Brett A. Snyder and Lamiya N. Rahman ●
On October 25, 2023, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) released a draft roadmap addressing challenges to the interconnection of clean energy projects to the transmission grid. The roadmap, developed by the Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (“i2X”),[1] identifies short-term (1–2 year), medium-term (2–5 year), and long-term (5+ year) solutions aimed at addressing barriers to connecting solar, wind, and battery projects to the grid and maintaining grid reliability.[2]
As the roadmap notes, interconnection requests have dramatically increased in the past decade, with 2,500 to 3,000 new requests a year, reflecting 400 to 600 GW/year of proposed capacity.[3] At the same time, constraints on transmission capacity and issues in the interconnection process have caused large backlogs, delays, and interconnection costs, resulting in a “more difficult and costly energy transition for ratepayers, utilities, and their regulators.”[4]
DOE has also issued a request for information (“RFI”) to seek feedback from interconnection stakeholders regarding the draft roadmap. Responses to the RFI are due on November 22, 2023.
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