What Diode Ventures does

Diode Ventures is a U.S.-based land use developer specializing in hyperscale data center campus development and utility-scale renewable energy project origination. Founded in November 2017 by Brad Hardin, then Chief Technology Officer of Black & Veatch, the company operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Black & Veatch—an employee-owned global EPC firm with revenues exceeding $3 billion and operations in more than 100 countries. From its Overland Park, Kansas headquarters, Diode de-risks land, power, and water for technology end users by acquiring and entitling large sites, navigating complex zoning and permitting, structuring incentive packages (such as Chapter 100 bond financing and PILOT programs), and delivering shovel-ready or constructed assets to buyers.

Diode's product portfolio comprises two main categories: hyperscale technology park sites and renewable energy projects. Technology parks developed or under development span approximately 3,500+ acres across Missouri (Golden Plains Technology Park—882 acres; Rocky Branch Creek—500 acres; Hampton Meadows—30 acres), Texas (Weston Holladay Technology Park—900+ acres), Idaho (Gemstone Technology Park—620 acres), and Alberta, Canada (Goldfinch Technology Park—575 acres). Renewable energy projects include the 240 MW ac Fort Bend Solar Project (sold to ACCIONA in 2020), the 137.7 MW dc/100 MW ac Grizzly Ridge Solar Project in Texas, a 120+ MW solar project in Taiwan supporting Google, and a 50 MW solar project in Japan. The firm also entered a South Korea joint venture—The Green Korea Inc.—with Energy Innovation Partners in January 2022.

Diode generates revenue through development fees, asset sales, and incentive structuring services on a custom quote basis. Its go-to-market is exclusively direct enterprise sales to hyperscale technology companies (Meta, Google), global renewable energy investors (ACCIONA), and infrastructure stakeholders, with a client-centric model that identifies asset type, region, and project size before initiating ground-up development. Key partners include Black & Veatch as EPC and capital anchor, Enfinite Capital as financial partner, New Green Power and RKB Energy as co-developers, and various utilities, cooperatives, and grid operators (Evergy, Navarro Electric Cooperative, Brazos Electric Cooperative, ERCOT). Headcount grew from 2 founding professionals in 2017 to 17 by 2020, with current headcount not publicly disclosed.

Name

Diode Ventures

Legal name

Diode Ventures, LLC

Website

https://diodeventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Diode Ventures is a U.S. land use developer and subsidiary of Black & Veatch that originates, entitles, and delivers hyperscale data center campuses and utility-scale renewable energy projects to technology and energy buyers across North America and Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Infrastructure Development Services (Hyperscale Data Center and Utility-Scale Renewable Energy Land Development)

NAICS

Solar Electric Power Generation (221114)

SIC

Land Subdividers & Developers (No Cemeteries) (6552)

akta.pro primary industry

Greenfield Site Origination & Land Acquisition (Leases, Easements, Title) (EUAMAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Permitting, Environmental & Stakeholder Engagement (EIA/ESIA, Community Relations) (EUAMAAAB), Site Preparation & Civil Works (Clearing, Grading, Earthworks, Roads) (EUAMAFAA), Utility-Scale PV Project Development & Permitting (EUACAGAA), Asset Management & Owner’s Engineering (Lifecycle Strategy, Budgeting, Technical Due Diligence) (EUAMAGAJ)

Keywords

• Land use development
• Data center infrastructure
• Hyperscale site development
• Renewable energy development
• Utility-scale solar projects

Headquarters

HQ city

Overland Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Development Services and Asset Sales: Diode generates revenue by developing infrastructure projects (data centers, solar, wind, battery storage) from conceptual stage through to shovel-ready or constructed state, then selling or delivering completed projects to technology companies and infrastructure investors. Services include project financing, land purchase/lease, environmental studies, permitting, engineering & design, and operations maintenance.
2. Land Development and Rezoning Services: Revenue is earned through development fees for navigating complex rezoning processes, community engagement, utility coordination, and incentive structuring. Projects like Golden Plains Technology Park demonstrate their ability to secure Chapter 100 bond packages and PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) arrangements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Diode Ventures is a land use developer that provides turnkey, end-to-end infrastructure development solutions for hyperscale data centers and utility-scale renewable energy projects. The company de-risks land, power, and water access by managing the full project lifecycle from concept through constructed reality, including project financing, land acquisition, rezoning and entitlements, environmental studies, permitting, engineering and design, construction management, and operations maintenance. Completed data center campuses and solar projects are sold to enterprise technology companies and renewable energy investors.

