Barrio Grid Connector
Texas power grid siting data for AI agents and developers. Ask where the nearest substation is, what utility serves a site, whether it is inside city limits, which gas pipelines run nearby, what is in the ERCOT queue, what power sells for at the node, or which parcels sit next to high-voltage power.
5,394 substations · 7,033 transmission lines · 1,874 ERCOT queue projects · 664 planned upgrades · 2,317 pricing nodes · 908 battery projects · 497,000 pipeline segments · 415 compressor stations and gas plants · parcels statewide
See the map and plans Get a free key
One MCP server and a matching REST API. Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Muse and any agent that can call a URL.
No assistant to connect? The map has one on it. Dub Kittrell is an AI landman who runs the same tools and moves the map to the answer: ask him who serves a spot, what is queued nearby, or where the best battery spreads are. 20 questions a day on a free account. On Pro he runs as Dub+, on a stronger model. On Enterprise Lite he searches tracts near the right wire and names who owns them; on Enterprise he works as the Land Desk, with full site screens. How Dub works.
Try it
Connect
MCP server (streamable HTTP, OAuth sign-in with a free account):
https://grid.barrioenergy.com/mcp
- Claude: Settings, Connectors, Add custom connector, paste the URL, leave the OAuth client fields blank, press Connect and sign in with your email and a 6 digit code.
- ChatGPT: Settings, Apps and Connectors, Create, paste the URL, authentication OAuth, sign in when prompted.
- Muse or any other agent: give it the URL above or this page and it can build the skill itself. A ready-made skill file is at /grid/skill.md.
REST, same tools, GET with query parameters or POST JSON, with the key from your account:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $GRID_KEY" "https://grid.barrioenergy.com/v1/nearest_substation?address=Edna,%20TX&min_kv=138"
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $GRID_KEY" "https://grid.barrioenergy.com/v1/find_powered_land?county=Jackson&min_acres=50&max_sub_mi=1"
curl "https://grid.barrioenergy.com/v1/tools"
Tools
| Tool | What it answers |
|---|---|
| grid_context | Everything around one site: county, likely serving utility, 3 nearest substations, transmission lines, ERCOT queue projects and planned transmission upgrades within 25 miles, and railroads: the nearest rail lines and whether one lies between the site and its substation. Each substation carries an osm block: high and low side voltage (voltages_kv, high_side_kv, low_side_kv), OpenStreetMap class (transmission, distribution, switching, or not_mapped), source OpenStreetMap (ODbL); mapped transformer count on Pro. |
| nearest_substation | Closest substations to an address or coordinate, with voltage, owner and distance in miles. Filter by minimum kV. Also returns planned, unbuilt substations nearby (built:false, status, docket, expected date, pin confidence and the docket's location caveat) and warns when a planned and a built station share a name. Filters: osm_class (distribution, transmission, switching) and, on Pro, bus_kv_max (a station with any bus at or below that kV passes, which min_kv cannot express). Each substation carries an osm block from OpenStreetMap (ODbL): osm_class (transmission, distribution, switching, or not_mapped with a reason), distribution_bus_mapped (free), osm_name and match distance. Pro adds voltages_kv, high_side_kv, low_side_kv (when more than one voltage is mapped), transformer_count and transformer voltages, and osm_only_substations: up to 5 stations within 5 miles that are mapped in OpenStreetMap but not in the federal substation layer. |
| find_powered_land | Parcels near a qualifying substation, by county or point and radius, with acreage, owner and owner type (company, individual, trust or estate, public), situs address, legal description, appraised values, distance to the substation and wetland_pct (mapped wetland and open water share; max_wetland_pct filters wetter parcels; bus_kv_max and osm_class keep parcels whose nearest substation has a lower-voltage or distribution bus mapped in OpenStreetMap; Enterprise adds max_gas_mi, min_gas_diameter_in and gas_interstate to keep parcels near a mapped gas line, with nearest_gas_mi on each parcel; same_side_of_rail=true drops parcels with a railroad between them and their substation). Set group_by_owner to rank landowners by total acres near the substation. Enterprise Lite and Enterprise; Free and Pro get parcel and owner counts. |
| parcel_owner | Who owns land at an address, around a named substation or by property ID: property ID, acres, situs address, legal description and appraisal values. Owner name and mailing address on Enterprise Lite and Enterprise. Each parcel carries owner_class (university_lands, state, federal, county, city, school_district, special_district, railroad, utility, company, individual, trust_estate), undivided_interest when several owners share one property ID, city_limits_per_cad from the ICL/OCL legal token, and value_status (not_published_by_county means zeros are missing data, not a $0 parcel). utility_pad says whether a utility-owned parcel under 10 acres (a likely substation pad) sits within the radius: yes or no and a count for everyone, owner and property ID on Enterprise Lite and Enterprise; site_screen adds it as a flag within 1 mile. |
