Bridging power, sized to five nines

Size the generator fleet that carries your site until the grid arrives.

Data centers now wait three to six years for a utility connection. NinesForge sizes the on-site gas and diesel fleet that runs them in the meantime, from the equipment you can actually buy, for the load steps AI really makes and the gas supply you really have.

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120 MW AI campus · 20% load step · 450 kW gas unitsrunning
336units installed
99.99923%site availability
4.05min/yr short
Running (320)Outage spare (12)Maintenance (4)Fault
Example sizing from published datasheet values. When a unit trips, a spare picks up its share.
3–6 yrstypical wait for a grid connection
20%/sload steps from AI training clusters
5.3 minshortfall allowed per year at 99.999%
43generator and storage models, each value linked to its source
What it answers

The questions a bridging fleet has to settle before anyone signs.

Every answer comes with the reason behind it, so you can defend the number to a customer, a supplier or a lender.

How many units hold five nines?

Running units for the load and the step, plus spares for unplanned outages and planned maintenance, calculated exactly over every combination of unit failures.

N+16 on 320 running in the example above

Can the fleet take the load step?

Gas engines accept smaller steps the more load they carry. NinesForge uses published CIMAC and ISO 8528-5 data so the step is checked at the loading the fleet actually runs at.

14% per unit needed at 70% load

What does one gas line cost you?

Gas supply is modelled line by line, with upstream supply, backup fuel and restart time. It is usually the first thing that breaks a five-nines design.

One line: 295 min/yr short. Two lines: 3.8.

What is the best fleet you can actually buy?

Mix up to four equipment types with stock limits, lead times and earlier phases already installed. Choose by capital, capital plus fuel, fuel alone, unit count or installed MW.

Capital + fuel over the bridging period
How it works

Six steps from site to signed proposal.

Results update as you type. There is nothing to run until you want the Monte Carlo check.

  1. Site & fuelDerate, switchgear, gas lines, backup fuel, prices.
  2. Load & stepPeak load, load profile, step per second, availability target.
  3. EquipmentUp to four types from the catalog or supplier quotes, with stock and lead times.
  4. FleetThe recommended mix, why it is that size, fuel and efficiency, backup after grid.
  5. ReliabilityThousands of simulated years to confirm the calculation.
  6. ReportA customer-ready plan to share as PDF.

Step response at load

Choose flat step acceptance or a curve that falls as units carry more load. Every running unit shares the load, so adding units raises the step each can take.

Gas supply that can fail

One or two lines, an undersized second line, shared upstream supply, hours of on-site fuel and restart time after an interruption.

Mixed and phased fleets

Combine suppliers when no single one can deliver in time. Keep phase one installed and size only what phase two adds, with new capital shown separately.

Monte Carlo check

Failures, repairs, maintenance, gas interruptions and switchgear faults played hour by hour through the bridging period, with the chance of any event before the grid arrives.

Fuel and efficiency

Part-load heat rates at each load level, gas billed on HHV, diesel by the gallon. Compare suppliers on fuel cost per MWh, not just capital.

Customer-ready report

Requirements, recommended fleet, reliability, bridging economics, the after-grid backup plan and the points to confirm with suppliers.

The same 59-unit fleet, two gas supplies

100 MW site, 2.5 MW gas units, 99.999% target. Adding units cannot fix a single gas line; a second independent line can.

Validation

Checked against hand calculations, simulation and published work.

The availability math, the simulator and the optimiser were tested against each other and against independent sources.

3.84 = 3.84

Hand calculation

Independent binomial and gas-line calculations match NinesForge to the hundredth of a minute per year.

99.981%

Published study reproduced

At the design point of a published 80 MW data-center study, the simulation lands on the 99.982% Tier III standard that design was built to.

< 1%

Real supplier proposal

A supplier's 240 MW tender proposal fell within 1% of NinesForge's minimum fleet, and its first phase matched exactly.

The full validation report, including the defects found and fixed and the model's known limitations, is available on request. NinesForge produces planning-level results; confirm step response and reliability data with your suppliers before commitment.

Who it's for

Built for the people who size the power and answer for it.

DevelopersDecide what to build and when, and what becomes backup once the grid connects.
EPCs and consultantsDefend a fleet size with the math behind it, in a report the client can read.
Equipment suppliersShow where your units fit, how they mix with others, and what your step data is worth.
Owners and lendersCheck a proposal's redundancy, gas supply and fuel bill before signing.
Early access

Size your next bridging fleet with us.

We are working with a small group of developers, EPCs and suppliers on live projects. Tell us about yours.

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