What sits behind a ready date: power, building and equipment

A ready date is the date capacity can be handed over to you. For a running hall it is usually firm. For capacity under construction it rests on three things: the grid connection, the building work and the delivery of long-lead equipment. If any of them slips, the date moves, so ask what each one depends on.

The grid connection is the most common reason dates move. Secured power is contracted with the grid operator; applied power is still waiting for a decision. A date that depends on applied power is a hope, not a plan. On the marketplace, if a request needs more than a site's secured power, the expected date of its applied power becomes the site's effective ready date in the fit score. Our grid power guide explains the statuses.

Ask whether permits are granted, whether construction has started, and what is left: the shell, the mechanical and electrical fit-out, or only the final halls. A building with its shell and main plant complete carries far less risk than a plot with a permit application.

Transformers, switchgear, generators, UPS systems and chillers can take many months to deliver. Ask which items are ordered, which have delivery dates, and whether any are already on site. An unordered transformer can set a date on its own.

Commissioning tests every system on its own and then together, under load, before customers move in. It takes weeks, and it is where faults show up. Ask whether the date is for the end of construction or for handover after commissioning.

For capacity that is not built yet, tie obligations to delivery: a long-stop date, service credits or rent-free time for delays, and the right to walk away after a set delay. Our pre-lease template includes these clauses.