As two regional grid operators have flagged a shortage of qualified engineers to conduct interconnection studies, pv magazine usa spoke with Kalyan Chilukuri, a vice president with Electric Power Engineers, about industry staffing challenges and measures that might help.
The good news is that we know what to do. Interconnection has been studied extensively by numerous industry groups and research organizations, which have arrived at some essential guiding principles for reform.
The data would help solar and storage providers to speed deployment, said Solar and Storage Industries Institute and the national solar trade group, SEIA.
ERCOT’s approach enables interconnection in 2 to 3 years, whereas recent regional transmission planning by MISO and PJM found cost-saving ways to interconnect 53 GW and 75 GW of renewables respectively, said a Brattle transmission expert.
Transmission providers would face firm deadlines for completing interconnection studies, backed by penalties, under a proposed rule. Project developers would face readiness requirements involving study deposit amounts, site control, commercial readiness milestones, and withdrawal penalties.
As applications to interconnect solar and storage projects have “skyrocketed,” the national solar trade group recommends ways to speed interconnection on both the transmission and distribution grids.
Three regional grid operators and two utilities have joined the DOE partnership, alongside renewables developers and trade groups, to pursue faster, simpler, and fairer interconnection of renewables and storage, on both the transmission and distribution grids.
A new partnership that engages grid operators, utilities, clean energy developers, regulators, and DOE’s national laboratories aims to lower costs and reduce wait times for utility scale solar projects connecting to the grid.
The Enphase IQ8 Microinverter system certified to the new North American safety and grid interconnection standards for connecting solar inverters, energy storage systems, and distributed energy resources to the grid.
The state’s Department of Environmental Quality has defined solar panels as impervious surfaces for the purpose of measuring stormwater, which will increase project cost requirements.
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