Product overview

Diode Ventures is a land use developer specializing in data center and renewable energy infrastructure development. The company offers end-to-end asset development services including project financing, land acquisition, permitting, environmental studies, engineering, design, construction management, and operations maintenance. Diode's core offering consists of technology park development projects—hyperscale data center campus sites such as Golden Plains Technology Park, Gemstone Technology Park, Weston Holladay Technology Park, Goldfinch Technology Park, Rocky Branch Creek, and Hampton Meadows—alongside renewable energy projects including solar installations in Taiwan, Japan, and Texas. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Black & Veatch and leverages their parent company's expertise in power, telecommunications, and data center infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Data Center Land Use Development End-to-end hyperscale data center land development service covering land acquisition, rezoning and entitlements, utility coordination (power and water), environmental studies, permitting, incentive structuring (Chapter 100 bonds, PILOT), engineering and design, and community engagement, delivering shovel-ready or constructed campuses to technology buyers such as Google and Meta.
• Renewable Energy Project Development Greenfield-to-shovel-ready development service for utility-scale solar, wind, and battery energy storage projects, covering site origination, environmental diligence, interconnection (e.g., with ERCOT, Brazos Electric), EPC coordination through partners such as New Green Power and RKB Energy, financing, and asset sale to renewable energy buyers like ACCIONA.
• Golden Plains Technology Park An 882-acre hyperscale data center campus in Kansas City, Missouri, spanning Platte and Clay counties, designed for up to 750MW of data center capacity and over 5 million sq ft of development. Diode led rezoning, secured up to $8.2 billion in Chapter 100 bond incentives plus up to $1.8 billion in PILOT payments over 37 years, and sold the campus to Meta.
• Rocky Branch Creek Technology Park A nearly 500-acre hyperscale data center development in Kansas City's Northland sold to a major technology company for a 1.56 million sq ft campus with five hyperscale buildings planned and up to 700MW of power capacity.
• Weston Holladay Technology Park An over 900-acre hyperscale data center development site located 20 miles south of Dallas in Red Oak, Texas, designed for hyperscale buyers with associated energy and transmission infrastructure delivered through partnerships with local electric cooperatives and ERCOT.
• Gemstone Technology Park A 620-acre proposed data center development site located just outside Boise in Kuna, Idaho, currently in early-stage development as part of Diode's expanding hyperscale pipeline.
• Goldfinch Technology Park An approximately 575-acre hyperscale data center development located within Wheatland County's heavy industrial hub in Alberta, Canada, representing Diode's expansion into the Canadian hyperscale market.
• Hampton Meadows A 30-acre data center development site in Kansas City, Missouri, developed and sold by Diode in 2023 as a smaller-footprint hyperscale/data center site.
• Taiwan Solar Project A 120+ MW solar project developed over existing aquaculture farms in Tainan City, Taiwan, with New Green Power providing EPC and O&M services, providing up to 10MW to support Google renewable energy portfolio goals.
• Japan Solar Project An approximately 50 MW solar project in southern Japan, developed in partnership with Alma Global Infrastructure, providing green energy under a 20-year feed-in-tariff framework.
• Fort Bend Solar Project A 240 MW ac/315 MW dc utility-scale solar project in Fort Bend County, Texas (ERCOT), developed by Diode from Lendlease-acquired origin through financial close and sold to global renewable energy leader ACCIONA.
• Grizzly Ridge Solar Project A utility-scale solar field providing 137.7 MW dc/100 MW ac to the ERCOT North Zone in Hamilton County, Texas, co-developed with RKB Energy with an executed interconnection agreement with Brazos Electric Cooperative; Diode's first successful greenfield solar development to shovel-ready state.
• Modular Microgrid Solution (VoltEdge) Diode's modular microgrid product for distributed generation and innovative technologies, developed and led as Solutions Manager by Aaron Attebery, supporting distributed energy deployments for technology and infrastructure customers.
• Dark Fiber Network Development Development of a new dark fiber network in Northern Virginia, executed in partnership with JLC Infrastructure as infrastructure co-developer and asset management firm, supporting telecommunications infrastructure alongside Diode's data center and renewable energy businesses.

