On a data center project, everyone owns their piece, but nobody holds the overall schedule on the developer's behalf. The design firm designs, the EPC builds, RTE or Enedis connect, lawyers secure, the municipality reviews, the lender asks for evidence. GridReadiness's Readiness Manager is an independent coordinator who holds that schedule, from the grid date to energisation: an owner's representative focused on what actually makes projects slip.
THE PROBLEM
The land option expires before the PTF is accepted. Transformers are ordered after final design, a year late. The municipality discovers the project at the public inquiry. The first capacity step arrives before the first customers, and unused capacity becomes reducible. None of these mistakes is technical: they are coordination failures.
THE GRID DATE COMES FIRST
Everything starts from one date: the grid date, when the grid can actually deliver the target capacity, step by step. It is neither the PTF date nor the end of construction. From it we build a grid-back schedule: land option duration, permit filings, equipment orders, consultation, financing, ramp-up. See our glossary.
WHAT THE READINESS MANAGER DOES
Keeps the deadline register: everything that can cost time or capacity, with its date, consequence and owner. Coordinates experts and stakeholders: GridReadiness network experts, design firm, EPC, grid operator, suppliers, municipality, advisers. Raises alerts early and frames decisions. Reports monthly to management and, if needed, lenders. It does not design, build or sell anything.
THREE FORMATS
1. Readiness diagnostic, two to three weeks: grid date, grid-back schedule, deadline register and priority risks. Fixed fee. 2. Part-time Readiness Manager, a few days a month. Monthly fee. 3. Full-time Readiness Manager, on long assignment within your team, through our expert staffing.
4. Commissioning readiness, in the months before opening: testing, punch-list closure, operations team, acceptance decision. See the commissioning readiness review.
SAMPLE DEADLINE REGISTER
Illustrative example, on a fictitious project (on mobile, scroll the table sideways):
| Deadline | When | If missed | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual queue review (proof of progress) | Anniversary of queue entry | Queue position at risk | Developer | To prepare |
| Land option expiry | Month 14 | Loss of the site | Developer, notary | Extension to negotiate |
| Permits justified before the connection agreement is sent | 3 months before | Reduced capacity | Developer | In progress |
| Transformer manufacturing slot | As soon as the connection solution is known | A year or more of delay | Design firm, buyer | Tender launched |
| End of the appeal period on the building permit | 2 months after posting | Project frozen if challenged | Developer, lawyer | Monitoring |
| First capacity step | Per the connection agreement | Unused capacity can be reduced | Operator | Consumption tracking |
OUR INDEPENDENCE RULE
When we coordinate a project for its developer, we do not carry out lender due diligence on that project or support the host community. No commission on equipment or site transactions.
WHO IT IS FOR
Foreign developers without a team in France, funds holding projects in development, industrial owners and land investors launching a first data center, and small data center sponsors without a dedicated project manager. For a first screen, see our 20-question checklist.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is a Readiness Manager?
An independent coordinator who holds a data center project's schedule for its developer, from the grid date to energisation: deadline register, coordination of experts and stakeholders, alerts and regular reporting.
What is the grid date?
The date when the grid can actually deliver the project's target capacity, step by step: the pivot date from which the whole schedule is built.