Behind-the-Meter Flexible Load, Explained
Behind-the-meter is the phrase that makes curtailment recovery work, but it is rarely explained plainly. Here is what it means, and why it matters so much for a wind or solar operator.
What behind-the-meter means
Your export meter is the point where your site hands electricity over to the grid. A load placed behind that meter — on the generation side — draws its power directly from your own production, before it reaches the meter. The energy it uses never crosses your grid connection and never counts as an export. In effect, you are consuming your own electricity on your own site.
Why it leaves your connection untouched
Because nothing extra is sent out to the grid, your export connection, your interconnection terms and your export rights all stay exactly as they are. There is no new grid application, no connection upgrade, and no change to any curtailment compensation you receive — those depend on your export behaviour, and your export behaviour does not change. This is what lets a flexible load be added to an operating site without renegotiating anything.
Why the load has to be flexible
Renewable output is never steady — it rises and falls with the wind and the sun, minute by minute. A load that could only run at a fixed level would either waste capacity or overdraw the site. A flexible load ramps up and down in real time to track generation, taking more when there is more and backing off when there is less. That responsiveness is what lets it soak up curtailed and surplus energy without ever destabilising the plant.
What kind of load Kelvo uses
The load is high-density computing, housed in containerised units on site. It is close to an ideal behind-the-meter load: portable to wherever the energy is, scalable from a slice of a site to a full park, indifferent to the time of day, and it produces a liquid, globally-priced output settled in Bitcoin. That combination is what turns otherwise-wasted electricity into revenue — the mechanism behind monetising a curtailed wind or solar farm.
Frequently asked questions
What does behind-the-meter mean?
It means the load sits on your side of the export meter, drawing power directly from your generation. The energy it uses never crosses your grid connection or counts as an export.
Will it affect my export or connection agreement?
No. Because nothing extra is exported, your connection terms, interconnection rights and export-based compensation are all unchanged.
Why does the load need to be flexible?
Renewable output varies constantly, so the load must ramp up and down in real time to match it — taking surplus when it is there without overdrawing or destabilising the site.
What type of load is it?
Containerised high-density computing, which is uniquely portable to the energy, scalable to the site, and produces a liquid, globally-priced output.
Have a curtailed, capped or off-grid site?
Tell us your connection size, generation and constraints, and we'll tell you what's realistically recoverable.