Built from Abie Kassin's JLL presentation model (the standard he sells against) + the AWS hyperscaler deliverables checklist he referenced. Source call: Ice Cream Social, 2026-06-30. Use this to (a) brief Samuel in Panama, (b) qualify Rick's Texas site, and (c) walk an offtaker/investor (Crusoe, Benji→Dell) through a credible, organized package — "we are not new to the game."
The thesis Abie sells (verbatim from his call): take raw land → spend the money → deliver "fully powered land" — zoning/entitlements → power procurement → long-lead equipment deposits → up-to-but-not-signing the ESA → a hyperscaler-grade diligence file → command a 90–120 day close. Each line below is a thing he said he had. That is the punch list. The more boxes we check, the more we move from ~$100K/MW → $200K/MW → $400–500K/MW of "powered-land" value.
Legend: ✅ have · 🟡 partial / in progress · ❌ need · 🔲 N/A yet
| Item | Panama (Samuel / El Alto–Penonomé) | Texas (Rick) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal control of land (own / option / long-lease) | 🟡 land in Samuel's name — need written proof | ❌ Rick owns; we'd lease — need term sheet | Abie: "you say you have site control — show me." |
| Acreage + expandability (first option on neighbors) | 🟡 ~hundreds of acres — confirm exact + adjacency | ❌ ~10 acres only; need 100+ for AI | Add first-right-to-expand into neighboring parcels to any term sheet. |
| Clean title / survey / metes-and-bounds + coordinates | ❌ need GPS coordinates + survey | ❌ | Needed for interconnection + permitting. |
| Control instrument with exclusivity + eject right | ❌ | ❌ | Want low/flexible first ~2–3 yrs with right to eject if no project. |
| Item | Panama | Texas (Rick) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zoned/entitled for data-center use "as of right" | ❌ confirm Panama designation | 🟡 heavy-manufacturing, unincorporated — close | Texas: "not shovel-ready but as close as you'll get." |
| Permits — construction | ❌ ask Samuel | ❌ Rick to obtain/help | The core of what Marc takes to Samuel. |
| Environmental study / impact assessment | ❌ ask Samuel (Panama: low friction) | 🟡 likely OK (already heavy industrial) | Panama's edge: no pitchfork NIMBY. |
| Jurisdictional delineation (wetlands) + mitigation credits | ❌ | ❌ | Abie bought wetland mitigation credits — a punch-list item buyers check. |
| Local political sign-off / community board | 🟡 Panama favorable | ❌ Texas town reportedly "FU-AI" | Texas: make it Rick's job (local, connected: Sen. Cornyn). |
| Item | Panama | Texas (Rick) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firm capacity + delivery schedule (MW by quarter) | 🟡 150 MW by EOY + 150 MW pipeline (solar) | ❌ 25 MW now (expensive, AEP), 120–300 MW future gas | Solar alone = ~5 sun-hrs → need grid/battery/hydro for 24/7. |
| Interconnection / will-serve letter | ❌ get grid coords + "Ingrid" interconnection | ❌ does Rick have AEP will-serve letters? | Abie: tapped a specific 230 kV line. Ask Rick for the AEP/Martin will-serve. |
| Electric Service Agreement (ESA) status | 🔲 | ❌ Rick signs ESA; big deposit ("kayak" payment) | Abie's model: get up to ESA, don't sign until tenant. |
| Behind-the-meter generation plan | 🟡 solar; hydro (PPHO/Bayano) option | 🟡 Rick's gas (turbine/recips) | N+1 = on-site gen + grid. |
| Redundancy / N+1 path (for Tier III) | ❌ grid + own plant needed | ❌ only 25 MW today → Bitcoin-only until 150 MW | See Tier table below. |
| PPA outline (or self-PPA if we own generation) | ❌ draft a PPA outline | ❌ Rick controls PPA → JV needed | If we own the solar, we write our own PPA to the site. |
| Item | Panama | Texas | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-lead equipment deposits (transformers, switchgear, turbines) | ❌ | 🟡 Rick financing the turbine | Abie put money down on long-lead gear as a value-add. |
| Gas supply / LNG logistics | 🔲 (Panama: no pipeline → LNG via Colón silos) | 🟡 Rick's fuel-delivery investors | Gas turbines hard to land in Panama (no pipeline). |
| Water allocation + cooling water rights | 🟡 depends on siting (Penonomé / Chiriquí highlands) — not the gating issue | ❌ Texas has no water — gating | Texas: drives recips not cogen + low-water cooling. See cooling brief. |
| Fiber connectivity | ✅ Panama: 12,000 km fiber, 3 PoPs (1 on Google), ~40% cheaper via Ale | ❓ confirm Texas fiber | Panama's standout strength — lead with it. |
| Water/sewer + road/rail access | 🟡 | 🟡 | Standard site-services check. |
| Item | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tenant-driven site plan / design (chillers vs closed-loop) | ❌ | Don't guess layout — OpenAI wanted 700k sq ft; design to the offtaker. |
| Mineral-rights search | ❌ | On the AWS checklist. |
| Geotech / soils / flood / seismic | ❌ | |
| Feasibility study | ❌ ask Samuel | Marc's word on the call. |
| Phased ramp schedule (MW + timeline) | 🟡 | Panama: ~40 MW by ~18 mo per the Google one-pager. |
| Data room (organized, A-to-Z) | 🟡 Caisán/El Alto dataroom exists | Reuse _dataroom-template; this is the "we're
organized" signal. |
| 90–120 day close-ability | ❌ goal-state | Falls out of completing everything above. |
| Tier | Redundancy | Max downtime/yr | Our reality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier II | N | ~22 hr | — |
| Tier III | N+1 | ~1.6 hr | Need grid + on-site gen. Texas 25 MW alone can't. |
| Tier IV | 2N | ~0.4 hr | Most expensive; sell as "Tier IV-quality" via gas+solar+grid. |
(Tier downtime figures to be confirmed by the v100 research pass — Workstream C.)
Next actions falling out of this list