What is a behind-the-meter gas microgrid?

On-site electricity generation whose primary economic function is to supply firm MW to the site load beyond conventional standby backup. The boundary is functional. Two microgrids of identical MW rating can fall into different economic categories depending on operating mode and contract structure.

What are the three clocks in the BTM gas underwriting framework?

Compute clock: when the hyperscaler needs firm MW at the site. Grid clock: when the utility can deliver equivalent firm interconnected bulk-grid capacity. Generation clock: when an alternative generation architecture can be permitted, procured, and commissioned. The economic opportunity opens when the compute clock beats the grid clock. The architecture whose generation clock closes that gap fastest captures the largest share of the rent.

How is the Meta El Paso project structured?

The 366 MW McCloud facility is a utility bridge-power arrangement. El Paso Electric (EPE) purchased the Enchanted Rock systems. Meta pays EPE through an initial five-year bridge PPA. The plant supplies front-of-meter prime power to Meta's Hyperion campus while permanent EPE transmission and substation buildout completes. After grid interconnection, the asset is expected to transition into EPE utility service. EPE operates in the Western Interconnection (WECC); El Paso is the one major Texas city outside ERCOT.

What is the difference between operator-owned EaaS and utility bridge power?

In the operator-owned EaaS model, the operator finances and owns the physical asset, the hyperscaler contracts for service on a 10-15 year term, and the operator captures dispatch revenue. In the utility bridge-power model, a regulated utility purchases the modular generation, the hyperscaler funds a bridge PPA, the plant supplies front-of-meter prime power until permanent grid infrastructure completes, and the asset can transition into utility rate base. Both monetise time-to-power. The waterfalls differ.

Why does BTM gas microgrid use hundreds of small engines instead of a single large plant?

The 813-engine configuration at Meta El Paso is a schedule optimisation. A modular multi-hundred-engine deployment can bring first blocks online in 12 to 18 months versus a 36 to 48 month conventional combined-cycle plant. On $/MWh generation efficiency the modular architecture trails; on NPV of time-to-power it wins by a substantial margin when the customer values early compute revenue.

What is the gas pipeline second queue?

A 200 MW reciprocating engine plant at continuous duty burns 40,000 to 80,000 MMBtu per day. That volume requires an interstate pipeline tap through FERC Section 7 rules, an intrastate lateral through state PUC jurisdiction, plus compressor station capacity. Lateral pipeline construction takes 18 to 36 months. Bypassing the electric queue while sitting in the gas queue is not queue avoidance.

Who is Enchanted Rock?

Enchanted Rock is the canonical US operator of BTM gas microgrids for hyperscaler and data-centre applications. Enchanted Rock has disclosed approximately 1,500 MW of aggregate capacity across hyperscaler and data-centre applications at various stages: operational, under construction, contracted, and announced.

What is the firm-power premium for BTM gas microgrids?

The resulting underwriting range for monetisable firm-power value is roughly $150 to $280 per kW-year, depending on market participation and contract allocation. These components are alternative or partially overlapping monetisation routes rather than additive revenue streams. The EaaS take rate typically runs three to five times traditional standby rates.

Behind-the-meter gas microgrids: a firm-power route around the interconnection queue

7 September 2026 · 31 min read · Updated 18 Sep 2026

BTM Gas Microgrids feature. Three clocks diagnostic (compute, grid, generation) showing the interconnection scarcity gap. Adi Kumar, adikumar.co. — Three clocks: the architecture whose generation clock closes the compute/grid-delivery gap fastest captures the largest share of the rent.

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