| jurisdiction | Who governs a site: county, inside city limits (which city), estimated ETJ, nearest city, school district, groundwater district or rule of capture, load zone, likely utility, FEMA flood zone, mapped wetlands on the spot and within half a mile (USFWS National Wetlands Inventory; type and acres on Pro), USFWS critical habitat within 5 miles, and whether the site is in a Qualified Opportunity Zone now and from 2027. cad_city_limits compares the appraisal roll's ICL/OCL legal token for the parcel at the point with the boundary layer and warns when they disagree. |
| pipelines_near | Gas pipelines near a site from Railroad Commission permits: operator, system, nominal diameter, interstate or intrastate, distance, miles of line in the radius. Nearest 12-inch-plus and nearest interstate line, a note on how interstate (FERC) and intrastate (Railroad Commission) taps and rates differ (Pro can filter to one), plus trunklines, compressor stations, processing plant capacity and EIA pipeline capacity projects within 15 miles. |
| fiber_near | Fiber near a site: routes by provider with distance (provider GIS paths and carrier long-haul corridors), the nearest carrier hotels, colo and data centers, and fiber-to-premises providers from the FCC. Pro adds fiber counts, aerial or underground placement, route and facility names and speeds. |
| water_screen | Groundwater near a site: aquifers under the point, the groundwater district, supply wells by depth, reported yields weighted by test method, the highest-yield wells, water quality and level trends, how many wells a stated demand needs, and the groundwater district's rules with citations (TWDB well records, monthly; district rules quarterly). |
| water_well_plan | Proposed water well and graded water buy areas: formation ranking, proposed depth and screen, expected yield, water quality, annual yield under the district cap, wells and acres of rights for a demand, and the analog wells behind it. Enterprise. |
| water_report | PDF water site report: geology and formation ranking, nearest graded water areas, the proposed well beside its analog wells, a geologic cross section through the site, water quality and the district rules with page numbers. Enterprise. |
| water_cross_section | Geologic cross section along a line from the state groundwater availability models: every aquifer and confining unit with depths, fresh and brackish zones where modeled, and the state wells near the line with their screens. Enterprise. |
| industrial_neighbors | Heavy industry already operating nearby (TCEQ emissions inventory) and recent TCEQ air permit applications, including data centers and gas plants before they reach the ERCOT queue. |
| site_screen | Enterprise. One-call screen for a data center, battery, generator, solar farm or industrial load: grid, prices, queue crowding, gas, jurisdiction, neighbors and the parcel at the point with its owner and that owner's nearby holdings, with a flags list (including railroads between the site and its substation) and a 0-100 score using stated weights. Free, Pro and Enterprise Lite get the score, flag counts, county, load zone and nearest substation. |
| report_pdf | Pro. Makes a one-page, print-ready PDF site screen for an address or coordinate: screen score, a to-scale schematic map of the nearest substations, substations and transmission lines within 5 miles with kV and owner, likely utility and load zone, and a screening disclaimer. Returns a link that expires after 30 minutes (a snapshot taken when you call it). Score, flag counts and grid facts. Enterprise also adds the strengths and risks, prices, gas, flood, jurisdiction and the parcel at the point. Free: a description of the report. |
| search_grid | Find a substation, company, planned project, battery (by developer, POI or INR), air permit, queue project, pricing node, city or county by name, with coordinates. |
| substation_detail | Everything about one substation: voltage, owner, lines, batteries interconnecting there, generation_queue_at_poi (total projects, mw_total, projects by fuel/mw/study_phase), queue, prices, an inferred station class (distribution, transmission, switching, generation tie, customer-owned) with its evidence, and how likely_utility was derived with a flag when it disagrees with the station owner. Planned upgrades on Pro; surrounding landowners on Enterprise Lite and Enterprise. Adds the OpenStreetMap osm block (class and whether a distribution bus is mapped; high and low side voltage and transformers on Pro) and uses the OpenStreetMap substation tag as strong evidence for station_class (basis says whether OSM agreed with or overrode the inference). Names are also matched against OpenStreetMap names (Normanna finds the station HIFLD calls Beek); a station mapped only in OpenStreetMap comes back as osm_only_substation. Pro lists osm_only_substations within 5 miles. |
| grid_projects | Pro. Planned new substations, approved lines and upgrades near a site, in a county or by utility, with status, expected date, cost, docket and sources. |
| air_permits | Pro. TCEQ generation and data-center air permits statewide, by county or near a site, pending first. |
