal proceeds ($)
Calculated equity share of development budget: 60.0%. All-in sources additionally include sponsor-funded fees and construction interest.
Debt amortization Equal principal Level debt service / annuity Interest-only / balloon at maturity Utilization ramp · user assumptions Year 1 means the first operating year after construction. Year 5 utilization continues through the remaining useful life.
Operating year 1 utilization (%) Operating year 2 utilization (%) Operating year 3 utilization (%) Operating year 4 utilization (%) Operating year 5 utilization (%)
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Add category Calculation methodology & limitations Development CapEx plus contingency is spent in equal installments at time zero and subsequent construction year-ends, with debt drawn proportionately. Construction interest is paid by the sponsor on opening debt balances. Fees are paid at time zero. Sources & uses balances the total construction-period funding budget; operating deficits are additional sponsor funding needs.
Debt term starts after construction. Operating grace defers principal only; interest remains payable. Equal-principal, level-payment annuity, and balloon repayment are supported. All remaining principal is repaid at maturity; debt term cannot exceed useful life.
EBITDA = revenue − power − fixed operating expenses. Straight-line depreciation applies to the assumed depreciable share of development cost over operating life. Unlevered cash taxes = max(EBITDA − depreciation, 0) × assumed tax rate. Equity cash taxes also deduct interest. No loss carryforwards, interest deduction limits, or depreciation on recurring maintenance CapEx are modeled.
Working capital equals the selected share of annual revenue. CFADS = EBITDA − equity cash taxes − increase in working capital − maintenance CapEx. Project cash flow uses unlevered taxes; equity cash flow subtracts debt service and includes staged debt draws and financing fees. Initial and subsequent development spending is deducted separately.
Terminal disposal proceeds are taxed on gains over residual book value, without loss relief; working capital is released at exit. Both are excluded from CFADS, DSCR, and operating payback. IRR is unavailable for nonconventional cash-flow patterns. NPV uses annual, end-period unlevered cash flows and the assumed project discount rate.
Fixed operating costs and power prices stay flat; capacity pricing grows. No reserve account, cash sweep, refinancing, default waterfall, or decommissioning cost is modeled. These are simplifying assumptions, not tax advice or lender terms.
Project finance model outputs Base case Upside case Downside case
Base case · model output · hypothetical
Total project uses $54,390,000
Project NPV -$12,177,305
Project IRR · after tax 6.8%
Equity IRR · after tax 7.0%
Minimum operating DSCR 0.87x
Average operating DSCR 2.00x
Debt funding $21,000,000
Operating payback 10.4 years Sources & uses / capital structure Debt funds the assumed share of the development budget, including contingency. Sponsor equity is the balancing source and funds fees and construction interest; it is not a financing commitment. Operating working capital and recurring reinvestment are funded from operating cash or additional sponsor contributions.
Uses · development and financing budget Use USD Land / Site $3,000,000 Building $8,000,000 Electrical Infrastructure $10,000,000 UPS / Power Distribution $4,000,000 Generators $4,000,000 Cooling $6,000,000 Network Infrastructure $3,000,000 Racks $2,000,000 Security $1,000,000 Construction $6,000,000 Engineering $2,000,000 Other $1,000,000 Contingency $2,500,000 Financing fees $420,000 Construction interest $1,470,000 Total uses $54,390,000
Sources · modeled funding commitments Source USD All-in share Debt $21,000,000 38.6% Sponsor equity $33,390,000 61.4% Total sources $54,390,000 100.0%
Funding gap / surplus $0 Balanced by sponsor equity. A zero gap does not establish sponsor liquidity or lender approval.
Operating & power economics IT load = IT capacity × utilization. Facility load = IT load × PUE. Electricity = facility MW × 8,760 hours × 1,000 kWh/MWh. Power expense = electricity × $/kWh. Cooling electricity is included in PUE; cooling service expense excludes electricity.
