Site, connect, and consent renewable energy infrastructure.
Optioneer brings site screening, grid connection feasibility, and consenting evidence into one platform — enabling renewable developers to rapidly compare wind, solar, BESS, P2X, and offshore/onshore options.
GW in US interconnection queues
for siting and routing studies of any site
global spatial datasets pre-loaded
Teams supported
Every team member — internal and external — works in the same project environment, from strategy to consent.
Development & Origination
Engineering & Grid Connection
Environment & Permitting
Consent & Stakeholders
Storage & Flexibility
Wastewater & Spills Teams
Operations & Delivery
Platform highlights
Explore some core Renewable development features of Optioneer. Visit our Platform page for a full, comprehensive overview of Optioneer’s capabilities.
Screening for renewable energy infrastructure.
Optioneer unifies site screening and grid interconnection in a single workspace. Rapidly evaluate thousands of potential sites across the US, UK, and EU against technical and regulatory constraints to prioritise your most viable, permit-ready projects.
Site screening and prospecting
Screen potential development sites based on grid proximity, constraint density, land availability, resource quality, and technical feasibility. Evaluate hundreds of candidate sites against weighted criteria — ranking and shortlisting at portfolio scale, not project-by-project.
Applicable across technology types: onshore wind farms, utility-scale solar (ground-mount), BESS (standalone and co-located), Power-to-X electrolyser sites, EV charging hubs, data centre connections, and repowering of existing wind farms.
- Any technical, environmental or permitting risks, which are directly impacting the site or are in relevant proximity to act as a trigger
- Agricultural land classification overlay — BMV (Grades 1–3a) avoidance in UK; CRP and prime farmland in US
- Wind resource and turbine exclusion zones (noise, flicker, radar, aviation safeguarding)
From identification to delivery
EDF Renewables uses Optioneer for Screening as a single platform for early-stage feasibility studies across their portfolio — evaluating multiple technologies and connection scenarios in parallel.
Optioneer supports NSIP threshold assessment (projects above 100 MW require DCO since December 2025), local authority TCPA applications, and CfD AR7 readiness. Aligned with NPPF February 2025 updates treating onshore wind on the same basis as other energy developments.
Grid connection and interconnection assessment
Assess connection routes from generation site to point of connection — evaluating overhead line, underground cable, and hybrid options against all spatial constraints.
Optioneer supports assessment under Ofgem’s TMO4+ connections reform — the new ‘First Ready and Needed, First Connected’ gating process makes early spatial feasibility evidence essential. Aligned with REMA and the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) due late 2026. Supports assessment of grid connections for renewable applications rather than as ancillary infrastructure - in accordance with Section 36/37 application requirements as a consequence of the Wull Muir decision.
Renewables developers across the UK and Ireland use Optioneer to evaluate project sites from the perspective of potential grid connection constraints, combining connection route assessment with site screening in a single workflow.
Development for renewable energy infrastructure.
Optimise grid and cable routes by balancing technical constraints with environmental and social impact. Optioneer automates route selection and provides the auditable evidence needed to accelerate permitting and stakeholder approval.
Grid connection and cable route optimisation (onshore & offshore wind, solar)
Route overhead lines, underground cables, or hybrid connections from generation site to point of connection, optimising against all weighted constraints. Applicable to onshore wind grid connections, solar farm export routes, BESS grid tie-lines, and offshore export cables.
Route overhead lines, underground cables, or hybrid connections from generation site to point of connection, optimising against all weighted constraints. Applicable to onshore wind grid connections, solar farm export routes, BESS grid tie-lines, and offshore export cables.
Asset type assessment — overhead line vs underground cable vs hybrid technology selection
Trenchless crossing assessment — HDD, microtunnelling, pipe jacking at obstacles
Crossing identification — roads, railways, waterways, existing utilities
Siting — substation and switchgear siting along the connection route
Construction considerations — construction access, laydown areas, and temporary works planning
Offshore export cable routing — seabed constraints, landfall, onshore to substation
Multi-criteria option selection
Thousands of flexible metrics allowing implementation of bespoke ranking methodology. Comparison tools include:
Weighted ranking across environmental, engineering, cost, and community impact metrics
Pareto front trade-off analysis — cost vs environmental impact vs deliverability
CAPEX and OPEX estimates for connection routes, substations, and infrastructure
Custom metrics aligned with CfD requirements, IRA eligibility, or internal governance
Public consultation and stakeholder engagement
Prepare engaging, transparent materials for public consultations and statutory stakeholder discussions. The main benefit is speed of iteration — renewables projects spend years in development and suffer from small changes that compound through every downstream document.
Customers use Optioneer in meetings with planning authorities and statutory consultees — demonstrating constraints, showing trade-offs, and evidencing that specific interests were accounted for. Materials generated in Optioneer have appeared on live project consultation websites.
Environmental assessment and permitting
Environmental constraints are part of route and site origination — not a post-hoc check.
Optioneer supports DCO applications for NSIP-threshold projects, TCPA planning applications for sub-100 MW schemes, Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA), and Marine Net Gain (MNG) requirements for offshore elements.
Comparative environmental risk profiles across all site or route options
EIA screening and scoping support — constraint maps, designated area summaries, impact tables
Biodiversity baseline assessment at option stage
Complete audit trail for consent defensibility
Regulation ready design
Optioneer is built to meet the world’s most stringent renewable infrastructure standards, ensuring every project is auditable, compliant, and ready for funding.
Discuss your project with us.
Learn how Optioneer can accelerate your transmission development programme.
Sectors
Optioneer is designed for utilities and developers in the energy and water industry. Wether you are improving existing networks or developing new, Optioneer is equipped for overhead, underground and subsea transmission, hydrogen and CO2 pipelines.
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