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NJ Spotlight News: Interconnection Issues at PJM Threaten Reliability and Clean-Energy Goals, Warns New Study

Posted by Tom Johnson on Feb 27, 2024

NJ Spotlight News reports on a recently released Generation Interconnection Scorecard, authored by Grid Strategies and the Brattle Group and released by Advanced Energy United, that ranks PJM the lowest amongst the seven regional grids. United's Jon Gordon and Kristina Persaud spoke to the massive backlog PJM faces and lack of planning for such scenarios.
 

PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest electrical power grid operator, is struggling to connect new electricity projects to its system, threatening power reliability and clean-energy goals, according to a study.

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Topics: Wholesale Markets, United In The News, New Jersey, Jon Gordon, Kristina Persaud

RTO Insider: Advanced Energy United Grades ISO/RTO Queues as Order 2023 is Implemented

Posted by James Downing on Feb 26, 2024

RTO Insider reports on United's recently released Generation Interconnection Scorecard, authored by Grid Strategies and the Brattle Group, that evaluates and grades the seven regional transmission organizations. United's Caitlin Marquis spoke to the challenges presented by flawed interconnection systems and the importance of urgent improvements.
 

Advanced Energy United has released a scorecard that ranks the seven domestic ISO/RTOs on their generator interconnection processes, finding room for improvement in every one. 

Brattle Group and Grid Strategies prepared the Generator Interconnection Scorecard for United, as they did for a similar project on transmission planning last year. (See Transmission Report Card Grades MISO “B,” Southeast “F”.) 

The scorecard, released Feb. 26, comes after FERC issued Order 2023 and is meant to help track how those and other reforms are implemented, Grid Strategies President and report co-author Rob Gramlich said in an interview. (See FERC Updates Interconnection Queue Process with Order 2023.) 

“We’re hopeful that those reforms happen and further reforms get done,” Gramlich said. “And we’re hopeful that in a year or two, if and when we do this again, all of the grades will improve. But the idea was just to kind of take a snapshot at this time.” 

The flawed interconnection processes have more than 2 million MW of renewable power and storage waiting to connect to the grid, said Advanced Energy United Managing Director Caitlin Marquis. 

“This scorecard confirms what we know about the interconnection process, that grid managers have moved too slowly to adapt to changing market conditions, allowing the process of connecting new electricity to the transmission grid to become dysfunctional,” Marquis said. “Without urgent improvement, the U.S. grid may struggle to keep up with growing energy demands, threatening our ability to keep the lights on and reach our climate goals. Strong implementation of FERC’s recent reforms will be an important first step toward improving the interconnection process, and it’s also clear that additional reforms will be needed.”  

None of the ISO/RTOs managed to get an A, but both CAISO and ERCOT got Bs, with Gramlich saying one reason they did better was that they’ve proactively planned their transmission systems to add new resources. 

“That has been a little bit less of a case recently in ERCOT,” Gramlich said. “And so ERCOT used to be great from a developer perspective, but they got marked down a little bit because of a lack of transmission. Because you can connect, but there’s a lot of congestion once you connect. California has always done proactive transmission planning pretty consistently … so the grid has been prepared in advance to accommodate more generation.” 

Both also scored highly on giving developers a sense of certainty, with ERCOT assigning limited costs to interconnection customers and CAISO being credited with good transparency. 

No other market scored above a C- on United's scorecard, which highlights the need for changes to meet rising demand from new large loads, electrification, and state policies and customer demand driving more renewables onto the grid. 

“Currently, most of the regions are undergoing significant efforts to reform their interconnection practices and policies in response to stakeholder concerns and FERC Order No. 2023,” the report said. “The scorecard is not an assessment of those ongoing or recently adopted reforms that have not yet impacted the generator interconnection processes.”  

The growth of wind, utility-scale solar and storage has resulted in interconnection projects popping up everywhere, Gramlich said.

The scorecard measures six categories, the first of which is interconnection process and results, which measures an interconnection’s success rate, cost reasonableness and uncertainty. It also grades prequeue information, queue design, assumptions and criteria, availability of interconnection alternatives, and whether transmission planning takes future generation needs into account. 

That final category is the only one where the graders looked at rules now in place, which have not impacted the queues yet.  

Read the full article here. 

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Topics: Wholesale Markets, United In The News, Caitlin Marquis

Advanced Energy United releases generator interconnection report card for U.S. electric grid managers

Posted by Adam Winer on Feb 26, 2024

This first-ever comparative evaluation of generator interconnection shows electricity system operators are struggling to connect generating resources to the U.S. grid, threatening power reliability and clean energy goals

WASHINGTON, DC – A new, first-of-its-kind scorecard from national business association Advanced Energy United evaluates and grades the seven U.S. regional transmission organizations on their generator interconnection processes. The scorecard, authored by Grid Strategies and The Brattle Group, shows that interconnection is not going smoothly in any region of the country, with some regions facing serious deficiencies.