| whats_new | Pro. Battery milestones, queue entries, permits and new grid projects near a site or in a county over the last N days. |
| ercot_queue | ERCOT GIS report generation and storage projects near a site, in a county, or at a POI substation: INR, project name, fuel, tech, MW, county, zone, POI substation, study phase, COD, entity. Summary with mw_by_fuel and mw_by_stage. Filter by fuel (SOL, WIN, GAS, etc.). Free: fuel, county, zone, distance_mi only. Pro: full project details. |
| battery_queue | Battery storage projects in the ERCOT GIS report by site, county or point of interconnection: developer, MW, POI substation, study stage, signed IA, projected COD. |
| power_plants | Operating and planned power plants and batteries from EIA-860M near a site or in a county: operator, technology, MW, storage MWh and duration, operating year, planned retirements. |
| large_loads | Large loads planned in a county or around a site: announced data center campuses with coordinates and a 75 MW large load flag, campuses within 25 miles across county lines, load-driven transmission projects from ERCOT TPIT, data center air permits, local news and Grid Report mentions, with load zone and utility. Ranks all 254 counties by signal. ERCOT does not publish its large load queue by county; this is the public evidence. |
| data_centers | Texas data center projects near a site or in a county: every location free. Names, companies, status, MW, acres, capex, utility and substation, abatements, opposition and sources on Pro. 364 projects on 274 campuses across 101 counties, compiled from utility and PUCT filings, county and city records, abatement agreements, TDLR and TCEQ records and news. |
| company_footprint | Which companies are building data centers across Texas, ranked by project count with total MW, counties, and how many are operating or under construction. Or every project for one company. Pro. |
| local_sentiment | How a Texas county or city treats data centers: a score from official actions since September 2024 (abatements, zoning votes, development agreements, moratoria, zoning denials, withdrawals after opposition), each project counted once, 12-month half-life, plus recent actions with votes and sources. Community opposition and lawsuits are listed, not scored. Counties and cities scored separately. Pro. |
| data_center_news | Local and trade news on Texas data center projects near a site or in a county: headline, outlet, date and link, placed at the project, town or county and tagged by topic. Summaries on Pro. |
| node_prices | ERCOT day-ahead prices in $/MWh, hourly, for the load zone at a site, the nearest resource nodes and the trading hubs, with 7-day averages, peak and off-peak, spikes and negative hours. Or one settlement point's full series with 15-minute real-time stats (rt15_tb4, rt15_spikes) and a scarcity count since RTC+B. |
| volatile_nodes | Nodes ranked for storage and solar: TB2 and TB4 spreads, annualized arbitrage per MW, volatility, evening peak, solar capture price, node-versus-zone basis, real-time TB4, DART, plus 15-minute real-time metrics (rt15_tb4, rt15_spikes, rt15_over_1000) that capture intra-hour spikes, and queued and operating storage within 10 miles of each node. Statewide, by load zone, or within a radius of a site. |
| ancillary_prices | ERCOT ancillary service clearing prices (RegUp, RegDown, RRS, ECRS, Non-Spin) with a battery AS stack, monthly history back to 2024 and 15-minute real-time prices and scarcity intervals since RTC+B (Dec 2025). |
| binding_constraints | Transmission constraints and shadow prices near a site or settlement point: which lines bind, how often, average and max shadow price. Explains congestion-driven price spikes. Free: names and days binding. Pro: shadow prices, SCED intervals, DAM hours, 120-day window. |
| battery_performance | Realized battery revenue from ERCOT's 60-day disclosure: energy and ancillary-service revenue, $/MW-month, cycles/day per ESR resource near a site. Free: counts and area averages. Pro: per-battery revenue breakdown. |
| price_history | Monthly day-ahead price history for an ERCOT node back to 2020: average, TB4 and TB2 spreads, maximum, negative hours, hours over $100 and $1,000. Free: last 12 months. Pro: full history, year-over-year change, annual and seasonality tables. |
| land_value | Land value around a tract: appraised $/acre of nearby raw-land parcels (median, 25th-75th percentile, by size band) and the subject parcel's appraisal, plus current asking prices of nearby listings with links and a suggested offer range. Texas does not disclose sale prices, so these are appraisals and asking prices. Enterprise Lite and Enterprise (25 fresh listing searches a day on Enterprise Lite); Free and Pro get the sample size. |
| battery_revenue_estimate | Screening gross revenue for a battery of your size at an ERCOT node over the last 12 complete months: day-ahead energy arbitrage plus ancillary capacity on the share of MW you offer to AS. Free: annual total. Pro: month-by-month table and a comparison with nearby nodes. |
| solar_revenue_estimate | Screening energy revenue for a solar project at a Texas point: MWh per MW-ac from NASA POWER irradiance (DC/AC, losses, fixed or single-axis stated), the solar capture price at the nearest ERCOT node (last 12 complete months of day-ahead prices times the node's solar-hour price ratio), a system-wide curtailment haircut and annual day-ahead energy revenue. Free: MWh per MW-ac and a capture price band. Pro: capture price, curtailment, revenue and the monthly table. |