Base case · annual operating and power schedule Year Utilization IT MW Facility MW Electricity kWh Power expense Revenue Other OpEx EBITDA 1 0.0% 0.00 0.00 0 $0 $0 $0 $0 2 40.0% 2.00 2.80 24,528,000 $1,962,240 $6,000,000 $2,050,000 $1,987,760 3 55.0% 2.75 3.85 33,726,000 $2,698,080 $8,415,000 $2,050,000 $3,666,920 4 70.0% 3.50 4.90 42,924,000 $3,433,920 $10,924,200 $2,050,000 $5,440,280 5 82.0% 4.10 5.74 50,282,400 $4,022,592 $13,052,858 $2,050,000 $6,980,266 6 90.0% 4.50 6.30 55,188,000 $4,415,040 $14,612,834 $2,050,000 $8,147,794 7 90.0% 4.50 6.30 55,188,000 $4,415,040 $14,905,091 $2,050,000 $8,440,051 8 90.0% 4.50 6.30 55,188,000 $4,415,040 $15,203,193 $2,050,000 $8,738,153 9 90.0% 4.50 6.30 55,188,000 $4,415,040 $15,507,257 $2,050,000 $9,042,217 10 90.0% 4.50 6.30 55,188,000 $4,415,040 $15,817,402 $2,050,000 $9,352,362 11 90.0% 4.50 6.30 55,188,000 $4,415,040 $16,133,750 $2,050,000 $9,668,710 12 90.0% 4.50 6.30 55,188,000 $4,415,040 $16,456,425 $2,050,000 $9,991,385 13 90.0% 4.50 6.30 55,188,000 $4,415,040 $16,785,553 $2,050,000 $10,320,513 14 90.0% 4.50 6.30 55,188,000 $4,415,040 $17,121,264 $2,050,000 $10,656,224 15 90.0% 4.50 6.30 55,188,000 $4,415,040 $17,463,690 $2,050,000 $10,998,650 16 90.0% 4.50 6.30 55,188,000 $4,415,040 $17,812,963 $2,050,000 $11,347,923
Debt service / CFADS / DSCR
Minimum operating DSCR 0.87x
Average operating DSCR 2.00x
Assumed coverage threshold 1.20x
Periods below assumption 2 DSCR = CFADS ÷ (cash interest + principal). The 1.20x threshold is a user assumption, not a lender covenant. Minimum and average include only operating years with debt service; the average is arithmetic. Construction coverage and debt-free years are N/A. Exit proceeds and working-capital release are excluded from CFADS and DSCR.
CFADS bridge · annual USD; tax expense includes the modeled interest deduction Year Revenue Power + other OpEx EBITDA Cash taxes Δ working capital Maintenance CapEx CFADS 1 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 2 $6,000,000 $4,012,240 $1,987,760 $0 $300,000 $250,000 $1,437,760 3 $8,415,000 $4,748,080 $3,666,920 $0 $120,750 $250,000 $3,296,170 4 $10,924,200 $5,483,920 $5,440,280 $333,403 $125,460 $250,000 $4,731,417 5 $13,052,858 $6,072,592 $6,980,266 $759,233 $106,433 $250,000 $5,864,600 6 $14,612,834 $6,465,040 $8,147,794 $1,091,949 $77,999 $250,000 $6,727,847 7 $14,905,091 $6,465,040 $8,440,051 $1,205,846 $14,613 $250,000 $6,969,592 8 $15,203,193 $6,465,040 $8,738,153 $1,321,205 $14,905 $250,000 $7,152,043 9 $15,507,257 $6,465,040 $9,042,217 $1,438,054 $15,203 $250,000 $7,338,959 10 $15,817,402 $6,465,040 $9,352,362 $1,556,424 $15,507 $250,000 $7,530,431 11 $16,133,750 $6,465,040 $9,668,710 $1,676,344 $15,817 $250,000 $7,726,548 12 $16,456,425 $6,465,040 $9,991,385 $1,797,846 $16,134 $250,000 $7,927,405 13 $16,785,553 $6,465,040 $10,320,513 $1,880,128 $16,456 $250,000 $8,173,928 14 $17,121,264 $6,465,040 $10,656,224 $1,964,056 $16,786 $250,000 $8,425,383 15 $17,463,690 $6,465,040 $10,998,650 $2,049,662 $17,121 $250,000 $8,681,866 16 $17,812,963 $6,465,040 $11,347,923 $2,136,981 $17,464 $250,000 $8,943,479
