An initial assessment should not begin with a generic cost-per-megawatt request. The same capacity can require very different infrastructure, redundancy, site works and commissioning programmes.
Minimum input set
| Input | What to define |
|---|---|
| Load | Current, design and future capacity; active/reactive power and profiles. |
| Reliability | Category, permitted outage, N/N+1/2N, critical loads and black start. |
| Duty | Base/peak/standby operation, running hours, seasonality and outage windows. |
| Fuel | Type, parameters, limits, backup, tie-ins and commercial metering. |
| Site | Boundaries, geotechnical data, existing utilities, logistics, noise, environmental and operating-site constraints. |
| Connections | Utility requirements, points of connection, voltage, protection, metering and dispatch. |
| Phasing | Handover stages, temporary arrangements, first-power date and final readiness. |
| Boundary | Who engineers, supplies, constructs, tests, permits and operates. |
What the first cycle can establish
- A preliminary solution architecture and options.
- Critical unknowns and a plan to close them.
- A preliminary E / P / C / Cx responsibility matrix.
- A high-level schedule and long-lead equipment list.
- An estimate range with explicit assumptions rather than false precision.
What to attach to the Project Brief
- Scope or required-outcome description
- Single-line diagram and available utility requirements
- Plot plan, site boundary and existing utilities
- Load profile or critical-load list
- Target first-power and final-readiness dates