Energy Storage Interconnection - Challenges and Solutions
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOG8rddnfpI
Energy Storage Interconnection - Challenges and Solutions
Brief
The webinar (presentation/webinar format) convened experts from DOE, Sandia, PNNL, Clean Energy States Alliance and IEEE to diagnose the energy‑storage interconnection bottleneck and surface policy, technical and standards solutions. Presenters documented a nationwide queue surge—driven by rapid declines in lithium‑ion cost (cited falling from ~$270/kWh mid‑2022 to ~$180/kWh by end‑2023), IRA‑driven project additions, and aggressive state decarbonization goals—which has produced years‑long wait times, high withdrawal rates (≈70%) and large, uneven interconnection upgrade costs (examples: PJM storage interconnection ≈$335/kW vs natural gas ≈$24/kW). Practical impacts at the state level were highlighted using Massachusetts (solar+storage = 93% of the queue) and national maps showing concentrated activity in Texas, California and the U.S. West.
Speakers outlined a layered solution set. Policy and market fixes include FERC’s 2023 reforms (cluster studies, readiness requirements, transparency and revised cost allocation), state experiments (California’s CPUC limited‑generation profiles; Oregon’s export‑capacity approach; New Jersey capacity‑based fees), and ERCOT’s connect‑and‑manage practice. Operational and technical remedies focus on better hosting‑capacity analysis, standardizing export‑control methods (non‑export, limited export, managing inadvertent export), and using group/cluster studies and flexible interconnection arrangements to speed outcomes. Standards and conformity work are essential: IEEE 1547 and its supplements (15479 for storage, 15474 for intentional islands) and the transmission IBR family (2800) are being updated to provide minimum performance requirements and commissioning/testing guidance, while UL 1741 certification and conformity assessment programs help utilities verify equipment. The DOE‑led i2x effort and lab partnerships (PNNL, Sandia, LBNL) have produced a transmission road map (volume 1) and are developing a distribution road map with stakeholder comment periods and targeted technical assistance to translate these reforms into implementable, equitable processes.
Why it matters
Interconnection backlog surged in 2023 to roughly 2,600 GW (a ~30% year‑over‑year increase), driven by solar, wind and storage; the U.S. West (outside CA) had ~706 GW in queue and CAISO ~523 GW, and more than 1.2 TW of projects entered queues after the Inflation Reduction Act (including ~540 GW of storage).
Key details
- Average project dwell time in queues is about five years and roughly 70% of projects are ultimately withdrawn; between 2000–2017 only ~14% of queued capacity reached commercial operation.
- FERC’s 2023 interconnection reforms push cluster (first‑ready, first‑served) studies, higher financial readiness requirements, improved queue transparency, and new cost‑allocation approaches; some RTOs/utilities (e.g., ERCOT’s connect‑and‑manage, CAISO cluster/priority paths) are already experimenting with similar approaches.
- Interconnection costs and cost allocation are growing constraints: PJM median per‑kW interconnection costs rose from roughly $18–$30/kW (2000–2009) to much higher levels later, and PJM showed storage interconnection costs as high as ~$335/kW versus natural gas at ~$24/kW; Massachusetts’ queue in 2022 represented about $8 billion of planned investment that risks being lost.
- Technical and administrative gaps for storage: many states still lack storage‑specific interconnection rules (examples: FL, NH, OH, WA); key operational issues are hosting‑capacity visibility, inadvertent export control, and inconsistent export‑control methods (non‑export, limited export, inadvertent export).
- Standards and tools advancing interoperability: IEEE 1547 family is the distribution‑level baseline (15479 = energy storage guidance; 15474 revision for intentional islands/microgrids targeted for ballot by June 2026), IEEE 2800 family covers transmission‑level IBRs, and UL 1741 (and cert programs/Conformity Assessment by ITRI/ETL) provide test/cert pathways for inverters/storage.