Debt service schedule · draws occur at time zero and subsequent construction year-ends Year Beginning debt Debt draw Interest Principal Debt service Ending debt DSCR Coverage status 0 $0 $21,000,000 $0 $0 $0 $21,000,000 N/A Initial funding 1 $21,000,000 $0 $1,470,000 $0 $1,470,000 $21,000,000 N/A Sponsor-funded construction 2 $21,000,000 $0 $1,470,000 $0 $1,470,000 $21,000,000 0.98x Cash shortfall · <1.00x 3 $21,000,000 $0 $1,470,000 $2,333,333 $3,803,333 $18,666,667 0.87x Cash shortfall · <1.00x 4 $18,666,667 $0 $1,306,667 $2,333,333 $3,640,000 $16,333,333 1.30x Meets assumption 5 $16,333,333 $0 $1,143,333 $2,333,333 $3,476,667 $14,000,000 1.69x Meets assumption 6 $14,000,000 $0 $980,000 $2,333,333 $3,313,333 $11,666,667 2.03x Meets assumption 7 $11,666,667 $0 $816,667 $2,333,333 $3,150,000 $9,333,333 2.21x Meets assumption 8 $9,333,333 $0 $653,333 $2,333,333 $2,986,667 $7,000,000 2.39x Meets assumption 9 $7,000,000 $0 $490,000 $2,333,333 $2,823,333 $4,666,667 2.60x Meets assumption 10 $4,666,667 $0 $326,667 $2,333,333 $2,660,000 $2,333,333 2.83x Meets assumption 11 $2,333,333 $0 $163,333 $2,333,333 $2,496,667 $0 3.09x Meets assumption 12 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A No debt service 13 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A No debt service 14 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A No debt service 15 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A No debt service 16 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 N/A No debt service
Cash flow & investment returns Base case · annual project and equity cash flows $9.83M $-52.50M Project free cash flow Equity cash flow Y0 Y3 Y6 Y9 Y12 Y15 Y16 Annual returns bridge · project cash uses unlevered taxes; equity cash uses levered taxes and financing flows Year Project FCF CFADS Development spend Debt draw Fees Debt service Exit cash¹ Equity cash flow 0 · initial funding -$52,500,000 — $52,500,000 $21,000,000 $420,000 — — -$31,920,000 1 $0 $0 $0 $0 — $1,470,000 $0 -$1,470,000 2 $1,437,760 $1,437,760 $0 $0 — $1,470,000 $0 -$32,240 3 $3,079,440 $3,296,170 $0 $0 — $3,803,333 $0 -$507,163 4 $4,404,750 $4,731,417 $0 $0 — $3,640,000 $0 $1,091,417 5 $5,578,767 $5,864,600 $0 $0 — $3,476,667 $0 $2,387,934 6 $6,482,847 $6,727,847 $0 $0 — $3,313,333 $0 $3,414,513 7 $6,765,425 $6,969,592 $0 $0 — $3,150,000 $0 $3,819,592 8 $6,988,709 $7,152,043 $0 $0 — $2,986,667 $0 $4,165,376 9 $7,216,459 $7,338,959 $0 $0 — $2,823,333 $0 $4,515,626 10 $7,448,764 $7,530,431 $0 $0 — $2,660,000 $0 $4,870,431 11 $7,685,715 $7,726,548 $0 $0 — $2,496,667 $0 $5,229,882 12 $7,927,405 $7,927,405 $0 $0 — $0 $0 $7,927,405 13 $8,173,928 $8,173,928 $0 $0 — $0 $0 $8,173,928 14 $8,425,383 $8,425,383 $0 $0 — $0 $0 $8,425,383 15 $8,681,866 $8,681,866 $0 $0 — $0 $0 $8,681,866 16 $9,834,127 $8,943,479 $0 $0 — $0 $890,648 $9,834,127
¹ Exit cash includes after-tax disposal proceeds and working-capital release. Neither is counted as debt-service coverage.
Scenario analysis Upside: utilization +10 points, capacity pricing +10%, CapEx / power / fixed costs / maintenance CapEx −10%, interest −1 point. Downside reverses those changes and adds one construction year. Utilization and interest are bounded at 0–100%; construction at five years. Inputs are illustrative overlays on the editable base case.
Scenario comparison · average annual operating EBITDA / CFADS, minimum operating DSCR, and life-of-project returns Case Avg. EBITDA Avg. CFADS Min. DSCR NPV Project IRR Equity IRR Base $8,318,614 $6,728,495 0.87x -$12,177,305 6.8% 7.0% Upside $11,830,344 $9,318,587 1.61x $9,924,571 12.5% 14.9% Downside $5,250,864 $4,398,824 -0.16x -$32,289,460 1.1% -1.0%
Returns & credit sensitivity Sensitivities use base assumptions independently of the selected scenario. Utilization rows replace the entire ramp with a constant level. Construction cost scales all development CapEx; fees, contingency, and debt funding recalculate. N/A means no conventional IRR or no debt-service period.
