The plan in one screen
You can get the platform off mock data this week for about $12,000 using self-serve vendors (credit card) plus free federal data. Nothing here needs a long procurement cycle except one thing.
The only slow item is the power vendor (the question is "can this specific site get 500 MW"), which is a 3 to 8 week sales process. So you do not wait: you start those demos Monday, in parallel, while the self-serve build proceeds.
Fully loaded year one lands at about $127,000 realistic (range $64k to $274k). Everything below is ordered so the fast, cheap wins happen first and the one slow lever gets pulled on day one.
Recommended path (updated 2026-07-17): buy the full stack, phase it in
Buy the full stack. In a land rush where a single site that can support >5 GW is worth $1M+ for the lead alone, the objective is not to minimize cost, it is to not miss the best parcel. The premium power data (Enverus / LandGate-Wood Mackenzie) is exactly what tells you which big-looking parcels can actually reach multi-GW, so it is a discovery tool for the million-dollar leads, not just diligence. Do not cut it. The ~$127k/yr is paid for many times over by one good lead.
But phase the rollout so you validate before you wait weeks: stand it up cheap first, confirm it runs on real data, then layer in the premium feeds as each one closes.
- Phase 1, this week (~$12k, self-serve, start today): Regrid parcels (target counties now, nationwide when proven) plus the free stack (queues via the open-source
gridstatuslibrary + LBNL, transmission and voltage via HIFLD/EIA, gas proximity via EIA/DOT, generation via EIA-860M, fiber presence via FCC, plus FEMA flood, USGS seismic and water, USFWS wetlands). Goal: confirm the platform runs end to end on real data. - Phase 2, book Monday (3 to 8 week lead): Enverus AND LandGate/Wood Mackenzie demos, then sign one. This is the only long-lead item, so start it now while Phase 1 validates. On the call, confirm their capacity number covers data-center LOAD, not just generation injection.
- Phase 3, as they land: Rextag commercial gas (~$8k, pipe diameter and capacity for the behind-the-meter path), fiber route data, and the owner-contact layer below.
- NEW build item, owner contact (part of the build-out): Regrid gives owner name plus mailing address with the parcel license. Add a skip-trace layer for phone and email, and for parcels held by an LLC or trust (common for big rural land) an entity-resolution step to find the person behind the entity. Skip-trace only parcels that survive screening, so the cost is a few dollars per sweep.
Recurring cost about $127k/yr at full build (Regrid nationwide ~$40k + prime power ~$50k + fiber ~$20k + gridstatus Pro ~$9k + Rextag ~$8k + owner-contact skip-trace a few hundred dollars). You start at ~$12k in Phase 1; the number climbs only as each premium layer proves out.
Why not the $48k mid tier: it cuts exactly the premium power data that finds which parcels can actually reach multi-GW, which is the 5% that separates the best land from the rest. At $1M+ per great lead, that is the last thing to cut.
Sign up this week (self-serve, card or free)
These you can transact yourself with a credit card or a free account. Do them first. Each card lists what it feeds the platform, the exact steps, the tier to buy, price, what you walk away with, and one thing to confirm on signup.
gridstatus.io The easy one
- Create a free account at gridstatus.io/pricing (no card required).
- Copy the API key from the dashboard.
- Run
pip install gridstatusioand pull the ISO queues. - The free tier (500k rows/mo, 250 req/mo) is enough for all ISO queues. Only move to Pro if you hit volume limits.
pip install gridstatusio, pulling live interconnection queue data for all 7 ISOs.Regrid
- Two tracks. Track A (buy now by card): Property App at $100/yr plus per-county data downloads (shapefile $200 to $400 each, delivered instantly).
- Track B: start the Self-Serve Parcel API 1-week free trial. A key is issued so you can start wiring the platform.
- Prototype on 2 to 4 target counties immediately. Do not buy nationwide yet (that is Section 4).
- Standard Self-Serve API packages are capped and run up to about $12,000/yr.
FiberLocator Online viewer
- Self-serve checkout on fiberlocator.com, live the same day.
- 12-month minimum commitment.
- Buy this only if analysts want a polished fiber map to look at right now.
