There are a number of obstacles to beat when constructing a clean-energy challenge, however maybe the largest is getting by way of the generator interconnection queue (GIQ). Each regional transmission group (RTO) and unbiased system operator (ISO) within the U.S. has a major backlog in its GIQ and processing interconnection requests can take years to finish. This has created a major barrier to deploying renewable vitality, as corporations typically face lengthy wait occasions, and excessive prices for brand spanking new transmission strains and different upgrades when the native grid is close to or at capability.
A part of the issue is the complexity of the interconnection course of, which entails a number of research (Determine 1). The Midcontinent Impartial System Operator (MISO) stories that traditionally about 70% of tasks submitted to its queue finally withdraw, leading to in depth rework and delays, as research have to be redone when tasks withdraw.
MISO acknowledges change is critical and has carried out some reforms. On Jan. 19, 2024, the Federal Power Regulatory Fee (FERC) accepted MISO’s submitting (ER24-340) to extend milestone funds, undertake an automated withdrawal penalty, revise withdrawal penalty provisions, and broaden website management necessities. These provisions have been designed to assist expedite the GIQ course of, and maximize transparency and certainty. MISO mentioned the submitting was developed by way of in depth collaboration within the stakeholder course of, together with a number of discussions within the Planning Advisory Committee and Interconnection Course of Working Group. MISO expects these reforms to scale back the variety of queue requests withdrawing from the method. It mentioned the less tasks in research, the faster the evaluations might be accomplished, and the less tasks that withdraw, the extra sure part 1 and a couple of research outcomes are.
Nonetheless, it’s doubtless that extra must be carried out to enhance the GIQ course of. The Clear Grid Alliance (CGA), a nonprofit group that works to advance renewable vitality within the Midwest, carried out a survey of 14 clear vitality builders who’ve had photo voltaic, wind, hybrid, and battery storage tasks within the MISO interconnection queue over the past 5 years to higher perceive the challenges they’ve confronted. Survey respondents included builders who’ve been working in almost each MISO North and South state, with queue tasks sited in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.
“We’re nonetheless unpacking the survey a bit—nonetheless discovering out and determining how we should always talk about what we discovered—however we’re beginning to do this,” Beth Soholt, govt director of the CGA, mentioned as a visitor on The POWER Podcast. “There are classes of issues that we discovered,” she mentioned.
“On the technical facet, the queue reform order 2023 is working its means by way of FERC. There’ll be compliance filings required from the RTOs and ISOs. How far does that get us? What does that get us?” Soholt requested rhetorically. “There will probably be a transition interval, and builders proper now are actually attempting to know what it means for his or her tasks and adjusting to that new actuality,” she continued. “I don’t suppose we all know but how a lot it’ll repair the queue downside, as a result of it’s going to take a short while to sort of ripple down by way of the method till we actually know.”
Apart from interconnection queue challenges, the CGA survey additionally recognized different hindrances to clean-energy challenge improvement. “I believe I underappreciated the affect COVID had on improvement,” famous Soholt. “As an example, whereas MISO and different RTOs discovered a method to preserve going with digital conferences and never having to return collectively in individual, that wasn’t at all times true on the native stage—in gathering land for tasks, in getting permits, in educating communities about the advantages. And so, there was a slow-down interval and only a interval the place native of us didn’t need to see anyone or discuss to anyone head to head.”
Soholt defined that loads of improvement work is completed head to head, in order that was a giant downside that additionally had a ripple impact. Some leases that builders had negotiated started to run out, so that they had to return out to communities and renegotiate. “Land management is de facto, actually, actually vital, and COVID had a really pronounced impact on that,” Soholt mentioned.
“Siting typically is getting tougher, as we do extra quantity, as we do transmission within the MISO footprint,” mentioned Soholt. “We’d like new era to be sited, we want new transmission, and we’ve got to discover a pathway ahead on that neighborhood acceptance piece,” she mentioned.
Amongst different challenges, Soholt mentioned some tasks noticed generator interconnection agreements (GIAs) timing out and needing MISO extensions. In the meantime, transmission improve delays additionally introduced issues, not solely the big spine transmission upgrades, but additionally the transmission house owners constructing interconnections for particular person tasks to attach breakers, transformers, and different gear. Soholt mentioned longer and longer part lead occasions introduced timing challenges, which have been additionally problematic for builders. These have been all vital takeaways from the CGA survey, and gadgets the group will work to resolve.
But, for all of the difficulties, Soholt appeared optimistic that MISO would proceed to seek out methods to enhance the method. “Once we get overwhelmed, we actually step again and say, ‘What’s going to be the most effective factor to work on to actually make a distinction?’ To date, that basically has been the massive issues like transmission planning. We be ok with the place that’s at in MISO—they’re doing good long-range planning,” Soholt mentioned.
To listen to the total interview with Soholt, which comprises extra about the advantages of vitality storage, lessens different RTOs and ISOs have discovered, and the way CGA helps its members have a voice in discussions, take heed to The POWER Podcast. Click on on the SoundCloud participant beneath to hear in your browser now or use the next hyperlinks to achieve the present web page in your favourite podcast platform:
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—Aaron Larson is POWER’s govt editor (@AaronL_Power, @POWERmagazine).