Equity IRR vs. constant utilization / construction cost Utilization Cost −10% Base cost Cost +10% 70.0% 5.9% 4.4% 3.1% 80.0% 8.7% 7.1% 5.6% 90.0% 11.2% 9.5% 8.0%
Debt coverage and NPV sensitivities Minimum operating DSCR vs. constant utilization / power cost Utilization Power −20% Base power Power +20% 70.0% 1.38x 1.24x 1.11x 80.0% 1.60x 1.45x 1.29x 90.0% 1.83x 1.65x 1.48x
NPV vs. capacity pricing / power cost · base utilization ramp retained Revenue price Power −20% Base power Power +20% 90.0% -$15,048,896 -$19,074,595 -$23,196,875 100.0% -$8,151,606 -$12,177,305 -$16,203,004 110.0% -$1,291,549 -$5,280,015 -$9,305,714
Project finance assessment Project economics NPV of -$12,177,305 at 10.0% is negative. Project IRR is 6.8% and equity IRR is 7.0%. N/A indicates that a conventional unique IRR is not available.
Debt capacity & coverage Modeled debt is $21,000,000. Minimum coverage is 0.87x, with 2 operating periods below the assumed 1.20x threshold. This tests the selected debt amount; it is not optimized debt sizing.
Operating funding shortfalls after debt service total $539,403 before exit cash. Additional sponsor support or restructuring would be needed in those periods.
Key return drivers Utilization, capacity pricing, delivered power cost, PUE, development cost, construction timing, and repayment profile.
Break-even conditions First-year EBITDA break-even utilization is 20.3%. This excludes taxes, reinvestment, working capital, debt service, and recovery of invested capital.
Key credit risks Uncontracted demand, customer concentration, grid delays, energy-price exposure, construction overruns, refinancing or balloon risk, and sponsor liquidity. The model assumes scheduled payments continue; it does not simulate default remedies.
Downside protection The budget includes $2,500,000 of assumed contingency. Contracted revenue, power hedges, completion guarantees, liquidity reserves, and covenant protections are diligence requirements, not protections asserted to exist.
What could change the investment case? Executed contracts, independently verified CapEx, a monthly draw schedule, tax diligence, replacement costs, asset-sale evidence, and lender terms could change cash generation and debt capacity.
Project finance assessment Modeled operating cash does not cover all scheduled debt payments. Project economics also fall below the assumed required return. No financing recommendation is made.
What this demonstrates Applied methods demonstrated in the interactive analysis and downloadable work samples below.
Capital Budgeting Infrastructure Finance Financial Modeling NPV / IRR Sensitivity Analysis Scenario Analysis Cash Flow Forecasting Operational Finance Data Center Economics Excel Data Analysis Debt Financing Sources & Uses CFADS DSCR Debt Amortization Capital Structure Industry Research Risk Assessment Investment Banking Presentation Skills View the existing capability register → Professional connection Combines hands-on exposure to mission-critical data center infrastructure with financial modeling and capital investment analysis. Operational concepts include UPS, PDU, generators, cooling, power, racks, network infrastructure, capacity, and reliability.
This is independent educational portfolio work. No confidential employer documents, financials, customers, pricing, architecture, or operating statistics are used.
Luna1 research connection Capital flow thesis → Data center industry → Project economics → Public companies → Equity research.
AI / cloud demand → Data center capacity → Power demand → Cooling → Electrical infrastructure → Grid / generation → Capital investment
The IEA describes data centers as geographically concentrated electricity loads and highlights the mismatch between fast-moving computing investment and slower energy infrastructure. For this case, that makes power availability, cooling efficiency, interconnection timing, and project completion central diligence questions.
IEA · Energy and AI (2025), Energy demand from AI · accessed 2026-10-12. Sector context only. No industry forecast, employer statistic, or published operating benchmark supplies the model assumptions.
Evidence Completed work samples are available below. Excel files contain editable assumptions and formulas; PDFs capture the starting case. All inputs remain clearly labeled synthetic or hypothetical.
Excel Workbook · XLSX Excel Financial Model · Data Center Infrastructure Project Finance Case Available Formula-based model with one active scenario, sources & uses, operating and debt schedules, tax and working capital, CFADS, DSCR, project and equity returns, and native Excel sensitivity tables.
Artifact date: 2026-10-12 · 1.0 · Completed work sample View Excel Financial Model · Data Center Infrastructure Project Finance Case →
PDF Case Study · PDF PDF Work Sample · Data Center Infrastructure Project Finance Case Available Eight-page recruiting presentation covering project economics, financing, debt repayment, sensitivities, and downside assessment. Starting base case; on-page edits are not included.
Artifact date: 2026-10-12 · 1.0 · Completed work sample View PDF Work Sample · Data Center Infrastructure Project Finance Case →
Educational portfolio work only. Synthetic data and hypothetical assumptions are not actual employer results, current market data, or personalized financial advice.
