A credible project starts
with the approval path.

Establish which license, exemption or federal-owner authority governs the plant. Review the project boundary, authorized uses and operational obligations. Determine whether the facilities, power arrangement or cooling works need non-project-use approval, a license amendment or other consent.

Establish the right to supply a new on-site load and continue surplus exports. Review interconnection agreements, metering, protection, standby service, transmission-service exposure and load studies. How the partner’s on-site load and the plant’s exports are metered and contracted, confirmed for each site. Existing grid access does not establish all rights needed for the proposed data center load.

The proposed cooling design has no river-water intake or discharge: a sealed submerged heat exchanger transfers heat from a separate coolant loop to the river. Counsel and engineers must confirm treatment of thermal effects, fluid containment, water-quality obligations and the applicability of NPDES, Clean Water Act Section 316 and state requirements. The design does not establish a permit exemption.

Identify environmental review and consultation triggered by the proposed approvals and physical works. Screen submerged structures, anchoring and construction for Clean Water Act Section 404, Rivers and Harbors Act Section 10 and Section 401 certification, where applicable. Include fish habitat, navigation, sediment, historic resources and Tribal consultation.

Protect the dam’s operating envelope and maintenance access. Evaluate flood exposure, structural loads, electrical separation, fire protection, construction access and zoning. Review FERC Part 12 requirements where applicable and the authority having jurisdiction for modular data-center installations.

Turn the findings into a responsibility matrix and approval schedule. Identify agency engagement, studies, contractual dependencies and conditions precedent for a term sheet, closing, construction and energization. Do not treat a proposed tariff date as approval.

Review ownership or lease structure, title and property rights, any required license-transfer approval, existing power-contract assignment and change-of-control provisions. Establish lender and counterparty consents, easements, rights-of-way and any restrictions on the proposed use before committing to a transaction.

Determine how supplying electricity to a separately owned on-site data center is treated under the applicable state’s laws. Review public-utility status, retail-sale restrictions, service territory, exemptions and backup-service requirements with state-qualified counsel. Confirm the treatment of the actual entities, ownership boundaries, metering and site and power agreements.

Where relevant, screen Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy financing for the state and county or municipality, eligible improvements, property interest, program approval and mortgage-lender consent. Plant acquisition, land, AI servers and modular equipment must not be assumed to qualify.