The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released a draft roadmap to address interconnection challenges on the transmission grid. The agency convened a broad group of clean energy stakeholders through its Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) to develop the plan, which went live during the final session of the GridTECH Connect Forum – Northeast event in Newport, Rhode Island.
“A roadmap by the stakeholders, for the stakeholders,” explained Dexter Hendricks of i2X.
The plan is intended to serve as a practical guide for implementing near- and long-term solutions to interconnect clean energy sources and to clear the existing backlog of solar, wind, and battery projects seeking construction.
While standardization at a national level is logistically impossible, i2x co-lead Ammar Qusaibaty believes a level of consistency is achievable.
“We like the idea of harmonizing and having some uniformity. If you want to prove the best way, you often have to compare it to other things,” detailed Qusaibaty. That’s why we like ‘best practices’ not ‘best practice.’”
The DOE also recently announced a $1.3 billion commitment in three transmission lines crossing six states. The commitment is meant to advance transformative projects aimed at adding 3.5 GW of additional grid capacity throughout the United States.
DOE also released the final National Transmission Needs Study to provide insight into where the grid—and American communities—would benefit from increased transmission.
Interconnection woes
The country will need to dramatically expand the deployment of solar and wind energy resources to meet the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of a decarbonized electricity sector by 2035, DOE said. However, increased incentives and growing demand for renewable energy have exacerbated long wait times for the clean energy projects seeking to connect to the grid.
“At the end of 2022, there were more than 2,000 GW of solar, wind, and storage capacity sitting in transmission interconnection queues. Rapidly deploying the clean energy needed to meet our climate goals will require an overhaul of current rules, costs, and procedures for connecting to the grid,” said Jeff Marootian, principal deputy assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy. “DOE’s i2X initiative has engaged a broad coalition of partners to develop and implement practical, realistic solutions to these challenges over the next five years and beyond.”
New clean energy projects are subject to complicated approval processes before they come online. The high volume of projects seeking interconnection has led to uncertainties, delays, inequities, and added costs for developers, consumers, utilities, and their regulators.
Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a final ruling in its quest to streamline generator interconnection and alleviate clogged queues across the U.S.
The final rule requires all public utilities to adopt revised pro forma generator interconnection procedures and agreements to ensure that interconnection customers can interconnect to the transmission system in a reliable, efficient, transparent, and timely manner, and to prevent undue discrimination.
FERC will require a “first-ready, first-served” cluster study process in which transmission providers conduct large interconnection studies encompassing numerous proposed generating facilities, rather than separate studies for each individual generating facility. To ensure that ready projects can proceed through the queue in a timely manner, interconnection customers will be subject to specific requirements, including financial deposits and site control conditions, to enter and remain in the interconnection queue.
i2X draft roadmap
The i2X draft roadmap provides decision-makers with a set of pathways organized around four goals about deploying clean energy resources:
- Increase data access and transparency,
- Improve process and timing,
- Promote economic efficiency, and
- Maintain a reliable grid.
i2X launched in June 2022 with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with the intention to enable the interconnection of clean energy resources while enhancing the reliability, resilience, and security of the electric grid. Since the launch, DOE has convened more than 2,000 stakeholders in a series of 22 virtual public meetings that covered key issues, including cost allocation, queue management, data transparency, equity and energy justice, workforce, grid engineering practices, and EV charging.
“If we don’t have these conversations we aren’t going to meet our goals,” said Hendricks.
DOE today released a request for information (RFI) to solicit input from interconnection stakeholders on the challenges and solution sets outlined in the roadmap. Grid operators, utilities, state and local governments, Tribal governments and tribal utilities, clean energy developers, energy justice organizations, nonprofits, trade associations, and other i2X stakeholders are encouraged to provide feedback. Responses are due by Nov. 22, 2023.
DOE expects to finalize the transmission roadmap and release a draft second volume that focuses on the distribution grid in the coming months.
