Grid connection and technical advisory for energy projects
We check whether an energy project will defend its value before the grid operator, the bank and the buyer. We assess the connection, technical and regulatory risks on the owner's side: from DSO refusals and UC84 through to BESS, compliance, due diligence and operator commissioning.
Who we work with
Three broad groups of clients on the owner, developer and investor side, whatever the project technology.
Asset owners and operators
Operating assets facing curtailment, generation constraints, changing operator requirements, technical and regulatory compliance, upgrades, BESS expansion or the need to make better use of an existing connection.
Developers and funds
Organisations developing or acquiring project portfolios that need an assessment of grid connection conditions, UC84 risks, technical due diligence, bankability, M&A or refinancing preparation, or a conversation with the operator, the bank or the buyer.
Local projects and industrial investors
Smaller generation, storage, hybrid and industrial projects that need a grid connection, a capacity increase, cooperation with the operator or a review of technical documentation.
Service portfolio
Six products covering three stages of the asset lifecycle: entering the process, ownership and transaction decisions, operational optimisation
GridLockdown Rescue
We check whether a refusal, restriction or set of operator conditions is technically and formally defensible, and whether there is a realistic path to recovering the project's value. A fixed fee + success fee model is possible where the effect is measurable.
Test the operator's decision →UC84 Rescue Package
A portfolio audit against UC84 risks: milestones, fees, financial securities and the validity of grid connection conditions. The outcome is an ownership decision: keep, change the variant, accelerate, sell or wind down.
Audit the portfolio against UC84 →Owner's Engineer / Grid EPC Management
We represent the owner's interest before the operator, design engineers and technical parties. We support the process from obtaining grid connection conditions and documentation through to the commissioning and operator testing stages (including EON, ION, FON, PAC). We are not an EPC. We control the scope, documentation and risks on the owner's side.
Discuss the OE scope →Technical Due Diligence
Before an acquisition, refinancing, project sale or conversation with a bank. We assess the risks that may feed through to CAPEX, schedule, connection feasibility, compliance and the final asset valuation.
Commission technical DD →Cable Pooling Optimizer
In selected cases this makes better use of an existing connection or adds a storage function without starting the full process from scratch. We always verify the real potential for the specific connection.
Assess the connection's potential →GridStaff Compliance
Outsourced technical and regulatory compliance for energy assets: system requirements (NC RfG, NC ER, IRiESP, IRiESD), market obligations and NIS2. For owners who would rather not build a full in-house compliance team.
Ask about the retainer scope →UC84: new rules for the grid connection process
UC84 (Poland's grid-connection reform) raises the cost of entering the connection process: an application fee, a higher advance payment and a financial security for performance of obligations. It also introduces shorter deadlines and new milestones. In practice this means more capital committed at the development stage and the need to rank the portfolio quickly: which projects have a realistic connection path, which need acceleration, which need redesign, and which no longer hold up economically.
Download the UC84 audit (PDF)Why now?
Four independent factors that are reshaping the economics of energy projects over the next 18–24 months
refusals
difficult connection conditions,
capacity limits, technical errors,
the realities of a specific operator
+ BESS
generation constraints,
cable pooling, profile changes
and better use of the connection
new entry costs,
financial securities, shorter deadlines
and portfolio milestones
+ compliance
market obligations,
NC RfG / NC ER / IRiESP / IRiESD
and NIS2
Based on public industry and regulatory sources at the time of publication. The scope of obligations depends on the final wording of the legislation and should be verified for the specific project.
How we work
A transparent analysis process that reduces risk and shortens decision time
Submission and data check
We receive the basic information about the investment and the available documents. We check completeness and define the scope of the analysis. You know straight away whether the case is feasible and what data is needed next.
Technical and formal analysis
We analyse connection feasibility: infrastructure availability, technical constraints, formal and procedural risks, and potential delivery variants. You get a clear picture of the project's feasibility.
An ownership recommendation
We don't leave you with a report for the drawer. We point to a decision: keep the project, change the variant, accelerate, renegotiate, expand with BESS, prepare for a conversation with the bank or stop a costly direction. Together with the risks, the next formal steps and an estimated process path.
