Sluggish tempo of interconnection would possibly jeopardize states’ renewable objectives, report says 

Regardless of reforms meant to hurry up the queue, delays in getting largely new photo voltaic, wind and storage initiatives via the most important American grid operator’s interconnection course of might make it powerful for some states to hit their renewable vitality objectives, per a report launched Thursday by an environmental group. 

The report by the Pure Sources Protection Council focuses on PJM, which coordinates the stream of electrical energy and runs energy markets for a area that features all or components of 13 states and the District of Columbia, an space that features 65 million individuals. 

For years, a whole lot of largely renewable energy initiatives have been snagged in PJM’s interconnection queue, wherein proposed new energy era sources line up for research that take a look at vital transmission upgrades to connect with the ability grid and allocate prices. The group got here up with a plan to clear the backlog and streamline the method going ahead that was accepted by the Federal Vitality Regulatory Fee final 12 months.

However these reforms will “simply barely present sufficient renewable vitality” to satisfy the objectives of states which have enacted renewable portfolio requirements — necessities {that a} sure portion of their electrical energy come from renewable sources like wind and photo voltaic — via 2027.

“States with probably the most formidable RPS targets are more likely to lack satisfactory provide to satisfy their demand beginning earlier than 2027,” the report says. The NRDC notes that PJM’s plan to take care of the backlog applies to initiatives that submitted interconnection requests earlier than October 2021. Interconnection requests submitted after that received’t begin being processed till 2026 “on the earliest,” the report says, including that the landmark federal Inflation Discount Act, which has huge incentives for renewable energy, might spur an “terribly excessive” variety of new interconnection requests. 

Ten states in PJM’s territory, plus the District of Columbia, have various renewable portfolio requirements, starting from Indiana’s 10% by 2025 to Virginia’s 100% by 2050 for its two largest utilities.

“Given the dearth of wiggle room between estimated PJM provide and statewide demand, states must be involved about having sufficient renewable vitality to satisfy their wants.”

Concern about with the ability to meet Maryland’s renewable objectives inside the constraints of PJM partially prompted a invoice within the state’s legislature to power utilities to be extra clear about a few of their inside deliberations and their participation with PJM. In New Jersey, formidable offshore wind objectives meant the state needed to negotiate its personal transmission deal with PJM for interconnection partially due to queue issues. 

“PJM should restore belief within the functioning of the queue by delivering on the reform timeline, accelerating research the place doable and performing on proactive transmission planning to scale back

system prices and supply a way for state insurance policies to succeed,” the NRDC report says.

Jeff Shields, a PJM spokesman, stated the queue hasn’t been the one factor holding up renewable initiatives. The group has famous up to now that 44,000 megawatts of largely renewable energy initiatives have cleared the queue however haven’t been constructed because of different components, together with provide chain issues and the rising issue of siting wind, photo voltaic and different initiatives. 

“PJM superior landmark reforms to hurry the interconnection queue that have been overwhelmingly accepted by PJM stakeholders and the Federal Vitality Regulatory Fee. These reforms will start this summer season, and by 2026 we count on to review the interconnection of greater than 200,000 MW of largely renewable assets,” Shields stated. 

 “PJM will proceed to work constructively with all of our stakeholders, together with the NRDC, on methods to go even sooner.”