ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTING FOR
DATA CENTERS
Barr brings nearly 60 years of experience supporting power infrastructure, environmental permitting, and complex industrial facilities across North America.
Data centers power today’s digital world, and building them calls for thoughtful, sustainable planning. Barr partners with clients from concept through completion—supporting due diligence, site evaluations, and air, water, and land permitting. Our work spans power generation and delivery, water management, and multidisciplinary geotechnical, civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical design.
- Site selection, environmental due diligence, and feasibility studies
- Permitting support for air, water, and land use
- Power delivery, generation, and energy storage design
- Industrial water supply, treatment, reuse, and discharge planning
- Integrated engineering (geotechnical, civil, structural, mechanical, electrical)
- Operational optimization and long‑term maintenance planning
Due diligence and site selection
Every successful data center project starts with a strong foundation. Barr provides comprehensive environmental assessments to evaluate site suitability, regulatory compliance, and long-term sustainability. Our services include Phase I and II ESAs, groundwater studies, floodplain and wetland analysis, and cultural resource evaluations. We also guide clients through permitting for zoning, air quality, noise mitigation, and endangered species protection. Barr partners with you from the start to guide the due diligence phase—helping reduce risks, avoid delays, and build a solid foundation for a successful data center project.
Barr’s due diligence services include:
- Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments
- Hydrogeologic studies and groundwater evaluations
- Water quality, availability, and discharge assessments
- Wetlands, floodplains, endangered species, and cultural resource reviews
- Zoning, air quality, noise, and cultural resources permitting
Environmental permitting and air permitting
Barr partners with data‑center developers to navigate complex permitting and environmental requirements with clarity and confidence. Our engineers and environmental professionals work with you to interpret regulatory pathways, develop customized permitting strategies, and create practical solutions that balance compliance needs with reliable, flexible, and sustainable data‑center operations. We focus on securing required permits and authorizations as efficiently as possible to keep pace with the speed of data-center development.
Our permitting services:
- Environmental site review and impact assessments
- Local zoning and permitting support
- Air permitting and modeling for backup power systems and on-site power generation
- Water, wastewater, and stormwater permitting support
- Solid and hazardous‑waste management regulatory guidance
- Compliance planning, auditing, and issue resolution
- Environmental risk evaluation and lifecycle support
Power generation and design
Data centers require uninterrupted power, and Barr delivers solutions that combine reliability with sustainability. Our expertise in power generation design is supported by decades of experience in mechanical, electrical, structural, geotechnical, and civil design. We provide end-to-end services—from feasibility studies and permitting to detailed design and construction support—along with battery storage integration strategies that improve grid stability and manage peak loads.
Barr’s power generation and storage capabilities include:
- Gas turbines, RICE engines, boilers, and CHP systems
- Mechanical, electrical, structural, geotechnical, and civil system design
- Natural gas, renewable natural gas, wind, and solar generation engineering
- Battery storage design to stabilize loads and increase reliability
Power delivery engineering for data centers
Reliable, scalable power is a critical component of every data center. Barr brings nearly 60 years of experience supporting power infrastructure for utilities, energy developers, and EPC contractors. Our services span feasibility studies, power distribution, temporary bridging power, high-voltage transmission line, and substation design. From engineering and design of power delivery systems to outage coordination to construction planning, Barr acts as an extension of your team—delivering practical, innovative solutions that keep your data center powered and resilient in a rapidly evolving energy landscape.
Barr’s power delivery services include:
- High‑voltage transmission line and substation design
- Temporary bridging power design
- Power distribution systems and battery storage integration
- Outage coordination and construction planning
- Support for utilities of all sizes—from municipal to large regional producers
Industrial water, wastewater, and stormwater planning
Managing water responsibly is fundamental for data center operations and the communities in which they are operating. Barr offers integrated engineering and environmental solutions for water supply, treatment, reuse, and discharge—helping clients optimize efficiency, reduce lifecycle costs, and meet sustainability goals. Our team combines advanced technologies with proven practices to address regulatory requirements and operational challenges. From source sustainability to water accounting to reuse strategies, we deeply understand balancing water risks to design systems that support resilience and resource stewardship in an evolving environmental landscape.
Barr’s industrial water services:
- Water supply, treatment, and discharge design
- Water reuse systems and district-scale water management
- Water accounting, risk modeling, and regulatory planning/permitting
- Stormwater management, green infrastructure, and site climate resiliency
- Strategies that reduce lifecycle costs and resource impacts
Barr provides integrated environmental, engineering, and regulatory services to support data center projects from early site screening through operations. This includes site due diligence, permitting strategy, environmental modeling, water and utility planning, engineering design, construction support, and compliance assistance.
Barr identifies required federal, state, and local permits early and coordinates permitting strategies to avoid schedule impacts. Services commonly include air, water, wastewater, stormwater, and waste-related permitting, as well as agency coordination and documentation needed to support approvals.
Barr conducts environmental site assessments and targeted investigations to identify contamination risks, permitting constraints, and redevelopment considerations. This information helps developers evaluate site suitability, acquisition risk, and potential mitigation needs before important investment decisions.
Barr evaluates water availability, infrastructure capacity, and regulatory constraints related to proposed cooling approaches. This includes water sourcing studies, water use strategy, permitting support, and identification of alternatives to reduce long-term water risk.
Barr supports air permitting for emergency generators, temporary, bridge, and baseload electric generation, and other emission sources, including emissions calculations, dispersion modeling, and permit applications. The work is focused on meeting regulatory requirements while supporting operational reliability.
Yes. Barr supports data centers through expansions, retrofits, and operational changes by updating permits, tracking compliance obligations, and evaluating environmental and engineering impacts as facility needs evolve.