DC Hub: Data Center, Power Grid & Energy Intelligence

Get Retirement Headroom

get_retirement_headroom

Read-onlyIdempotent

Locate near-term grid headroom from planned power plant retirements by scanning EIA-860M filings for a region and time horizon, revealing where capacity frees for data center siting.

Instructions

Use this when the user asks where retiring power plants free grid capacity: scans EIA-860M retirements to find near-term transmission grid headroom — a retiring plant is a CONCRETE headroom event (its POI frees injection capacity), from FILED data, not forecasts. Returns _entity=retirement_headroom_results: retiring generators inside your horizon (name, MW, fuel, prime mover, retirement_date), representative_point, nearest substations with distance_km + count within 25 km, county-level queue_pressure (competing in-progress MW), iso_context (the generator's own EIA balancing-authority code), and a pre-filled site_evaluation_handoff (analyze_site + get_water_risk args, capacity_mw = YOUR target load). Answers "where is grid capacity about to free up", "which retiring plants open injection headroom near me". Try: get_retirement_headroom target_mw=50 horizon_months=18 region_iso=MISO — "50 MW opening near a substation inside 18 months, sidestepping the 4-7yr mega-queue." Honesty: meta.caveat flags that filed dates are subject to ISO reliability reviews (RMR extensions). Use to find WHERE capacity opens next; for what's already queued use get_refined_queue; for one site use analyze_site.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`limit`	No	Max results to return (1-500; default varies by tool)
`target_mw`	Yes	Minimum required headroom in megawatts (MW) — filters to retiring generators at/above this size. Also passed through as the handoff's analyze_site capacity_mw (the DC you are siting).
`region_iso`	No	Optional target region or ISO (e.g., 'MISO', 'PJM', 'ERCOT', 'SPP', 'CAISO', 'NYISO', 'ISONE'). Matches the generator's own EIA balancing-authority code — real market boundaries, not state lines. Comma-separated for a union.
`fuel_filter`	No	Optional filter for retiring fuel categories, substring-matched (e.g., 'Coal', 'Natural Gas', 'Petroleum').
`horizon_months`	Yes	Time horizon in months to look ahead for planned retirements, 1-120 (e.g., 12, 18, 36).

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
No arguments

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed9 schema fields changedv2.12.45Oct 22, 2026

changedOutput schema / additionalProperties
```
Previous value: -{}New value: +true
```

removedOutput schema / description

Removed value: -"DC Hub envelope: tool data fields ride at the top level beside these keys."

removedOutput schema / properties / _entity

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Payload class (facility|market|iso_grid|queue_results|deal|report|response); branch on it.",
-  "type": "string"
-}

removedOutput schema / properties / _front_door

Removed value: -{
-  "additionalProperties": {},
-  "description": "First-tool hint: plan_query(intent) returns the ordered plan.",
-  "properties": {},
-  "type": "object"
-}

removedOutput schema / properties / _return_loop

Removed value: -{
-  "additionalProperties": {},
-  "description": "Next-session delta call (get_changes).",
-  "properties": {},
-  "type": "object"
-}

removedOutput schema / properties / citation

Removed value: -{
-  "anyOf": [
-    {
-      "additionalProperties": {},
-      "properties": {},
-      "type": "object"
-    },
-    {
-      "type": "string"
-    }
-  ],
-  "description": "How to attribute DC Hub: {source, url, license, cite_as, retrieved_at}, or the attribution line as a string."
-}

removedOutput schema / properties / provenance

Removed value: -{
-  "additionalProperties": {},
-  "description": "Source, method, as_of, verification_counts, license, cite_as; quote it when citing.",
-  "properties": {},
-  "type": "object"
-}

removedOutput schema / properties / quota

Removed value: -{
-  "additionalProperties": {},
-  "description": "Caller quota state (remaining calls, tier).",
-  "properties": {},
-  "type": "object"
-}

removedOutput schema / properties / site_evaluation_handoff

Removed value: -{
-  "anyOf": [
-    {
-      "items": {
-        "additionalProperties": {},
-        "properties": {},
-        "type": "object"
-      },
-      "type": "array"
-    },
-    {
-      "additionalProperties": {},
-      "properties": {},
-      "type": "object"
-    }
-  ],
-  "description": "Follow-up calls [{tool, parameters, why}] when the payload carries coordinates."
-}

Changed8 schema fields changedv2.12.43Oct 15, 2026

changedOutput schema / description

Previous value: -"DC Hub envelope: structuredContent mirrors the JSON payload in content[0].text — tool-specific data fields ride at the top level alongside these envelope keys."New value: +"DC Hub envelope: tool data fields ride at the top level beside these keys."

changedOutput schema / properties / _entity / description

Previous value: -"Payload class discriminator (e.g. facility|market|iso_grid|queue_results|deal|report|response) — branch on this before parsing the rest."New value: +"Payload class (facility|market|iso_grid|queue_results|deal|report|response); branch on it."

changedOutput schema / properties / _front_door / description

Previous value: -"In-band front-door hint (first workflow-entry tool of a session): call plan_query(intent) first for the ordered multi-step plan."New value: +"First-tool hint: plan_query(intent) returns the ordered plan."

changedOutput schema / properties / _return_loop / description

Previous value: -"Suggested next-session delta call (get_changes since=24h) so you pull only what changed."New value: +"Next-session delta call (get_changes)."

changedOutput schema / properties / citation / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable citation: how to attribute DC Hub (dchub.cloud) for this payload. Normally an OBJECT {source, url, license, cite_as, retrieved_at}; a bare string is accepted and carries the attribution line itself."New value: +"How to attribute DC Hub: {source, url, license, cite_as, retrieved_at}, or the attribution line as a string."

