Currently, over two million megawatts of generator and storage projects are actively seeking to connect to the U.S. transmission grid. The process to connect these proposed projects to the grid so they can start generating electricity—called “generator interconnection”—is outdated, slow, unpredictable, and sorely in need of reform. The 2024 Advanced Energy United Generator Interconnection Scorecard is the first-ever attempt to evaluate each of the seven regional transmission system operators on their generator interconnection processes.
New Report Shows Most RTOs Struggling with Generator Interconnection
Topics: Wholesale Markets, Transmission
Texas’ ADER Task Force Makes Progress on VPPs, Challenges Remain
Roughly one-third of Americans report having a side hustle to supplement their income. Side hustles range from delivery drivers to social media influencers and may soon include something surprising—electricity providers. That’s the promise of a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), letting consumers sell their unused energy back to the grid and get compensated for it. A VPP is formed when distributed energy resources – like solar panels, batteries, and EVs – are combined, or “aggregated” together and managed as a single resource like a power plant.
Topics: Wholesale Markets, Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, Texas, Distributed Energy Resources
Building for the Future Through Improved Transmission Planning & Cost Allocation
The United States electric grid is undergoing a transformation and significant changes need to occur for Americans to fully realize the benefits of these improvements. The key is the transmission system. As the federal agency charged with regulating interstate transmission of electricity, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is uniquely positioned to create new rules that better ensure Americans can achieve equitable, affordable access to energy, secure our grid’s future reliability, and accelerate the transition to clean generation and advanced grid technologies.
Topics: Regulatory, Wholesale Markets, Transmission
Open Letter to Western Energy Leaders on Utilities’ Day-Ahead Market Study
On Monday, Advanced Energy United sent a letter to state energy offices in the West offering our perspective on a study commissioned by the Western Markets Exploratory Group (WMEG) that compares the benefits of several proposed Western day-ahead market scenarios. The study has been filed in multiple dockets in states across the West, but it offers an incomplete view of the benefits that can accrue to the West in a day-ahead market.
Topics: Wholesale Markets, Western RTO
The Interconnection Process Explained
Across the country, over 2,000 gigawatts of resources representing 10,000 projects are waiting for the green light to connect to the grid so they can commence construction and start operating—mostly clean resources like wind, solar, battery storage, and hybrid renewable-plus- storage projects. These projects are stuck in interconnection queues, undergoing an evaluation of reliability impacts and transmission system upgrades that must be made before they can start to deliver electricity to the grid.
Topics: Wholesale Markets