Introduction to Blocks

Blocks are designed to help users organize large and complex analysis such as techno-economic analyses (TEAs), project finance modelling, tax equity modelling, and other common technical and financial analysis done during the project development workflow.

Many projects include thousands of inputs and outputs spread across various subsystems. Blocks act as containers that bundle related Terms and Functions together into logical related, coherent, reusable units.

What is a Block?

A Block is a container that includes two or more terms (inputs or outputs) and may also contain one or more functions. Blocks are flexible and can be used in different ways depending on your project:

• Represent a subsystem of a larger project (e.g. a battery, solar panel, or electrolyzer module).

• Serve as conceptual shortcuts or reusable components that bundle related Terms and Formulas.

• Be used to model different versions of components, financing structures, or business models for use in Scenario Analysis

A Block can be thought of a collection of cells in a spreadsheet, or even an entire sheet (ex: A Sheet with details of a Solar Module). But unlike cells and sheets, a Block can contain sub-Blocks, which themselves could contain sub-Blocks, allowing you to get as detailed as you'd like.

Why Blocks Are the Foundation of Powerful Projects?

In essence, Blocks help structure complexity while enabling flexibility and clarity in project model organization.

Blocks are at the heart of structured, scalable modeling in Aire. They transform complex systems into clear, composable building blocks that evolve with your project, can be reused across projects, and easily swapped with more complex blocks as your project evolves.

• Start simple, iterate to complexity: Start with simple Blocks at the early stages of a project. Add sub-Blocks with greater detail as your project evolves.

• Bring clarity to complexity: Organize large models into manageable, self-contained components.

• Build once, use everywhere: Reuse logic across scenarios, analyses, projects, and teams.

• Explore confidently: Create multiple copies of a Block and customize each copy to explore multiple scenarios and test strategies, technologies, or configurations without starting from scratch.

• Move faster, stay consistent: Make updates in one place and trust they'll propagate where needed.

Whether you're building from scratch or refining an existing model, Blocks help you stay organized, experiment boldly, and scale your work with confidence.

Common Uses

Here are a few examples of how Blocks might be applied:

• Represent a subsystem like a battery or solar panel, including variants for different technologies.

• Model a financing structure (e.g., tax equity, project finance, grants, offsets).

• Express a business model configuration (e.g., PPA, merchant, hybrid).

Cases and Scenarios

Blocks can be duplicated into different Cases that reflect different configurations or assumptions. For example, a weather Block could vary across geographic regions or climate models, affecting outcomes even if the core solar Block remains the same.

When managing Cases:

• The inputs and outputs may remain the same across Cases of the Block.

• The internal logic or functions within the Block may change.

This structure allows users to explore multiple outcomes and compare alternatives efficiently without loosing track of which configuration you're exploring.

Example: Wind Storage Block

A wind storage Block might include:

• Inputs: Operation Years, Storage Capacity, Cycle Duration, O&M per kWh

• Outputs: Charging Capacity, Target IRR

You might build Cases for different storage technologies or financial scenarios, while keeping the structure consistent.

Flexibility by Design

While some users prefer to start with fully modularized models, others prefer to restructure later in the modeling process. Both approaches are supported. You can:

• Add Terms directly to a project

• Group related terms into a new Block

• Edit terms in place, or within a Block view

• Edit a Block and insert sub-Blocks to break down a simple Block into a more detailed and accurate one.

This lets you balance structure and flexibility depending on your workflow.