Reforms needed to expeditegenerator interconnection amidst growing demand for electricity
WASHINGTON, DC – Amid growing demand for electricity, a new report from Grid Strategies LLC and The Brattle Group recommends additional reforms to “generator interconnection,” the process by which new, large-scale energy resources are connected to transmission grids. The report, Unlocking America’s Energy: How to Efficiently Connect New Generation to the Grid, calls for new approaches to interconnection that can move new generation projects more quickly to completion while providing up-front cost certainty.
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Wholesale Markets,
Press Releases,
FERC
In an opinion piece for the Houston Chronicle, Matthew Boms of Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (United's state affiliate), shares how President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act has transformed Texas' energy portfolio, with Texas now ranking as the nation's wind energy leader and a top state for utility-scale solar.
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State Policy,
United In The News,
Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance,
Texas,
Matthew Boms,
Federal Priorities
Organizations classify cuts to SGIP, SOMAH, and CalSHAPE as short-sighted decision that would exacerbate costs
SACRAMENTO, CA – California decision-makers are considering cuts to key energy programs that benefit school children, low-income communities, and California ratepayers. In response, a coalition of more than 25 clean energy, environmental, education, and affordable housing organizations submitted a letter calling on state leaders to reject potential cuts to the California Schools Healthy Air, Plumbing, and Efficiency (CalSHAPE) program, the Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP), and the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program.
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State Policy,
Press Releases,
Energy Efficiency,
California
Renewable Energy World reports Maryland State Senator Ron Watson and five state delegates released a joint statement condemning the recent spikes in electricity prices within the PJM territory. The article cites United’s Generator Interconnection Scorecard, which assigned PJM with a “D-,” one of the worst scores across the nation, for its management of generation interconnection.
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Wholesale Markets,
United In The News,
Maryland
Electricity capacity prices skyrocketed 900% in latest auction
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Today, Maryland State Senator Ron Watson and Maryland Delegates Adrian Boafo, Lorig Charkoudian, David Fraser-Hidalgo, and Natalie Ziegler released a joint statement on the skyrocketing electricity prices announced last week byMaryland’s electric grid operator, PJM. Prices in its annual capacity auction rose over 900 percent, from $28.92 per megawatt-day to $269.92. The price increase was most significant in Maryland, rising to $466.35. Next June, most Maryland ratepayers will likely see electricity bill increases well over 30 percent.
These prices are driven in large part by the grid operator’s years-long issues in getting more generating resources connected to the grid. At the end of 2023, PJM had 3,309 projects – mostly solar and battery storage – waiting to connect to the grid and provide cheaper power to the region. PJM earned a national-worst “D-” in a recent scorecard from Advanced Energy United of all grid operator interconnection processes earlier this year, with developers forced to wait longer in PJM than any other region in the country. These clean energy projects together have enough capacity to replace all the generation currently operating in the PJM system, even after planned fossil fuel plant retirements. Because of this backlog, new renewable projects cannot even apply to bring power to Maryland consumers until 2026.
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Topics:
Advanced Transportation,
Press Releases,
Transmission,
Maryland
Approval marks a significant development for the West, says Advanced Energy United
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) approved the first step of the West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative’s straw proposal. Step 1 of the straw proposal increases the independence of the existing CAISO real-time and day-ahead markets’ governance by providing more autonomy to the existing Western Energy Market Governing Body.
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Wholesale Markets,
Press Releases,
Leah Rubin Shen,
Western RTO,
California
CHICAGO, IL – Without rapid investments in clean energy storage, Illinois consumers will pay up to $30 more per month for energy, and the state will face energy shortfalls and a higher risk of blackouts, according to a newly released study.
The study, “Cost and Benefit Analysis of Energy Storage Resource Deployment in Illinois,” found that deploying at least 8,500 MW of clean energy storage would provide $3 billion in consumer cost savings, save $7.3 billion in blackout-related costs through increased grid reliability, and generate up to $16.3 billion in economic activity in Illinois by 2050.
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Press Releases,
Illinois
United’s Emilie Olson and Harry Godfrey talk to The Nevada Independent about the bipartisan Energy Permitting Reform Act and highlight how it aims to streamline permitting processes for energy projects in Nevada.
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Topics:
State Policy,
United In The News,
Harrison Godfrey,
Emilie Olson,
Nevada
In an opinion piece for The East Bay Times, United's Leah Rubin Shen discusses the looming energy affordability crisis in California due to rising natural gas bills, urging state lawmakers to take decisive action for a sustainable energy transition.
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Topics:
United In The News,
Leah Rubin Shen,
California
Canary Media covers the recent U.S. Department of Energy funding allocated from Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) Program to New England states, which will revolutionize offshore wind development. The article quotes United's Jeremy McDiarmid, who emphasizes the importance of improving the power grid to meet the increasing load growth demands.
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Topics:
United In The News,
Offshore Wind,
Transmission,
New England