| solar_curtailment | Hourly solar output by ERCOT region and a system-wide curtailment estimate back to January 2024 (NP4-745-CD). Curtailment is a proxy: available solar minus output over midday hours 10-17. Regions show output and shape only. Free: last 30 days system-wide percent and regional output shares. Pro: monthly history by region, the hourly shape, worst hours and the daily series. |
| grid_news | Latest articles from The Grid Report, searchable: ERCOT, Batch Zero and large loads, PUCT dockets, transmission, data center and battery development. Full text by article id. Free and unmetered. |
| my_projects | Your own sites in three lists: Properties, Prospects and Saved places, imported from KMZ, KML or GeoJSON or saved on the map. Lists them or reads one project; Pro screens up to 25 sites and ranks them. Private to your account. |
| save_site | Pro: watch a site with a radius and get one Monday email of what changed nearby (queue, permits, planned projects), only when something did. 25 sites. |
| list_saved_sites | Pro: lists your watched sites. |
| remove_saved_site | Pro: stops watching a site. |
| set_price_alert | Pro: email when a node's battery spread, price, negative hours or real-time spikes cross your level for several days running. 25 alerts. |
| list_price_alerts | Pro: lists your price alerts. |
| remove_price_alert | Pro: deletes a price alert. |
| save_place | Saves a point to your Saved places with a name and note when you ask your assistant to pin a location. Returns a map link. |
| upgrade_to_pro | Pro checkout link. Muse and other agents can buy Pro for a user with Link after the user approves. |
Inputs take a street address, a Texas city or county name, or lat + lng. Distances are in miles. Texas only. Answers with a location include map_url, a link to that spot on the map.
Pricing
| Tier | Limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free account (email sign-in, no card): 20 calls a day, 100 a month, 7 days of prices, 10 parcels per search, first 5 queue projects with full totals. The web map with substations, lines, city limits and node prices, 10 site clicks a day. | 0 |
| Pro | 5,000 calls a month, parcel counts and the appraisal record at a point, 120 days of price history, the site_screen score, and the web map layers for approved lines, battery queue, air permits, pipelines, compressor stations and gas plants, parcels, data centers and local sentiment. One API key, sent as Authorization: Bearer grid_... | 499 USD a month (first month 249 USD) or 4,990 USD a year, subscribe |
| Enterprise Lite | Everything in Pro plus tract search near substations (up to 200 parcels within 50 miles), landowner names and mailing addresses, owners ranked by acres, and appraisal records (situs, legal description, land and market value); 3,000 owner records a month. Pro subscribers switch in place with proration. Site screen flags and weights are not included. | 999 USD a month total. Get Enterprise Lite |
| Enterprise | Everything in Enterprise Lite plus site_screen flags and weights, the Land Desk (Dub on parcels and site scores), the New substations and Substation upgrades map layers, custom data, custom tools and custom limits. Priced by capability, approved account by account. | Ask about Enterprise |
Data
- Substations and transmission: HIFLD, with owners enriched by Barrio.
- Generation and storage queue: ERCOT GIS reports.
- Planned transmission and substations: Barrio research from ERCOT RPG and PUCT filings.
- Prices: ERCOT public API day-ahead and real-time settlement point prices and ancillary service clearing prices, refreshed hourly.
- Battery queue: ERCOT GIS report, monthly.
- Jurisdiction: TxDOT and StratMap city limits, Census school districts, TWDB groundwater districts. ETJ is an estimate from the statutory distance.
- Flood: FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer, effective FIRM data plus LOMRs. Screening only; confirm with the FIRM panel.
- Wetlands: USFWS National Wetlands Inventory, Texas (Apr 2026), 2.23 million mapped areas, mostly from 1980s imagery. Mapped potential wetlands, not a delineation; many are not federally regulated since Sackett v. EPA (2023). The map layer and wetland detail are Pro.
- Critical habitat: USFWS designated and proposed critical habitat for 59 species in Texas (Aug 2026). It matters where a project has a federal nexus, such as a Corps Section 404 permit.
- Opportunity Zones: Treasury CDFI Fund QOZ 1.0 tracts (expire 31 Dec 2026) and the 605 QOZ 2.0 tracts the Governor nominated on 4 Sep 2026 for 2027 to 2036, shown as nominated until Treasury certifies them.
- Pipelines: Railroad Commission of Texas T-4 permits. Compressor stations: HIFLD/ORNL and TCEQ emissions inventory. Processing plants: HIFLD/EIA-757. Pipeline capacity projects: EIA. Industrial neighbors: TCEQ emissions inventory and air permits.
- Parcels: TNRIS StratMap 2025 with appraisal district owner and value fields. Statewide load in progress; each answer lists the counties covered.
Screening data. Confirm capacity and interconnection with the utility before relying on it. Questions: ivan@barrioenergy.com.