U.S. DOE Announces Roadmap and $18 Million Investment to Improve Clean Energy Interconnection Processes

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Greater than 1,000 stakeholders over two years contributed to creating options and targets

The U.S. Division of Vitality (DOE) Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) launched a brand new roadmap that may result in shorter timelines and higher outcomes for connecting clear power sources to the distribution and sub-transmission grids. The Distributed Energy Resource Interconnection Roadmap additionally units bold targets and techniques to enhance interconnection processes and preserve reliability of the electrical grid. DOE additionally introduced $16 million in upcoming funding to help stakeholder engagement and technical help to undertake interconnection methods on the distribution and transmission grids. Moreover, DOE and the Joint Workplace of Vitality and Transportation introduced $2.1 million for chosen distribution utilities to pilot interconnection software program options. And to encourage collaboration, DOE launched i2X Join, an internet platform that gives an area for interconnection stakeholders to alternate concepts and know-how. Enhancing interconnection processes will cut back prices, shorten timelines, and help a dependable, resilient electrical grid.

“As more people and businesses choose to buy solar energy, wind turbines, batteries, and electric vehicles, they are facing significant delays and roadblocks connecting to the grid,” stated Jeff Marootian, principal deputy assistant secretary for the Workplace of Vitality Effectivity and Renewable Vitality. “The solutions in this roadmap tackle interconnection challenges from all angles to help communities across the country connect these resources faster, while increasing the resilience and reliability of the grid.”

Distributed power sources (DERs) produce and provide electrical energy on a small scale and are distributed over a large space. They primarily present electrical energy to native customers in houses and companies. They embrace a various set of applied sciences, resembling residential photo voltaic programs, neighborhood photo voltaic programs, distributed wind programs, battery power storage, and electrical car (EV) charging tools.

Deployment of those sources is accelerating quickly; for instance, from 2010 to 2023, the variety of residential rooftop photovoltaic (PV) programs grew from 89,000 to 4.7 million. DER interconnection processes on the distribution and sub-transmission system ranges must evolve to deal with the rising quantity of buyer demand. The complexity of this problem requires options which might be personalized for native market circumstances and availability of distributed power sources.

Roadmap To Enhance Distributed Vitality Useful resource Interconnection

The DOE roadmap supplies the broad vary of interconnection stakeholders—together with utilities, state companies, regulators, tools producers, client advocates, fairness and power justice teams, researchers, interconnection prospects, and different actors—with 39 options organized round 4 objectives:

• Growing information entry, transparency, and safety
• Enhancing interconnection processes and timelines
• Selling financial effectivity in interconnection
• Sustaining a dependable, resilient, and safe grid

The roadmap supplies particular actions that the interconnection neighborhood can take within the subsequent 5 years and past to handle present DER interconnection challenges. It was developed via intensive engagement with greater than 1,000 interconnection stakeholders. The roadmap options provide modern methods somewhat than prescriptive fixes and are categorized to assist stakeholders in numerous states or areas determine people who finest meet their wants and priorities.

The roadmap additionally identifies 5 measurable targets for interconnection enchancment by 2030. These embrace bold targets for shorter interconnection occasions and better interconnection completion charges primarily based on the scale of the brand new system. The roadmap targets additionally intention for all 50 U.S. states, in addition to the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, to have public, detailed, and present interconnection queue information accessible. Moreover, the roadmap units objectives for grid resilience and reliability: guaranteeing zero DER-related grid disturbances and reducing the time to revive service after an influence outage by 25%.

Be part of i2X for a kickoff and overview webinar on the roadmap on January 30, at 2 p.m. ET. This webinar would be the first in a collection of webinars discussing the roadmap’s objectives and options. You will discover upcoming i2X occasions, together with our ongoing i2X Discussion board for the Implementation of Reliability Requirements webinar collection, on the i2X events webpage.

This roadmap enhances DOE’s Transmission Interconnection Roadmapprinted in April 2024, which identifies options for challenges in transmission system interconnection.

Be part of the Interconnection Dialog

To hurry implementation of the options recognized within the two i2X roadmaps, DOE introduced the launch of i2X Connectan internet platform that gives an area for utilities, grid operators, state and native governments, clear power trade, power justice teams, non-profits, interconnection prospects and different stakeholders to attach. The purpose of the platform is to allow the implementation of options to enhance interconnection processes via engagement and collaboration.

The DOE-moderated i2X Join platform permits professionals representing their organizations to debate key interconnection subjects, together with information transparency, fairness and power justice, grid engineering practices and requirements, interconnection workforce and coaching, queue administration and value allocation, and electrical car grid integration. professionals can join an i2X Join account with their group e mail tackle to affix the dialog.

Pilot Demonstrations To Handle Interconnection Requests

DOE and the Joint Workplace of Vitality and Transportation chosen twelve tasks throughout ten utilities whose collective service territories span 24 states to obtain $2.1 million via the i2X Innovative Queue Management Solutions (iQMS) for Clean Energy Interconnection and Energization Partnership Middleman Settlement (PIA) program. Many distribution utilities lack the instruments and inner capabilities to adequately handle the big quantity of interconnection requests for mid-scale clear power (100 kilowatt to five megawatt) and versatile demand (e.g., EV charging) tasks with out delays or excessive prices. These tasks will fund distribution utilities to pilot modern options for managing renewable power and EV charging interconnection and energization queues. The chosen distribution utilities are:

• American Electrical Energy and Appalachian Energy (Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia): $200,000
• Duquesne Mild Firm (Pennsylvania): $200,000
• Eversource Vitality (Connecticut): $200,000
• La Plata Electrical Affiliation (Colorado): $200,000
• LeapTran, Inc. and Guadalupe Valley Electrical Cooperative (Texas): $200,000
• Nationwide Grid USA (Massachusetts and New York): $300,000
• NetMeterGO.com and Paducah Energy Techniques (Kentucky): $100,000
• Puget Sound Vitality (Washington): $300,000
• Warren Rural Electrical Co-Op Company (Kentucky): $200,000
• Xcel Vitality Providers, Inc. (Colorado): $200,000

New Funding for Stakeholder Collaboration and Technical Help

DOE additionally introduced two upcoming interconnection funding opportunities anticipated to open for functions in spring 2025. The i2X Distributed Energy Resources Interconnection Solutions Collaboratives (DERISC) PIA will present as much as $8 million to help native, state, or regional collaborative groups to prioritize and tailor options within the DER Interconnection Roadmap. The i2X Accelerating Transmission System Interconnection Strategies (ATSIS) voucher program PIA will present as much as $8 million to supply specialised technical help to transmission homeowners and suppliers. The help will assist consider cost-saving interconnection options utilizing grid-enhancing applied sciences and different superior capabilities, finally accelerating grid interconnection timelines and lowering total price. Subscribe to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) funding email list to seek out out when functions open.

The iQMS, DERISC, and ATSIS PIA applications are all administered by ENERGYWERX. This funding mechanism is made doable via the modern Partnership Intermediary Agreement arrange by DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions.

About i2X

DOE launched the i2X initiative in June 2022 to allow easier, quicker, and fairer interconnection of fresh power sources whereas enhancing the reliability, resilience, and safety of the electrical grid. Since then, DOE has convened lots of of stakeholders together with utilities, grid operators, state and native governments, power justice teams, non-profits, trade, and others for conferences that lined key points, together with queue administration, grid engineering practices, information transparency, fairness and power justice, workforce, price allocation, and electrical car charging.

Study extra about DOE’s Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange and be part of upcoming i2X events.