changedOutput schema / properties / provenance / description

Previous value: -"Collection-level provenance block: {source, method, as_of, verification_counts, cite_url_template, license, cite_as}. Quote the verification level when citing."New value: +"Source, method, as_of, verification_counts, license, cite_as; quote it when citing."

changedOutput schema / properties / quota / description

Previous value: -"Caller quota state (remaining calls, tier) when available."New value: +"Caller quota state (remaining calls, tier)."

changedOutput schema / properties / site_evaluation_handoff / description

Previous value: -"Pre-built follow-up calls (analyze_site / get_water_risk args) when the payload carries coordinates — an array of {tool, parameters, why} entries."New value: +"Follow-up calls [{tool, parameters, why}] when the payload carries coordinates."

Changed2 schema fields changedAug 30, 2026

removedInput schema / $schema

Removed value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"

removedOutput schema / $schema

Removed value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"

Changed5 schema fields changedv2.3.20Aug 14, 2026

removedOutput schema / properties / citation / additionalProperties
```
Removed value: -{}
```

addedOutput schema / properties / citation / anyOf

Added value: +[
+  {
+    "additionalProperties": {},
+    "properties": {},
+    "type": "object"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "string"
+  }
+]

changedOutput schema / properties / citation / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable citation: how to attribute DC Hub (dchub.cloud) for this payload."New value: +"Machine-readable citation: how to attribute DC Hub (dchub.cloud) for this payload. Normally an OBJECT {source, url, license, cite_as, retrieved_at}; a bare string is accepted and carries the attribution line itself."

removedOutput schema / properties / citation / properties
```
Removed value: -{}
```
removedOutput schema / properties / citation / type
```
Removed value: -"object"
```

Changed4 schema fields changedv2.3.12Jul 28, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / horizon_months / description

Previous value: -"Time horizon to look ahead for planned retirements (e.g., 12, 18, 36)."New value: +"Time horizon in months to look ahead for planned retirements, 1-120 (e.g., 12, 18, 36)."

changedInput schema / properties / horizon_months / maximum
```
Previous value: -9007199254740991New value: +120
```
changedInput schema / properties / horizon_months / minimum
```
Previous value: --9007199254740991New value: +1
```

changedOutput schema / (root)

Previous value: -nullNew value: +{
+  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "description": "DC Hub envelope: structuredContent mirrors the JSON payload in content[0].text — tool-specific data fields ride at the top level alongside these envelope keys.",
+  "properties": {
+    "_entity": {
+      "description": "Payload class discriminator (e.g. facility|market|iso_grid|queue_results|deal|report|response) — branch on this before parsing the rest.",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "_front_door": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "description": "In-band front-door hint (first workflow-entry tool of a session): call plan_query(intent) first for the ordered multi-step plan.",
+      "properties": {},
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "_return_loop": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "description": "Suggested next-session delta call (get_changes since=24h) so you pull only what changed.",
+      "properties": {},
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "citation": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "description": "Machine-readable citation: how to attribute DC Hub (dchub.cloud) for this payload.",
+      "properties": {},
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "provenance": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "description": "Collection-level provenance block: {source, method, as_of, verification_counts, cite_url_template, license, cite_as}. Quote the verification level when citing.",
+      "properties": {},
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "quota": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "description": "Caller quota state (remaining calls, tier) when available.",
+      "properties": {},
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "site_evaluation_handoff": {
+      "anyOf": [
+        {
+          "items": {
+            "additionalProperties": {},
+            "properties": {},
+            "type": "object"
+          },
+          "type": "array"
+        },
+        {
+          "additionalProperties": {},
+          "properties": {},
+          "type": "object"
+        }
+      ],
+      "description": "Pre-built follow-up calls (analyze_site / get_water_risk args) when the payload carries coordinates — an array of {tool, parameters, why} entries."
+    }
+  },
+  "type": "object"
+}

Addedv2.3.8Jul 14, 2026

TDQS

A4.6/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already cover the full safety profile (readOnly, idempotent, non-destructive, closed-world), so the bar is lower, yet the description adds substantial context beyond them: data provenance (FILED data, not forecasts), the honesty caveat that filed dates are subject to ISO reliability reviews/RMR extensions, and the pre-filled site_evaluation_handoff behavior. This is rich behavioral disclosure.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Purpose and trigger are front-loaded in the first sentence, and the routing/example/caveat material is useful rather than filler. It is, however, quite long and dense, packing return fields, an example call, and caveats into a single paragraph, which slightly hurts scannability.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

An output schema exists, so return values need not be enumerated, yet the description still outlines the key result fields and the handoff object. Combined with the sibling routing and honesty caveat, an agent has everything needed to select and invoke the tool correctly.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so all five parameters are already documented in the schema, including target_mw's dual role as the handoff capacity_mw and region_iso's balancing-authority matching. The description largely restates these rather than adding new syntax or format guidance, so baseline 3 applies.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb+resource (scans EIA-860M retirements to find near-term transmission grid headroom) and explicitly frames the output as a concrete headroom event from filed data rather than forecasts. It cleanly distinguishes itself from get_refined_queue and analyze_site by naming them directly.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Gives explicit when-to-use triggers ('where retiring power plants free grid capacity', 'where capacity opens next') and names the alternatives with their selection conditions: get_refined_queue for already-queued capacity, analyze_site for a single site. It even includes a concrete call example with parameter values.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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