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Topics: Wholesale Markets, Press Releases, Caitlin Marquis, FERC, Transmission

Advanced Energy United congratulates Willie Phillips for being named FERC Chair

Posted by Adam Winer on Feb 9, 2024

United calls on Biden Administration to nominate additional candidates to fill out commissioners 

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, national business group Advanced Energy United congratulated Willie Phillips on his elevation to Chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), andurged expedient nomination of additional Commissioners to restore a full complement to FERC. 

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Topics: Wholesale Markets, Press Releases, Caitlin Marquis, FERC

Utility Dive: 9 US Power Sector Trends to Watch in 2024


Utility Dive  highlights some of the major developments and trends expected in nine critical areas of the energy transition this year, including the expansion of virtual power plants (VPPs). The article quotes United's Ryan Katofsky, who speaks to the increasing role VPPs can play in ensuring grid reliability and addressing the general need for more flexibility on the demand side.
 

The U.S. clean energy transition is expected to accelerate this year, buoyed by recent policy and other actions, but transmission and financing are among its challenges. The following is a snapshot of some of the major developments and trends expected in nine critical areas of the energy transition this year...

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Topics: Wholesale Markets, United In The News, Ryan Katofsky

RTO Insider: Stakeholders Propose Amendments to ISO-NE Order 2023 Compliance

Posted by Jon Lamson on Jan 7, 2024

RTO Insider reports that Advanced Energy United and other clean energy companies proposed several amendments to ISO-NE’s proposed Order 2023 compliance plans. The article quotes United's Alex Lawton, who speaks to how ISO NE's suggested deviations from the approach detailed in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order could undermine the order’s goal of reducing interconnection delays.
 

Clean energy companies and trade groups proposed a series of amendments to ISO-NE’s proposed Order 2023 compliance at the NEPOOL Transmission Committee meeting Jan. 4, as the RTO and its stakeholders scramble to reach a consensus prior to the scheduled TC vote in February.

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Topics: Wholesale Markets, United In The News, New England, Alex Lawton

FERC Greenlights CAISO’s New Extended Day-Ahead Market

Posted by Adam Winer on Dec 22, 2023

New market approval a significant development for the West, says Advanced Energy United

WASHINGTON, DC – The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the creation of a new extended day-ahead market (EDAM) by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), a significant development for the region. As CAISO notes in its news release, FERC’s action represents a major advance toward greater coordination of Western electricity markets. 

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Topics: Wholesale Markets, Press Releases, Western RTO, California, Brian Turner

RTO Insider: Advanced Energy United Urges Changes Beyond Order 2023 for ISO-NE

Posted by Jon Lamson on Nov 1, 2023

RTO Insider reports on a recently released white paper, authored by Daymark Energy Advisors and commissioned by Advanced Energy United, that calls upon ISO-NE to make immediate and long-term changes to its interconnection process to avoid delaying state clean energy goals in New England.
 

ISO-NE should go beyond the changes required by Order 2023 to address the high costs and long delays associated with interconnection in the region, said a recent white paper commissioned by Advanced Energy United and written by the energy consulting firm Daymark Energy Advisors.

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Topics: Wholesale Markets, United In The News, Transmission

New report reveals the reforms New England needs to more quickly connect clean energy projects to the grid

Posted by Adam Winer on Nov 1, 2023

Immediate and long-term changes needed to ISO-NE's interconnection process to avoid delaying state clean energy goals, finds new Advanced Energy United commissioned analysis from Daymark Energy Advisors.
 

BOSTON, MA – A new report from energy consulting firm Daymark Energy Advisors details both the immediate and longer-term reforms needed to ISO-NE's antiquated interconnection process, which is threatening to derail the decarbonization goals of New England states. The process by which energy generation projects connect to the region's power grid, known as interconnection, is inefficient and is driving up costs for ratepayers and preventing many clean energy projects from connecting to the grid altogether.

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Topics: Wholesale Markets, Press Releases, Transmission, New England

Utility Dive: Moody’s warns of potential power price volatility from renewables oversupply

Posted by Diana DiGangi on Sep 14, 2023

Utility Dive  examines a recently published Moody’s analysis on the link between unsteady energy prices and the influx of renewable energy sources to the market, featuring United’s  Ryan Katofsky  explaining how the U.S. power sector can leverage demand flexibility and battery storage technologies and services to stabilize this transition.
 

Reliability costs associated with backstopping renewables could rise to $435 billion a year around the world by 2030, the company said in a report released Wednesday.

As utilities increase the amount of renewable energy in their fuel supply mixes, the associated need for an increase in resource buffers could lead to oversupply that would increase power price volatility and grid reliability costs, said Moody’s Investors Service in a Wednesday report.

“Because wind and solar power generation depends on weather conditions and is thus not dispatchable, load-serving utilities will likely build in a cushion of supply to enhance reliability and compensate for resource volatility,” the report says.
 
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Topics: Wholesale Markets, United In The News, Ryan Katofsky