About the Topic

To connect to the transmission grid, large-scale generation and energy storage projects must undergo the interconnection process, which is perhaps best summarized by Lawrence Berkeley Labs (LBL):

• Electric transmission system operators (ISOs, RTOs, or utilities) require projects seeking to connect to the grid to undergo a series of impact studies before they can be built.
• This process establishes what new transmission equipment or upgrades may be needed before a project can connect to the system and assigns the costs of that equipment.
• The lists of projects in this process are known as “interconnection queues”.
• The amount of new electric capacity in these queues is growing dramatically, with over 2,000 gigawatts (GW) of total generation and storage capacity now seeking connection to the grid (over 95% of which is for zero-carbon resources like solar, wind, and battery storage).
• However, most projects that apply for interconnection are ultimately withdrawn, and those that are built are taking longer on average to complete the required studies and become operational.

LBL also publishes a report series, called "Queued Up," to compile interconnect queue data, generate insights on notable issues, and ultimately, to raise awareness among power sector stakeholders and decision makers. Such insights include:

• Only ~21% of projects (14% of capacity) requesting interconnection from 2000-2017 reached commercial operations by the end of 2022
• Completion rates are even lower for wind (20%) and solar (14%)
• The average time projects spent in queues before being built has increased markedly
• The typical project built in 2022 took 5 years from the interconnection request to commercial operations, compared to 3 years in 2015 and less than 2 years in 2008

About the Speaker

While the growing interconnection bottleneck is a multi-faceted issue, among the root causes is the legacy software used for grid operators and engineers to model the grid and run various simulations. In comes Pearl Street Technologies, an emerging power systems software provider who offers tools for both grid operators/utilities and energy developers.

This Darcy forum will feature David Bromberg, Co-Founder and CEO of Pearl Street, to share his thought leadership in grid interconnections, as well as an overview of Pearl Street's solutions. David will be joined by Nicholas Linder, who has prepared a brief product demo.