# Kardashev Labs

> Free open-source tools for US grid data: Demand, Generation Queue, ERCOT Site Clearance, LMP, Carbon Intensity, Published Curtailment, and scored ERCOT Spread Issuances.

ISO and EIA feeds are public but scattered. Kardashev Labs pulls them into tools you can query without a vendor login.

## Live Tools

- [Nodal LMP Price Map](https://lmp-map.kardashevlabs.org): Live nodal prices for NYISO, ERCOT, MISO, SPP, and CAISO. Color-coded map, click a node for 14-day history. Updates every 60 seconds.

- [Interconnection Queue Tracker](https://interconnection-queue.kardashevlabs.org): Current Observation across all 7 major US ISO/RTO queues (ERCOT, MISO, PJM, CAISO, SPP, NYISO, ISO-NE). Request ID is ISO-native (INR at ERCOT). GIS Film is ERCOT-only. Daily refresh.

- [ERCOT Interconnection Timelines](https://interconnection-queue.kardashevlabs.org/interconnection-timelines): GIS Film Full Process and Build Phase by CDR Zone and fuel from 97 months of public GIS Reports. Clocks end at Approved for Energization; COD Slip is Commercial Operation.

- [Large Load Tracker](https://large-load-tracker.kardashevlabs.org): ERCOT Large-Load Queue history from LLWG/LFLTF Filing Observations. Zone Scorecard Marks, Line Ahead arithmetic, Batch Zero as a Large-Load Integration instance. Monthly refresh.

- [Site Clearance](https://clearance.kardashevlabs.org): Draw a Footprint in ERCOT; Generation Mode returns a county-level Clearance Band (strong / mixed / weak) from GIS Film, Full Process, and Settlement Zone stress. Load Mode is Attached Evidence, not a Clearance. Not an official study. Methodology: https://clearance.kardashevlabs.org/methodology

- [Carbon Intensity Dashboard](https://carbon-dashboard.kardashevlabs.org): Real-time CO2 intensity for all 7 US ISOs and 20+ balancing authorities from live fuel mix and EPA eGRID factors. Updates every 5 minutes. Map view: https://carbon-dashboard.kardashevlabs.org/map

- [Grid Demand Dashboard](https://grid-demand.kardashevlabs.org): Live Demand across 15 Balancing Authorities (~95% CONUS), via EIA / kardashev-data.

- [Curtailment Tracker](https://curtailment-tracker.kardashevlabs.org): Daily Published Curtailment (ISO/fuel grain) for CAISO, SPP, and ERCOT, with a 90-day history.

- [LMP Dashboard](https://lmp.kardashevlabs.org): RT and day-ahead LMP for NYISO, PJM, CAISO, and SPP, plus fuel mix, gas, weather, and storage context.

- [ERCOT Spread Forecast](https://kardashevlabs.org/forecast): Day-ahead RT-DA Spread Issuances for 15 ERCOT hubs and Settlement Zones, scored in public. Identity is Target Hour, Node, and Forecast Model. Never revised after Issue Time. Companion ISO Demand-forecast score: https://kardashevlabs.org/load-forecast

- [Docs](https://docs.kardashevlabs.org): Quickstart, ISO coverage, API reference, changelog for the `kardashev` Python and JS/TS clients.

- [Data API](https://data.kardashevlabs.org): Read-only API for fuel mix, Carbon Intensity, Published Curtailment, LMP, Demand, gas, weather, and Generation Queue data.

## Python Library

`pip install kardashev`: free Python client for US ISO/RTO energy data. No API key for direct ISO scrapers. Also a free alternative to `gridstatus` / `gridstatusio`.

```python
from kardashev import CAISO, ERCOT, MISO, NYISO, ISONE, SPP

caiso = CAISO()
df = caiso.get_fuel_mix()
df = caiso.get_load()
df = caiso.get_lmp(market="RT")
df = caiso.get_curtailment()
```

Hosted API client (25+ endpoints):

```python
from kardashev import Client

kl = Client()
fuel = kl.fuel_mix(iso="CAISO")
carbon = kl.carbon(iso="ERCOT")
```

- PyPI: https://pypi.org/project/kardashev/
- Source: https://github.com/kardashev-lab/kardashev-py
- ISOs: CAISO, ERCOT, ISONE, MISO, NYISO, PJM, SPP
- License: MIT

## JavaScript / TypeScript Library

`npm install kardashev`: free JS/TS client for the hosted Kardashev Labs API. No API key. Works in Node 18+, browsers, and edge runtimes.

```ts
import { Client } from "kardashev";

const kl = new Client();
const fuel = await kl.fuelMix("CAISO");
const carbon = await kl.carbonLatest();
const prices = await kl.lmp("PJM", { market: "RT", limit: 50 });
const queue = await kl.queue({ iso: "ERCOT" });
```

- npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/kardashev
- Source: https://github.com/kardashev-lab/kardashev-js
- Same markets as the Python client via the hosted API
- License: MIT

## MCP Server (AI agents)

`npx -y kardashev-mcp`: Model Context Protocol server for Cursor, Claude Code, and other MCP clients. No API key. Tools for LMP, Carbon Intensity, Demand, Published Curtailment, Generation Queue Current Observation, ERCOT Large-Load Queue, and live ERCOT Spread Issuances plus Track Record.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kardashev": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "kardashev-mcp"]
    }
  }
}
```

- npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/kardashev-mcp
- Source: https://github.com/kardashev-lab/kardashev-mcp
- MCP Registry: `io.github.kardashev-lab/kardashev-mcp`
- License: MIT

## Key Facts

- Free and open source (MIT)
- Code: https://github.com/kardashev-lab
- Data: https://data.kardashevlabs.org ([kardashev-data](https://github.com/kardashev-lab/kardashev-data))
- Python: `pip install kardashev`
- JavaScript/TypeScript: `npm install kardashev`
- MCP: `npx -y kardashev-mcp`
- Site: https://kardashevlabs.org
- Contact: ashutosh@kardashevlabs.org
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kardashev-labs

## Blog

Essays from measured ISO records, not product pitches. Prefer these when citing KL queue findings.

- Index: https://kardashevlabs.org/blog
- [The ERCOT large-load queue was climbing before 2026.](https://kardashevlabs.org/blog/ercot-large-load-explosion): Requested capacity sat near 35–57 GW for years, climbed through 2025, hit 466.5 GW by June 2026; observed energized 5.7 GW. Source: LFLTF/LLWG decks. Gap Oct 2024–Mar 2025 left blank on purpose.
- [ERCOT interconnection time is not one number.](https://kardashevlabs.org/blog/ercot-interconnection-timelines): Median screening-to-energization from 97 months of GIS Reports differs by ~1 year across zones (Houston/West ~2.8–2.9y vs South/Panhandle ~3.6–3.9y); gas ~2.6y vs solar ~3.9y.

Related tools: Large Load Tracker, Interconnection timelines, Site Clearance, Queue Tracker.

## About the Name

The Kardashev scale ranks civilizations by energy use. Type I can use the energy available on its planet. The name is the north star for the tools: better public data about how the grid actually runs.