Free, no signup (wire in this week, $0)
Public-domain and federal sources. No account, no card. Wire these into the platform this week for zero cost.
Natural gas pipelines (EIA via DOT ArcGIS)
EIA pipeline data hosted on the DOT ArcGIS FeatureServer. Query the endpoint directly:
| Endpoint | https://geo.dot.gov/server/rest/services/Hosted/Natural_Gas_Pipelines_US_EIA/FeatureServer/0 |
| Query | ?where=1=1&outFields=TYPEPIPE,Operator,Status&outSR=4326&f=geojson |
Federal backbone (all free downloads)
- EIA-860 / 861: generators plus utility service territory
- FEMA NFHL: flood hazard layers
- USGS: seismic and water data
- USFWS: wetlands
- LBNL "Queued Up": interconnection queues, emp.lbl.gov/queues
FCC National Broadband Map
Free fiber-availability proxy to bootstrap the fiber score until a real route-geometry feed is licensed.
broadbandmap.fcc.gov/data-download
Book demos Monday, in parallel
The power question ("can this site get 500 MW") is the only long-lead item. Both vendors are sales-gated. Request demos from BOTH on Monday to get quotes. Note (see Recommended path): the demo is free and worth doing, but you do not have to sign a nationwide license. Plan to buy a power readout per finalist deal (as a buyer-deck credibility artifact), and on the call ask specifically whether their capacity number covers data-center LOAD, not just generation injection.
Enverus
Read: more mature siting product, but slower and pricier.
LandGate / Wood Mackenzie
Read: historically nimbler and more API / AI friendly.
Sales-gated, do later (open now, buy when scaling)
Start these conversations now so the paperwork is warm, but you do not need to buy until you scale past the prototype counties. Prototype on self-serve data meanwhile.
Regrid nationwide bulk license
parcels@regrid.comReal fiber data feed / route geometry
sales@fiberlocator.com)Rextag commercial gas data
Owner contact Build module
Questions to ask on every sales / demo call
Print this. Run through it on every call. Check each item as you get a clear answer.
- Bulk / API / GIS feed, or UI-only?Can I get this as a bulk export, API, or GIS feature service? We need to pull it into our own platform, not just look at it in your UI.
- Refresh cadenceHow often is the underlying data refreshed?
- Pricing modelIs pricing per-record / metered or a flat annual license? Any onboarding or implementation fee on top?
- Minimum termIs there an annual or multi-year minimum, or can we start month-to-month?
- What do you need from us to transact?Business entity, W-9, MSA, NDA, use-case sign-off, seat minimums?
- Vendor-specific follow-ups Regrid: Is a standardized owner field included? GeoParquet plus S3 / SFTP delivery? Zoning coverage percent by county? Enverus: Is the "greater than 500 MW available capacity" screen exportable (not just in the UI)? All 7 ISOs? ATC refresh cadence? LandGate / WoodMac: Am I contracting with LandGate LLC or Wood Mackenzie, and is this price and product guaranteed for the full term regardless of the integration? gridstatus: Queue refresh per ISO? Enterprise rate limits?
Cost summary
Three views: what you buy right now to get off mock data (Phase 1), the phase-2 additions, and the full recommended stack. Start each vendor month-to-month where possible, validate 30 days, then commit annual. Point the spend guardrails at the metered items (skip-trace, any per-record API), not the flat licenses.