Support for negotiations or delivery
We support conversations with the operator, EPC, design engineers, bank or buyer. We provide technical supervision and coordinate the connection process. We act as a partner on the owner's side, not an ad-hoc consultant.
We coordinate when the project calls for it
Owner's Engineer Coordination on the owner's side
If a project requires specialist studies, we select and coordinate design engineers and sector experts. GridLink retains the definition of scope, quality control of the documentation and alignment of the work with the connection, regulatory and business objective. The client does not have to build its own engineering function.
Why GridLink?
Most losses (of time and budget) on energy projects come not from the process itself but from mistakes at its start: a poor assessment of grid risk, a missing derogation, inconsistencies in the financial model or an ignored operator requirement. That is why we focus on the diagnostic stage and take on the role of a technical partner on the owner's side, where it is genuinely possible to influence the outcome of the conversation with the operator, the bank and the buyer.
We combine engineering and procedure
Technical knowledge meets an understanding of how TSOs and DSOs work in practice, from PSE through to the largest distribution operators.
Analysis in the realities of a specific operator
The same project carries different risk depending on the connection point, the grid layout, the documentation and the acceptance requirements. We don't use templates.
An ownership recommendation, not a report for the drawer
The outcome should be a decision: keep the project, change the variant, accelerate, renegotiate, expand with BESS, prepare for a conversation with the bank or stop a costly direction.
Coordination on the owner's side
We select design engineers and sector experts, coordinate their work and verify the documentation. The client does not have to build its own engineering department.
An effect-based fee model
A success-fee component is possible, tied to a measurable effect: recovered connection capacity, an avoided cost, improved use of the connection or the operational value of the asset. The success fee is a premium for a measurable effect, not a guarantee of outcome.
Frequently asked questions
Six questions most often asked by asset owners, funds and developers
Does GridLink only work on renewable energy (RES) projects?
No. Renewables are an important part of our work, but GridLink is not a RES-only firm. We support energy projects and assets that require grid connection, technical assessment, regulatory compliance or an ownership decision: generation sources, energy storage, hybrid projects, operating assets and industrial projects that need to work with the grid operator. Our category is not "RES". Our category is the technical, connection and regulatory risk of energy assets.
What does UC84 change for owners of energy projects?
UC84 changes the economics of keeping a project in the portfolio. It introduces greater process discipline: shorter deadlines, additional entry costs, financial securities, milestones and more pressure on real investment progress. For an owner, this means checking which projects have a realistic connection path, which need acceleration, which require redesign, and which no longer hold up economically. If you hold a portfolio of ready-to-build projects, we can run a quick UC84 risk assessment.
Who may be affected by the proposed TGE trading obligation, and why test it in the model?
The draft UD284 provides for reinstating the mandatory exchange-trading obligation for electricity, together with separate changes for the gas market. The scope of obligations, exemptions and effects on PPAs depends on the final wording of the legislation and on the structure of the specific project. In practice you need to check installed capacity, technology, PPA structure, offtaker status, intra-group transactions, the energy delivery model, balancing costs, impact on DSCR and the bank's requirements. Not every PPA solves the problem automatically.
Why do NC RfG, NC ER, IRiESP and IRiESD matter to an asset owner?
These are not just technical acronyms. The requirements of NC RfG, NC ER, IRiESP and IRiESD (the Polish transmission and distribution grid codes) determine whether a project meets operator requirements, passes the commissioning and testing stages (including EON, ION, FON, PAC), maintains operational compliance and does not create risks in due diligence, refinancing or a sale transaction. GridLink reviews these requirements not as a formality but as a component of asset-value risk.
Does GridLink work with design engineers?
Yes. GridLink acts as an advisor on the owner's side of the project. If a project requires documentation, sector analyses or specialist studies, we work with technical experts.
Does GridLink handle offshore projects?
For now we focus on onshore projects: generation assets, BESS, hybrid projects and connection infrastructure. Offshore has a different regulatory, design and contractual structure, so it is not currently our core area of service. If an offshore project requires a specific technical analysis or support on a selected grid issue, we can assess the scope individually or point you to a sector partner.
Check your project
Describe your energy project. Within 24–48h we'll tell you whether it needs a full analysis, a quick risk audit or just a focused consultation.