The process of integrating new electricity sources to the power grid—known as “generator interconnection”—must be reformed to realize the full potential of widely available and affordable energy resources like wind, solar, and energy storage technologies. Especially at a time of rising electricity demand, the results of a reformed interconnection process are paramount to energy deployment across regions, impacting affordability and reliability for customers of all classes. 

Today, United published a new report authored by Power Advisory entitled How Interconnection Reform Can Accelerate Clean Energy Deployment, which quantifies the advanced energy deployment gains states could see from implementing interconnection process improvements. The key message of the report? Improving interconnection processes can significantly boost energy deployment, delivering much needed electricity generation and economic benefits.

Improving interconnection processes across the country would ensure new energy generation can come online more quickly and cost-effectively. Interconnection study reform is a no-regrets, technology-neutral strategy to accelerate energy deployment that fosters a competitive energy landscape, which will help us meet the nation’s load growth in the coming decades. 

The report finds several promising energy deployment gains that can be realized through interconnection process improvements alone. Expedited interconnection queue processing could boost the deployment of grid-scale clean energy 60% by 2030 and 90% by 2040. This incremental clean energy could supply nearly 50 million homes with 100% clean energy in 2030, growing to 71 million homes by 2040. Energy storage also sees a major boost: the study finds that interconnection reform could double the volume of energy storage capacity achieving commercial operations between 2024 and 2030, leading to deployment of approximately 400 GW.  Between 2031 and 2040, an additional 450 GW of battery capacity could be brought online through interconnection reform, putting the US on track to reach the NREL-projected volume of storage needed to enable a zero-carbon grid by 2050. 

While the report does focus its count of energy deployment on land-based advanced energy resources, the benefits of interconnection queue reform are not limited to helping certain states reach their renewable portfolio standard goals. Across the country, construction of wind, solar, and energy storage projects would produce almost $100 billion in economic growth and over a million jobs. While states do not directly oversee the generator interconnection process for resources connecting to the transmission grid, the report highlights the important role states can play in realizing the benefits of expedited interconnection. Specifically, the report recommends that states (1) support the implementation of interconnection process reforms initiated by FERC and the regional transmission organizations (RTOs); (2) take advantage of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) programs, which offer funding and technical support and can address obstacles at the state and local levels that impede the interconnection process; and (3) take steps to minimize siting and permitting challenges that can exacerbate interconnection delays.  

Compliance filings for FERC Order No. 2023 were submitted in May 2024, and FERC will now determine whether interconnection process reforms proposed by transmission providers fully comply with required changes. However, FERC Order No. 2023 alone will not deliver an optimally efficient interconnection process. Additional reforms state regulators can push for include: 

• Increasing interconnection certainty – transmission providers would proactively build interconnection capacity based on long-term scenario-based planning.  

• Fast-tracking utilization of available or pre-planned interconnection capacity – allowing faster interconnection at locations where available interconnection capacity already exists or has been planned.

• Improving the efficiency of interconnection studies – allowing for interconnection studies to be tailored to the desired interconnection service level.

• Expediting the construction of necessary transmission upgrades – adopting industry best practices to implement necessary transmission upgrades faster. 

These reforms are all discussed in brief in the report and expanded upon in another recent report published by United, authored by Grid Strategies and The Brattle Group. That report, Unlocking America’s Energy is summarized in a recent blog post. Improving interconnection processes across the country is imperative for ensuring energy system reliability, fostering energy technology competition, keeping energy prices low, meeting future load growth, and creating the broad economic benefits associated with meeting all those challenges.  

To learn more about the benefits of improving interconnection efficiency and how to advocate for improvements, download “How Interconnection Reform Can Accelerate Clean Energy Deployment” and our accompanying state-specific fact sheets on our report landing page.