DATA CENTERS 101
What happens inside a data center?
Riot develops, owns, and operates large-scale digital infrastructure designed to support the technologies people rely on every day, from AI and high-performance computing to the digital services that keep businesses and communities connected.
WHAT IS A DATA CENTER
Purpose-built infrastructure for processing and moving data
A data center is purpose-built infrastructure that houses the computing equipment, power systems, cooling systems, and connectivity required to process and move data. Nothing is manufactured inside a data center, and products are not shipped in or out as part of its core function. The building supports digital activity by processing, storing, and transmitting information through high-speed fiber networks.
HOW IT WORKS
POWER
High-voltage supply arrives
Transmission access steps down through on-site electrical infrastructure.
COMPUTE
Equipment processes data
Computing equipment runs continuously under monitored load.
COOLING
Heat is removed
Closed-loop systems recirculate cooling fluid rather than consuming fresh water.
CONNECTIVITY
Fiber moves the data
Information leaves the site over high-speed fiber networks.
GRID
Consumption can be reduced
During peak demand, Riot can rapidly reduce electricity consumption.
EXPLORE THE TOPICS
What communities ask about most
Power & The Grid
U.S. data centers used about 4.4% of the nation’s electricity in 2023.
Water
Water use depends on cooling design, from evaporative towers to closed-loop and air-cooled systems.
Economic Opportunity
The U.S. data center industry supported 4.7 million jobs in 2023.
FAQ & Ask Us
Siting, lighting, water, power, and jobs, answered in plain terms.
THE FACTS
Facts worth sharing
Data Centers power the moments that matter
Video call with family overseas? Doctor reviewing your scan? Job interview from home? Data centers.
Data Centers support the Texas grid
Data centers are partners of the grid.
By participating in demand response programs, Data centers work with grid operators to balance supply and demand in real time. That’s not just energy efficiency. That’s active grid support.
Data centers enable critical infrastructure
Data centers power the systems that keep us safe and functioning: 911 emergency dispatch, hospital records, weather alerts, and financial security. This is critical infrastructure.
Data centers create real jobs
automation equates to no jobs. Reality: data centers employ hundreds of engineers, technicians, and specialists in high-paying careers. Both direct and indirect employment drives real economic impact.
Data centers drive local economy
For every $1 we invest, $2 to $3 flows back into the local economy by supporting construction crews, contractors, and electrical suppliers who call this community home. The real power shows up in the multiplier effect. Each direct job we create supports nearly five additional jobs across Corsicana. This is how infrastructure builds communities. One job creates another. One investment becomes a foundation for long-term prosperity.
Data centers use less water than you think
Modern data centers can use less water than a standard 18-hole golf course or car wash. With advanced closed-looped cooling and water recycling systems, data centers of today represent responsible infrastructure done right.
DESIGNED WITH THE COMMUNITY IN MIND
How modern facilities limit local impact
Data center infrastructure does not have to dominate the surrounding landscape. Riot designs its facilities to operate efficiently while minimizing impacts beyond the property line.
Low profile by design
Our buildings are purposefully kept low in profile to reduce visual impact and avoid unnecessary interference with surrounding communities.
Lighting directed inward
Site lighting is directed toward operational areas, angled downward, and reduced at night to limit light spill beyond the campus. Operational lighting is used for safety and security, not to illuminate the surrounding community.
Noise contained on campus
Our facilities are designed and operated to keep noise contained within the campus and minimize impacts beyond the fence line.
WHY DATA CENTERS MATTER
The physical infrastructure behind an increasingly digital world
Data centers support the computing power behind AI, cloud applications, communications, business operations, entertainment, healthcare, and countless other services people use every day.
AI and high-performance computing
Training and inference workloads require dense compute and reliable power at scale.
Cloud applications
The software people use at work and at home runs on hosted infrastructure.
Communications
Calls, messaging, and video are routed and processed in facilities like these.
Business operations
Payments, logistics, and records systems depend on continuous uptime.
Healthcare
Clinical systems and imaging archives are hosted on secure infrastructure.
Infrastructure at scale
Riot’s role is to develop and operate the infrastructure that makes the digital world possible, in partnership with the communities where we operate.
FROM OUR TEAM
Perspectives on data centers and AI infrastructure
Policy
Why Texas is Leading the AI Infrastructure Boom
Brian Morgenstern
SVP, Public Policy
Hyperscale
What Hyperscale Companies Need in a Data Center Partner
Rhea Williams
SVP, AI & Hyperscale Sales
Development
Selecting the Right AI Data Center Location
Greg Les
SVP, Corporate Development & Strategy
WHY RIOT
Power, engineering, infrastructure, and operations on one platform
Riot brings together power, engineering, infrastructure, and operations under one vertically integrated platform. We develop and operate large-scale sites with access to substantial power capacity, while our in-house engineering capabilities support the design, deployment, and ongoing operation of critical electrical infrastructure.
ASK US DIRECTLY