Campus Power: DOE Section 1703 Readiness for a Data Center Generation Project

Anonymized pursuit: a campus power sponsor building behind-the-meter generation for a data center offtake needed lender-grade diligence before an LPO Section 1703 application.

Challenge

The sponsor had a technically strong generation and storage design and a data center power purchase agreement in negotiation, but no independent engineering report, incomplete environmental review, and a financial model that had never been stress-tested against LPO diligence expectations.

Approach

Weeks 1–2: readiness diagnostic against Title XVII 1703 innovative-technology eligibility and lender expectations
Weeks 3–8: independent engineer scoping, risk register build-out, and financial model sensitivity cases tied to the offtake structure
Months 2–5: Part I / Part II application development with coordinated technical, legal, and finance workstreams

Outcome

Submitted a lender-ready Part II package with a defensible risk register and offtake-linked financial model—avoiding a premature submission that would have stalled in DOE credit review.