Power-constrained project viability

When the grid cannot deliver, model the project that can.

BTM-Optimize helps data center and renewable developers decide whether behind-the-meter generation can rescue, phase, or de-risk a project before interconnection delays, utility capacity limits, and equipment lead times kill the schedule.

50 MWExample campus load
30 MWNear-term grid import
20 MWSurvival gap to close
BTM-OPTIMIZE · PHOENIX DC 50MW SCREEN

Power stack viability

Grid-constrained energization scenario
Site load
50 MW
Grid import
30 MW
Gas firming
50 MW
Solar
10 MW
Battery
5 MW
Load served P5098.7%
Load served P9094.1%
Fuel exposureHigh
Grid dependencyReduced
Capex class$90-130M
Decision statusNeeds study
Output: investment committee memo Example scenario · synthetic site
§ 01

The project question changed.

Behind-the-meter power is no longer only an optimization exercise. In constrained markets, it can be the difference between a project that energizes and a project that dies in the queue.

QUESTION 01

Can the site energize before full grid power arrives?

Model phased load, partial utility service, construction milestones, and the minimum power stack required to avoid stranded buildings and idle capital.

QUESTION 02

What BTM mix closes the gap without creating a worse risk?

Compare gas, solar, BESS, fuel logistics, dual-fuel options, bridge-power contracts, emissions constraints, and equipment lead times together.

QUESTION 03

What story survives diligence?

Give lenders, hyperscale tenants, offtakers, utilities, EPCs, and investment committees a traceable case for why the power plan works.

Who this is for

Developers whose schedule is now governed by deliverable power.

If the utility can serve the full load on your required date, this is overkill. If the project economics depend on energizing before the grid catches up, the power stack needs to be modeled as a development risk, not a procurement line item.

Data centers

Phased energization under constrained import.

Serve critical IT load while utility upgrades, transformers, or transmission service lag the construction schedule.

Renewables

Colocated load when export queues break the plan.

Evaluate whether a stranded or delayed generation project can become useful behind a customer meter.

Industrial loads

Private power for expansion bottlenecks.

Screen on-site generation and storage when a new line, substation, or service upgrade sits years out.

Capital partners

Diligence before committing to a fragile story.

Stress-test load, fuel, tariff, interconnection, equipment, and policy assumptions before the model becomes the investment case.

Model scope

Not a vendor quote. Not a generic microgrid study.

BTM-Optimize models the uncertain envelope around a constrained project: what power is available, what load must be served, what equipment can arrive, what fuel can be delivered, and what the economics look like when the optimistic path fails.

Load ramp IT load, PUE/weather response, auxiliary loads, tenant ramp, seasonal peak, minimum viable energization.
Grid import Near-term service level, upgrade schedule, tariff exposure, curtailment obligations, outage history, standby charges.
Generation stack Gas reciprocating engines or turbines, solar, BESS, CHP, bridge generation, dual-fuel capability, planned and forced outage rates.
Fuel and emissions Gas availability, pipeline constraints, delivered fuel cost, escalation, NOx/CO2 constraints, permitting risk, operating-hour limits.
Procurement reality Transformers, switchgear, turbines, engines, batteries, interconnection equipment, EPC sequencing, and schedule slippage.
Financial uncertainty Capex bands, debt assumptions, IRR, NPV, payback, stranded-capital risk, avoided delay value, regret at P10/P90 outcomes.
§ 04

What comes out.

Artifacts for the rooms where the project either gets saved or dies: investment committee, utility negotiation, EPC scoping, lender diligence, and offtake conversations.

Project viability screen

A fast read on whether BTM power is plausible, what gap it must close, and what assumptions are most likely to break the project.

1 week · go / no-go

Power stack sizing report

Scenario-based sizing for grid import, gas generation, solar, storage, backup, fuel supply, and phased load service.

P10 / P50 / P90

Investment committee memo

A plain-English decision package with economics, risk register, schedule exposure, key sensitivities, and recommended next actions.

Board-ready narrative

Utility negotiation package

Translate the project’s grid dependency, flexible load posture, import requirements, and BTM assumptions into a clearer utility conversation.

Service strategy

EPC assumption pack

Define the power-system assumptions that need validation before procurement starts: equipment, interconnection, controls, fuel, and sequencing.

Procurement guardrails

Model handoff

Repo, notebooks, inputs, scenario runs, and methodology notes so your team can rerun the analysis as the utility, tariff, or equipment picture changes.

Owned by your team
§ 05

Versus the alternatives.

The point is not to sell a generator or produce a pretty feasibility PDF. The point is to decide whether the project survives under real uncertainty.

Wait for utility service OEM / EPC feasibility deck Generalist consulting microgrid study BTM-Optimize
Primary questionWhat decision does it answer? When can the grid serve me? What can you sell me? Can a microgrid work? Can this project energize and survive?
Schedule riskInterconnection + equipment timing Acknowledged, rarely solved Narrow equipment view Usually high-level Modeled as a core variable
Economic outputDecision-ready finance No BTM economics Capex-forward Often static case NPV, IRR, regret, delay value
Technology biasWho benefits from the answer? Utility process Vendor portfolio Consultant method Project owner decision
HandoffCan your team rerun it? No No Depends Repo, inputs, runs, docs
§ 06

How to engage.

Start with the smallest useful answer. Expand only if the project deserves deeper work.

Tier 01 · Triage

Site Screen

1 week · fixed scope

A fast viability pass for one site, one load profile, and one constrained utility-service assumption.

  • Grid shortfall estimate
  • Candidate BTM stack
  • Top five project risks
  • Go / no-go memo
Request site screen →
Tier 03 · Diligence

Developer Package

8-12 weeks · project support

Full diligence support for projects where BTM power is central to the development case.

  • Model build and handoff
  • Utility negotiation package
  • EPC assumption pack
  • Risk register and update cadence
Discuss package →