The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released a roadmap outlining solutions to speed up the interconnection of renewable energy onto the U.S. grid and clear the current backlog of solar, wind, and battery projects.
The Transmission Interconnection Roadmap serves as a guide for several stakeholders, including transmission providers, interconnection customers, state agencies, federal regulators, transmission owners, load serving entities (LSEs), equipment manufacturers, consumer advocates, equity and energy justice communities, advocacy groups, consultants, and the research community, which includes DOE.
Nearly 2,600 GW of generation and storage capacity are awaiting grid interconnection — an eight-fold increase since 2014, according to a recently released report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Exceedingly high volumes of projects and antiquated procedures for interconnection are cited as reasons for delays, which lead to added costs for developers, consumers, and utilities, as well as their regulators.
“Clearing the backlog of nearly 12,000 solar, wind, and storage projects waiting to connect to the grid is essential to deploying clean electricity to more Americans,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, in a statement.
The roadmap contains 35 solutions focused on increasing data access, transparency, and security for interconnection; improving interconnection process and timeline; promoting economic efficiency in interconnection; and maintaining a reliable, resilient, and secure grid. It also includes four target metrics for interconnection reform: shorter interconnection times, lower interconnection cost variance, increased completion rates, and zero disturbance events attributed to modeling.
The DOE is offering a webinar on May 8 at 1 p.m. ET for those seeking to learn more about the roadmap’s targets and solutions.
Learn more here.