Solar and energy storage deployment in the US could be accelerated under new proposals from the country’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) aimed at addressing significant backlogs in interconnection queues.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has released a whitepaper outlining the reforms it believes are needed to the US interconnection system, in which it lays out a series of proposals for both regional transmission organisations (RTO) and the US-wide Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
There was almost 1TW of renewable energy capacity and an estimated 427GW of storage active in US interconnection queues at the end of 2021 according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) analysis, which also showed that queues were growing year-on-year.
Ryan D. Quint, senior manager at North American Electric Reliability Corporation take a look at the key considerations – and difficult balance – of managing grid connection from a transmission operators point of view.
SolarPower Europe has issued a list of eight actions that will help Europe accelerate solar deployment to reach a total capacity of 1TW by 2030 and reduce its reliance on Russian fossil fuels imports.
Italian grid operator Terna will invest €9.5 billion (US$10.45 billion) to help improve the country's national transmission grid and build cross-border interconnections, paving the way for easier access for renewables.
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should make interconnection reform a top priority to reduce the backlog of projects waiting to connect to the country’s grid, a coalition of three clean energy trade associations has said.
US power grid operator PJM Interconnection is progressing with efforts to transition to a new interconnection process as it looks to clear a backlog of projects including more than 136GW of solar capacity.
California’s energy transition will need 53GW of solar PV by 2045, with the state’s transmission system requiring a US$30.5 billion investment alongside major increases in energy storage to accommodate the extra power.
