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Learn & FAQ

Read the record without getting lost in the jargon

Short answers to the questions behind the map: what status means, why capacity numbers conflict, how claims are labelled and what happens to a community report.

Purpose

Sunny Data Center Observatory makes infrastructure claims checkable.

It does not provide legal advice, approve projects or replace a regulator. It links claims to sources, marks uncertainty and creates a safer channel for local evidence and corrections.

01

Is Sunny Data Center Observatory opposed to data centres?

No. The project is for comparable records, clear sourcing and informed local decisions. It records benefits, commitments, uncertainty and community concerns without assuming that every facility has the same impact.

02

What does MW mean on a facility card?

A megawatt is a measure of instantaneous power. The card also says whether the number is IT load, critical IT load, total facility demand or a future campus envelope. Those figures are not interchangeable.

03

Does an announced project count as operational capacity?

No. Operational, under-construction and announced or proposed records are separate. An MoU, permit, groundbreaking and live phase are different milestones.

04

How are company sustainability claims handled?

They are useful primary disclosures but are labelled as company-reported. Design PUE is not treated as measured PUE, and renewable-energy matching is not described as round-the-clock local carbon-free supply unless the source supports that claim.

05

Will my report appear on the map immediately?

No. A community report is a lead, not automatically a verified fact. Submissions are private by default, reviewed before any publication, and shown only at an approximate location when permission is clear.

06

What should I submit?

Share a state and district, the project or facility, what you observed, and a source document or photo when available. Do not submit Aadhaar numbers, exact home addresses, confidential documents or security-sensitive infrastructure details.

07

How can an operator correct a record?

Use the report form and choose correction. Link the primary document that supports the change. Material corrections are dated and the earlier classification is retained in the editorial log.

08

Is the map complete?

No. It is a deliberately conservative public-source index. Many smaller, captive, edge or security-sensitive facilities are not shown, and city-level pins are used where a precise public campus location is unnecessary.

Quick glossary

Terms that change the meaning of a number

Always check the boundary, date, unit and whether a value is measured, designed or announced.

MW
Megawatt—instantaneous power, not energy consumed over time.
MWh
Megawatt-hour—an amount of electrical energy used or delivered over time.
IT load
Power used by computing equipment; it excludes some cooling and facility overhead.
PUE
Power usage effectiveness: total facility energy divided by IT-equipment energy.
WUE
Water usage effectiveness; definitions and boundaries must be checked before comparison.
MLD
Million litres per day—a rate often used in water permits and supply plans.
MoU
Memorandum of understanding; an announced intention, not necessarily a permit or construction start.
EC
Environmental clearance for projects that fall within an applicable review pathway.

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