| Item | Tier | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Regrid self-serve API | Standard (or a few hundred $ for counties only) | ~$12,000/yr |
| gridstatus | Free tier | $0 |
| Natural gas pipelines (EIA / DOT) | Free, public domain | $0 |
| FCC fiber proxy | Free download | $0 |
| Federal backbone (EIA / FEMA / USGS / USFWS / LBNL) | Free downloads | $0 |
| Realistic buy-now total | ~$12,000 | |
| Optional: FiberLocator viewer | Analyst map convenience | +$4,600 |
| Item | Role | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Regrid parcels | The one must-have. Counties now, nationwide (~$40k) at scale | ~$0.5k → ~$40k |
| gridstatus (open-source library) + LBNL | Interconnection queues, no key, no cost | $0 |
| Rextag gas | Add when underwriting behind-the-meter sites | ~$8k |
| Free federal (HIFLD, EIA-860M, gas, FCC, FEMA, USGS, USFWS) | Transmission, generation, gas, fiber, hazard, water | $0 |
| Recurring stack | Start ~$12k, scale ~$48k | ~$12k → ~$48k |
| Item | What it adds | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Regrid nationwide | ~150M parcels, monthly refresh, redistribution | ~$40k |
| gridstatus Pro | Optional: full history and volume (free tier usually enough) | $9k |
| Prime power (Enverus or LandGate) | The discovery tool for which parcels can actually reach multi-GW | ~$50k |
| Fiber data | Route geometry feed (or $625 snapshots per finalist to start) | ~$20k |
| Owner contact (skip-trace + entity resolution) | Parcel to owner phone/email; per-record, only on shortlisted parcels | ~few hundred $ |
| Rextag gas | Pipe diameter / flow / capacity | ~$8k |
| Federal backbone | Generators, flood, seismic, wetlands, water | $0 |
| Full recommended stack total | Range $64k to $274k | ~$127,000 |
| Vendor | Terms | How to de-risk |
|---|---|---|
| Regrid self-serve API | Monthly, cancel anytime (1-wk trial + 30-day sandbox) | Validate on monthly + counties, then annual nationwide once proven |
| Regrid county downloads | Pay-once per county, no commitment | Buy 2 to 4 target counties to test, ~$200 to $400 each |
| gridstatus.io | Free tier + monthly Pro (annual = prepay discount) | Free tier, then monthly Pro only if volume needs it |
| BatchData (owner contact) | Pay-per-match, no subscription | Only spend on shortlisted parcels, $0.07 to $0.18 each |
| Enverus (power) | Annual / multi-year enterprise only | Sales-run pilot on your geography + 1-year initial term, 1 to 2 seats |
| LandGate / WoodMac (power) | Legacy LandApp monthly (at risk) → WoodMac annual | Test LandApp monthly now while it exists; pilot the WoodMac product |
| FiberLocator | Viewer annual (12-mo min) | Buy $625 snapshots to validate before the $4,600 annual viewer |
| Rextag (gas) | Annual license by region/commodity | Scope smallest slice (natural gas, one region, ~$1k) + sample data first |
Bottom line: the entire Phase 1 core (Regrid + gridstatus + BatchData + free federal) is month-to-month or pay-per-use, so you validate the whole platform with almost no annual lock-in. The annual vendors (Enverus, fiber, Rextag) all come later and each has a validate-first escape hatch (pilot, snapshot, or smallest-scope).
Week-1 checklist (ordered)
Work top to bottom. Steps 1 through 4 get the platform onto real data. Steps 5 and 6 pull the long levers early. Step 7 is optional.
- Create the gridstatus Free account and copy the API key.Minutes, no card. Confirm queue refresh cadence per ISO.
- Start the Regrid self-serve API trial and buy 2 to 4 target counties.1-week free trial key plus instant county shapefiles. Confirm the standardized owner field is included.
- Wire the free EIA / DOT gas pipeline endpoint into the platform.Public domain FeatureServer, GeoJSON query. Transmission trunk only for now.
- Load the federal backbone plus the FCC fiber proxy.EIA-860/861, FEMA NFHL, USGS, USFWS, LBNL queues, FCC broadband map. All $0.
- Email Enverus AND LandGate / WoodMac for demos.Do both Monday, in parallel. This is the 3 to 8 week long-lead item. Get quotes, then pick one.
- Sign up for BatchData skip-trace (pay-as-you-go) and wire the owner-contact pipeline.Regrid owner + BatchData phone/email; skip-trace only shortlisted parcels. Pay-per-match, no subscription.
- Open the Regrid nationwide conversation.Email parcels@regrid.com now so the paperwork is warm. Keep prototyping on counties meanwhile.
- Optional: buy the FiberLocator viewer.$4,600/yr, same-day, only if analysts want the polished map now. Not a platform feed.
Billing note: start every vendor that offers it month-to-month or pay-per-use (Regrid API, gridstatus, BatchData). Only go annual after 30 days of validation. Point spend caps at the metered items (skip-trace, per-record API), not the flat licenses.