Publish Date: May 19, 2025

A new resource, developed by Advanced Energy United, draws on several recent studies focused on the PJM region that capture how advanced energy technologies enable near-term load growth. The report shows that these solutions have the potential to unlock gigawatts of capacity on the grid – as long as states and PJM take action to deploy these critical tools.

The first tool discussed in the report is load flexibility and virtual power plants. These are programs and incentives that reward customers – including data centers and residential customers – for reducing usage or shifting power consumption to optimal times of day. A recent study finds that greater load flexibility among new large customers seeking to interconnect in PJM would enable 17.8 GW of demand to come online in the region – without the need for new generation.

The second tool is interconnection fast-tracks – encouraging the development of new solar, wind and storage projects that are located near existing or retiring power plants. Analysts estimate that surplus interconnection service could enable 13.2 GW of new large-scale resources to come online in PJM by 2030; generator replacement could enable up to 10.2 GW of large-scale resources by 2030.

The third tool is advanced transmission technologies: Software and hardware upgrades that can significantly boost the existing transmission grid so power can move from where it is generated to where it is needed quickly, at higher volumes. One recent analysis finds that three of these technologies could facilitate cost-effective interconnection of 6.6 GW of new solar, wind and storage in PJM by 2027.