Stuck in the Middle with Queue

Introduction

The bespoke interconnection review process for fleet charging, community solar, commercial storage, distributed energy resource (DER) deployment, and other mid-size energy projects is costing developers millions. A recent study by Atlas Public Policy found that a reduction in interconnection queues by 18 months for heavy-duty, 4 megawatt (MW) electric vehicle (EV) charging stations generates $1.8 million in total net present value gains (Table 1). The gains are due to avoided deployment costs during the waiting period and accelerated revenue once the site is operational. Atlas also found that faster energization within the heavy-duty vehicle sector leads to immediate public health benefits by displacing diesel emissions from aging truck fleets.

Table 1. Financial Impact of Timeline Reductions

The industry has developed interconnection processes for small-scale and large-scale energy systems, but mid-size projects remain subject to vague, unstandardized procedures. Mid-size projects, which range from 100 kilowatts to five megawatts, represent some of the most important load growth and DER deployment opportunities on the grid. Their ability to provide generation in close proximity to new loads enables the growth of domestic businesses and manufacturing without disrupting local energy supply and demand. Additionally, distribution system operators can manage mid-size DERs as part of virtual power plants to meet system-wide load growth needs while deferring large-scale energy generation investments, thus promoting energy affordability.

Mid-size projects are too large to qualify for the fast track interconnection process that many utilities have established for small projects like behind-the-meter residential rooftop solar and too small to warrant inclusion in the large generator queues that undergo a well-established, albeit lengthy, review process.

Utilities have jurisdiction over distribution-level interconnection requests, and are becoming overwhelmed as DERs become more popular, creating long wait times. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designed the Innovative Queue Management Solutions (iQMS) program to address utilities’ lack of tools and capabilities for managing these types of projects.

Figure 1. DOE Definitions for Small-, Mid-, and Large-Scale Energy Projects

Roadblocks

Researchers and utility planners have identified several systemic issues that persist within mid-size interconnection queues. These issues stem from operational challenges and resource constraints and require significant time, expertise, and money to resolve. Table 2 summarizes the primary roadblocks, which several projects included in the iQMS cohort also plan to address:

Table 2. Mid-Size Interconnection Challenges

Case Study: Orange & Rockland

Orange & Rockland (ORU) offers a blueprint for how utilities across the country can address interconnection queue challenges. In 2022, ORU faced some of the most severe interconnection bottlenecks in the region,with timelines for EV charging projects stretched to over 600 days. Andrew Farrell, ORU’s Director of E-Mobility, noted that a major part of the problem was a disconnect in perspective. Developers viewed a fast-charging station project like an appliance that could just be plugged into the grid. To the utility, however, that same project looked like a significant undertaking that would require infrastructure upgrades.

ORU collaborated with external partners Scott Madden and Clean Power Research to audit their interconnection queue process and map the steps from beginning to end. They realized that their reliance upon a manual workflow, which relied upon Excel spreadsheets, email, and paper forms, was ill-equipped to handle the volume of interconnection requests they faced. ORU turned to specialized software that automated their workflow and changed the process such that:

• There was now a singular source of truth for every ongoing project.
• Internal hand-offs were automated, and management was automatically alerted if a project step fell behind schedule.
• Developers could access an example of required documentation to reduce errors in initial submissions.

Each of these amendments to ORU’s queue management functionality reduced the timeline from 600 days to less than 180 days.

Policy and Industry Solutions

Insights from the members of the iQMS cohort are timely as state regulators and utilities across the country are moving to codify lessons learned from interconnection queue process overhauls. Several successful strategies are already reshaping the interconnection landscape:

California’s SB 410 and Colorado’s SB 218 now mandate transparent deadlines and maximum timelines for various infrastructure upgrades. These mandates force a higher level of utility responsiveness.

In grid-constrained areas, utilities are increasingly approving the use of onsite batteries or microgrids as temporary measures to get charging stations running while waiting for permanent infrastructure upgrades like new circuits or transformers.

Several states now require local jurisdictions to use expedited checklist-based permitting for EV infrastructure, which reduces delays prior to construction.

The establishment of specialized internal teams for EV and mid-size renewable projects prevents these applications from becoming buried underneath routine residential service requests.

Scaling to a National Playbook

Accelerating the deployment of mid-size energy projects fosters domestic business and manufacturing growth by placing power generation closer to expanding localized loads. By leveraging these mid-size assets to defer massive large-scale generation investments, utilities can drive long-term energy affordability while unlocking substantial developer savings and immediate public health benefits. To unlock these benefits, the participants in the iQMS cohort are testing specific, data-driven solutions that can be shared and scaled across the electric power sector. The iQMS initiative creates a mechanism to compare their solutions, disseminate the cohort’s pilot-based insights, and support the creation of replicable models for utilities nationwide. This work ensures that utilities, regardless of size or location, have access to the tools and strategies needed to move mid-size projects through the interconnection queue at a pace that enables a clean, affordable, and resilient energy system in the near future.

Questions? Reach out to Ashley Lynn Qua at [email protected]

Here is a look at our series:

• How Utilities are Modernizing Interconnection
• The Regulatory Patchwork
• Cohort Progress & Lessons Learned
• Phase 1 Insights