POI Shortlist with Headroom

Strong POI shortlist — 12 POIs with headroom (best: 579 MW / worst: 216 MW)
Criteria: Count of viable Points of Interconnection (POIs) with positive offtake headroom within 25 miles. Thresholds: <1 POI = No viable POIs · 1–2 POIs = Limited headroom · ≥3 POIs = Strong POI shortlist. Service type: ERIS (energy-only).
Geoforge curated dataset · 2026-07-15
SITE ASSESSMENT
✓ Strong POI shortlist
12 POIs with headroom (best: 579 MW / worst: 216 MW)
POIs WITH POSITIVE HEADROOM
12 >= 3 required for Tier 1
Out of 72 candidates after curation
BEST OFFTAKE HEADROOM
579 MW Best case
Worst case across top POIs: 216 MW
TOP RANKED POI
LINNVILLE
138.0 kV · 8.8 mi · worst: 215.6 MW
QUEUE ACTIVITY
15 active ERCOT queue
15 candidates have active interconnection queue projects
CURATION SUMMARY
77 → 72
5 excluded (TAPs, switchyards, industrial) · 4 downgraded

Summary

Candidate POIs — ERCOT Offtake Headroom (25 mile radius)

Rank Substation kV Dist (mi) Worst (MW) Best (MW) Spread Queue Status
1 LINNVILLE 138 8.8 216 369 153 No Positive
2 PLEDGER 138 15.4 162 579 417 Yes Positive
3 BRAZORIA 138 17.2 77 440 363 Yes Positive
4 Clemons Tap 138 16.6 57 61 3 No Positive
5 FM 524 Substation 138 9.0 57 386 329 No Positive
6 Clemons Dome 138 16.3 56 60 3 No Positive
7 Old Ocean 138 9.0 55 118 63 No Positive
8 Phillips No 5 138 8.9 48 118 70 No Positive
9 Phillips No 2 138 8.9 47 130 83 No Positive
10 West Columbia Local 138 16.8 47 115 68 No Positive
11 Dow Pump Substation 69 18.4 43 43 0 No Positive
12 RETRIEVE (5⊘) 138 22.9 41 437 396 No Positive
13 NASH (16⊘) 138 23.9 345 883 ⚠ 538 Yes Downgraded
14 NORTH COLUMBIA (10⊘) 138 16.8 258 855 ⚠ 597 No Downgraded
15 West Columbia Main (10⊘) 230 16.8 120 437 317 Yes Downgraded

Measurement: WGS 84 / UTM zone 15N (EPSG:32615), utm

Analysis

12 substations show positive offtake headroom within 25.0 miles, providing strong POI optionality. Top candidates include LINNVILLE, PLEDGER, BRAZORIA with best-case offtake up to 579 MW.

  • LINNVILLE: 138.0 kV, 8.8 mi, worst 215.6 MW / best 369.0 MW
  • PLEDGER: 138.0 kV, 15.4 mi, worst 161.8 MW / best 578.7 MW (queue-active)
  • BRAZORIA: 138.0 kV, 17.2 mi, worst 77.2 MW / best 439.8 MW (queue-active)

4 substations (NASH, NORTH COLUMBIA, West Columbia Main, BRAZOSPORT) were downgraded due to infeasibility in 6+ of their studied scenarios, indicating an unreliable planning envelope.

Planning-study envelope disclaimer: All offtake values are derived from published planning studies and represent a planning-study envelope, not guaranteed deliverability. Best-case values are upper bounds; worst-case values are the floor across feasible scenarios. A spread > 500 MW signals high scenario sensitivity. A binding MW number for a specific load target under a specific scenario requires a dedicated powerflow study.

Next Steps

  • Commission a dedicated powerflow study for the top-ranked POIs (LINNVILLE, PLEDGER, BRAZORIA) to confirm deliverable offtake capacity under site-specific load scenarios
  • Engage ERCOT and the incumbent transmission owner to confirm interconnection feasibility and timeline for the preferred POI(s)
  • Evaluate network upgrade costs for POIs with high scenario sensitivity (spread > 500 MW) to narrow the planning envelope
  • Cross-reference queue-active POIs against ERCOT's latest GIS study results for potential congestion or constraint impacts

Sources