Commercial operation date (COD)
The date a project is certified complete and begins commercial generation — the point where construction risk ends and operating revenue begins.
COD is reached when a project has passed its completion and performance tests and formally enters commercial operation. It is the hinge date in most project documents: construction contracts conclude, operating obligations start, and revenue contracts switch on.
PPAs signed pre-construction are typically anchored to COD — delivery obligations start from it, and long-stop provisions define what happens if the project is late. For investors, the pre-COD/post-COD boundary separates construction risk from operating risk, and prices accordingly.
Structuring against this in a live deal?
ETC prices and executes PPAs across GB — founder-led, from indicative quote to signed contract.