A commissioner with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has written to the nation’s six regional grid operators saying that “achieving a truly fast and efficient interconnection process requires continuous innovation that leverages the latest software and automation solutions.”
The current pace of interconnection studies for large-scale renewables has delayed about 2500 GW of renewables and storage projects nationwide.
FERC Commissioner David Rosner said in his letter that an automation solution used by midcontinent grid operator MISO “reproduced the manual study of a large interconnection cluster—which took nearly two years to complete—in just 10 days, arriving at largely similar results.”
MISO has worked with Pearl Street Technologies to implement that firm’s interconnection automation platform, known as SUGAR.
Pearl Street CEO and Co-Founder David Bromberg has said that the firm’s partnership with MISO represents the “largest-ever investment” in interconnection study automation made by a transmission provider.
Bromberg said that about 80% of interconnection study tasks could be automated, at an Infocast conference last summer.
A MISO spokesperson said that the grid operator, after using SUGAR to finalize its 2022 phase 1 interconnection studies, expects to implement phase 1 automation for its 2023 and 2025 cycles later this year.
Phase 1 interconnection studies, also known as feasibility studies, are followed by two more phases of studies, known as system impact studies and facilities studies.
Rosner’s letter also noted grid operator Southwest Power Pool’s use of automation software from GridUnity. That company says its software supports interconnection studies by automating information collection and validation, ensuring data accuracy, and accelerating collaboration between a grid operator and developers of generating projects.
Rosner expressed appreciation for each grid operators’ work to streamline its interconnection process by implementing reforms in accordance with FERC Order No. 2023—work that he said “will lay the groundwork for significant improvements.”
Rosner added that he looks forward to an opportunity to “meet soon” with the regional grid operators “to discuss your experience with interconnection automation technologies to date, the prospects for further deploying them going forward, and, most importantly, how the Commission can support such innovation.”
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