Latest news with #gridconnection
E&E News
3 days ago
- Business
- E&E News
Great Plains grid operator asks to fast-track power plants
Another U.S. regional grid operator is proposing a process to fast-track connection agreements for power plants, a process aimed at heading off a looming shortage of generating capacity by the end of the decade. Southwest Power Pool, which spans the wind-soaked corridor from Texas to the Canadian border, asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week to approve its Expedited Resource Adequacy Study process to take effect in late July. Little Rock, Arkansas-based SPP is the latest grid operator to accelerate power plant additions. FERC earlier this year approved a request from PJM Interconnection to do the same. More recently, FERC rejected a proposal from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which plans to re-file a revised version next month. Advertisement The rationale for the requests by regional transmission operators is largely the same: legacy fossil fuel power plants are being shuttered and new renewable and natural gas-fired replacements are stuck in a traffic jam of projects waiting on studies for approval to plug into the bulk power grid.
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Google brings AI to grid teams slashing US connection times
May 20 - In April, U.S. power grid operator PJM announced it will deploy Google and Tapestry AI-enhanced tools to accelerate the approval of grid connection requests. PJM operates the largest American power network mostly across eastern states and its partnership with Google is the latest implementation of advanced software by grid operators to improve and speed up connections, data sharing and project management. Google and other power Big Tech groups are major buyers of power and seek faster development of new generation to meet soaring demand from data centers and other computing facilities. Regional Transmission Organisations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) have been inundated with a large number of clean power applications, leading to long delays for project developers. The average length of grid connection studies was 40 months between 2018 and 2022, not including the Texas ERCOT grid, according to a report by Grid Strategies and The Brattle Group in February 2024. Delays differ between markets and ERCOT has independent regulatory status and a more efficient approach. There was 2,600 GW in U.S. grid connection queues at the end of 2023, 95% of it solar, wind and battery storage, according to Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This is more than double the total installed generation capacity of 1,280 GW, although not all projects will be completed. Longer timelines impact the speed at which new resources can be brought online, add to costs and contribute to project cancellations, Caitlin Marquis, Managing Director of industry group Advanced Energy United, told Reuters Events. "We find that [connection] costs are rising, that renewable energy projects see significantly higher costs to connect to the grid than fossil fuel projects, and that costs vary widely," Berkeley Lab said in a report in January 2025. "This unpredictability increases the uncertainty and financial risk of renewable development." CHART: US average grid connection costs PJM has already been adopting automation tools to help clear a huge backlog of clean power applications which saw many projects spending more than five years in the connection queue, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Automation has allowed PJM to process about 140 GW out of 200 GW in its queue since 2023, with the remaining 60 GW due for completion by 2026, a PJM spokesperson told Reuters Events. From spring 2026, PJM aims to complete grid connection approvals within one to two years based on impact. Faster connections Inundated with clean power applications, PJM paused all new applications in 2023 and implemented a process to approve projects on a 'first ready, first served' basis, following new rules implemented by the FERC. Previously, projects were addressed on a first come, first served system but this led to vast numbers of speculative projects that were less developed which clogged up grid connection queues. Join hundreds of senior executives across energy, industry and finance at Reuters Events Global Energy Transition 2025. Of the 140 GW projects cleared from the queue since 2023, PJM has signed grid connection agreements with 18 GW and another 63 GW is progressing towards signing agreements over the next two years, although not all of those are guaranteed to proceed, the PJM spokesperson told Reuters Events. From 2026, PJM will require project applications to hit milestones and provide deposits, to reduce speculative applications. CHART: Power generation in grid connection queues at end of 2023 Midwest grid operator MISO and the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) are also using the latest digital technology to slash grid connection times. For several years MISO has used an online submission tool to process grid connection requests and the operator is rolling out a new software tool that will automate and accelerate connection studies. Developed by Pearl Street Technologies, the software tool is "expected to perform the pre-queue and phase 1 studies faster and more efficiently than our existing process which includes file setup and human review," a MISO spokesperson said. In a benchmarking analysis on a $13 billion network upgrade by MISO, the tool completed the Phase 1 study process in just ten days, in comparison with the 686 days using the old system. MISO is now working towards achieving a one-year connection approval process. For exclusive insights on the energy transition, sign up to our newsletter. SPP uses both external and in-house grid connection software 'to find value-add solutions that provide short and long-term advantages in our engineering studies and data management," Derek Wingfield, SPP communications manager told Reuters Events. SPP is also using Pearl Street's software and is also working with Grid Unity, a software company which specialises in grid connection management. Digital technology has enabled SPP to squeeze 'seven years of backlogged [grid connection] requests into three, while also adding two of the three largest clusters on record into the timeframe," Wingfield said. SPP uses an annual portfolio of grid connection agreements to optimise transition planning. Currently, developers are informed of the grid connection costs following completion of studies, but SPP plans to move to a fixed amount upfront charge per megawatt. 'We anticipate this new approach would be a major win for developers to aid their planning during the interconnection process," an SPP spokesperson said. AI future Going forward, grid connection times can be lowered further provided companies are willing to invest and increase data transparency. Many organisations continue to lack internal software engineering expertise or are unwilling to make the upfront financial investment in software programs, Marquis noted. AI can play a pivotal role in accelerating grid connections and increasing the efficiency of grid networks, Ruth Porat, President & Chief Investment Officer, Alphabet and Google, said in a blog post in April. "We are bringing together the power of Alphabet, including Tapestry, Google Cloud and Google DeepMind, to build and deliver a set of collaborative AI tools that will enable PJM to make faster decisions with greater confidence," Porat said. "Creative solutions from across the private and public sectors are crucial to ensure the U.S. has the energy capacity, affordability and reliability needed to capitalize on the opportunity for growth."
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Swaffham solar farm frustrated by 'zombie project' delays
Work on a large solar farm that should have started last summer has still not begun because of delays getting it connected to the grid, a developer has for the JAFA farm development near Swaffham in Norfolk were approved in February 2023 and it was hoped it would become operational this month, energy regulator Ofgem backed reforms to remove "zombie projects" from the connections queue and make it quicker for viable proposals to get hooked up to the power firm behind JAFA, Low Carbon, said it welcomed the reforms but the wait had been "frustrating". When the project was put before planners at Breckland District Council, it would have been one of the biggest solar farms in the 233 acres (94 hectares), it was said it could generate enough power for 16,500 homes a has been dwarfed by more recent proposals for "megafarms" in Norfolk, some as large as 5,000 acres (1,618 hectares). Nonetheless, there was some controversy around JAFA, with nearby Great Dunham Parish Council "totally opposed" to it because of the loss of good quality farmland and the visual impact on the Little Dunham Parish Council gave its support to the plan, voted through by councillors on the basis that Breckland needed more low-carbon on the site was due to start last summer, but has yet to begin as there is currently no way of connecting it to the grid."It is really frustrating," said project manager Ed Birkett."There's a real issue across the industry, where there are so many projects in the grid connections queue that are waiting to connect. It's leading to really long delays - up to 10 or 12 years in some cases." The system has been clogged with so-called "zombie projects" – proposals that show little sign of progressing but are in the queue for a has now approved reforms to the system that will give priority to viable Minns, of the Tyndall Centre at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, welcomed the reforms but warned there was "a massive, massive backlog of projects" that had been stalled across the country."We are so far behind on generating the green renewable energy that we need for energy security – we are decades behind where we should be," he Birkett said he hoped his company could now get JAFA built and connected in "the next one to two years". BBC Politics East will be broadcast on Sunday 18 May at 10:00 GMT on BBC One in the East of England, and will be available after broadcast on BBC Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