Quantifiable outcome

• Diode's Golden Plains Technology Park became Kansas City's first hyperscale data center project, attracting Meta's $1 billion investment.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• Black & VeatchcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerBlack & Veatch is the parent company of Diode Ventures. Diode is a wholly owned subsidiary that leverages Black & Veatch's century of experience, in-house expertise, global network, and superior knowledge in Alternative & Renewable Energy, Distributed Infrastructure, Telecommunications, and Data Centers. Black & Veatch provides EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) services and construction management capabilities. Black & Veatch is an employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with revenues exceeding $3 billion.
• New Green PowercoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNew Green Power provides engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operations and maintenance (O&M) services for Diode's solar projects, including the 120+ MW Taiwan solar project supporting Google's renewable energy goals. They are a pioneer of the Taiwan solar industry with over 100 professionals.
• RKB EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRKB Energy co-developed the Grizzly Ridge Solar Project with Diode. RKB is a greenfield, utility-scale solar development company focusing on the West and Southwestern regions of the U.S. They assisted with co-development activities from origination to sale.
• Energy Innovation Partners (EIP)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiode entered into a joint venture with Energy Innovation Partners (EIP) to develop, finance, build and operate renewable energy and data infrastructure projects in South Korea. The JV operates as 'The Green Korea Inc.' (더그 린 코 리 아 주 식 회 사), offering full lifecycle project development for solar, wind, battery energy storage, data centers and more. EIP is Korea's No. 1 energy investment & M&A advisory firm focusing on ESG, green energy infrastructure, and power generation.
• JLC InfrastructureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiode partnered with JLC Infrastructure to advance the development of a new dark fiber network in Northern Virginia. JLC Infrastructure is an infrastructure investor and asset management firm.
• LendleaseminorOthersDiode acquired the Fort Bend Solar Project from global property group and contractor Lendlease in 2018 before developing and selling it to ACCIONA.
• Velvet TechnologiescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVelvet Technologies is Meta's local project company that partnered with Diode on Golden Plains Technology Park. Diode worked alongside Velvet Technologies to secure a competitive incentive package for data center businesses.
• Navarro Electric CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiode is developing an energy solution for Weston Holladay Technology Park in partnership with Navarro Electric Cooperative to provide energy and transmission infrastructure for the project.
• Brazos Electric CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Brazos Electric Cooperative for energy and transmission infrastructure at Weston Holladay Technology Park. Diode also has an executed interconnection agreement with Brazos Electric Cooperative for the Grizzly Ridge Solar Project.
• Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)coreOthersDiode works with ERCOT to provide energy and transmission infrastructure for the Weston Holladay Technology Park project. Multiple Diode projects are within ERCOT territory, including Grizzly Ridge Solar (ERCOT North Zone) and Fort Bend Solar.
• EvergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiode coordinated with Evergy (regional utility) to deliver needed infrastructure for Golden Plains Technology Park. Evergy provides power under long-term contracts and is increasing wind and solar assets to nearly 5,000 MW.
• City of Kansas City, MissouricoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiode partnered with City of Kansas City planners, elected officials and key stakeholders to successfully rezone the Golden Plains Technology Park site in 2020, creating a precedent for large-scale data center development within an Urban Redevelopment District.
• Port Authority of Kansas City, MissouricoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Port Authority authorized up to $10 billion in tax breaks for Google's Project Mica at the site Diode originally introduced in 2023. The Port Authority also approved market-leading incentives for Rocky Branch Creek including a PILOT program.
• One Tree PlantedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiode partnered with One Tree Planted in their Million Tree Challenge, planting 10,000 trees in 2022 as part of their commitment to reforestation and environmental sustainability.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Stack Infrastructure: Stack Infrastructure (backed by IPI Partners) is a broad data center developer and operator with significant hyperscale land positions across the U.S. Competes with Diode for hyperscale land origination but also retains assets rather than developing purely to exit.
• CyrusOne: CyrusOne (now owned by KKR/Global Infrastructure Partners) is a major hyperscale data center operator and developer with comparable hyperscale customer relationships to Diode. Operates as a broader incumbent with capital markets access beyond Diode's subsidiary status.
• EdgeConneX: EdgeConneX develops and operates data center campuses globally, including hyperscale Edge facilities. Overlaps with Diode on data center site development and entitlement work, though it also operates facilities rather than purely selling shovel-ready sites.
• Hines: Hines is a global real estate developer with an active data center development practice competing for hyperscale land mandates. As a broader incumbent, Hines offers similar land entitlement expertise but across a much wider asset portfolio.
• Lincoln Property Company: Lincoln Property Company's data center practice develops hyperscale campuses similar to Diode's Golden Plains and Weston Holladay parks. Comparable as a broad real estate incumbent moving into data center site development.

Emerging players

• T5 Data Centers: T5 Data Centers designs, builds, and operates data center facilities for hyperscale and enterprise customers. Overlaps with Diode in hyperscale site development but is more operationally focused, building to own rather than land-developing to exit.

Direct peers

• Compass Datacenters: Compass Datacenters develops and delivers hyperscale and multi-tenant data center campuses, with deep hyperscaler relationships similar to Diode's. While Compass often builds-to-suit rather than land-develops, both companies compete for the same hyperscale land pipeline and customer set.
• 8minute Solar Energy: 8minute Solar Energy (now part of NRG) developed utility-scale solar and storage projects in the U.S. similar in scope to Diode's Fort Bend and Grizzly Ridge portfolios. Comparable as a renewable developer that originates, entitles, and sells/operates utility-scale projects.
• RKB Energy: RKB Energy is a greenfield utility-scale solar developer in the U.S. Southwest and co-developed the Grizzly Ridge Solar Project with Diode. Direct peer on the renewable energy project origination side of Diode's business.
• Tract: Tract is a direct peer specializing in data center land development and shovel-ready site delivery for hyperscale operators. Tract competes head-to-head with Diode for hyperscale land mandates in North America and runs a comparable project origination, entitlements, and exit model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Diode Ventures