Renewable energy projects face significant grid interconnection challenges due to inadequate transmission capacity in North America’s utility-owned power grids. With wind, solar, and energy storage comprising about 90% of new interconnection requests, the lack of new transmission development has become a major bottleneck. New and improved energy policies from FERC are crucial to facilitate federal assistance for developing new transmission across state boundaries, ensuring renewable energy can be delivered without curtailment. Bhaskar Ray, VP of Interconnection and Development Engineering at Hanwha QCELLS, will discuss the current interconnection challenges renewable developers face and explore solutions to address grid congestion. Attendees will learn about the benefits of streamlined interconnection processes, the role of new energy policies, and the advantages of grid-forming technologies. Additionally, Jerry Polacek, CEO of Aggreko ETS, will review the process for interconnecting renewable resources across several major U.S. power markets and various factors that introduce uncertainty to securing interconnection agreements. The audience will learn about strategies to mitigate risk in the interconnection process to help unlock growth in Texas’ renewable energy sector.
**Requires a conference pass
