The US Department of Energy has released a roadmap aimed at accelerating the connection of clean energy to the grid, addressing a significant backlog of solar, wind, and battery projects waiting to be built. The Transmission Interconnection Roadmap outlines aggressive targets for improvement by 2030 and aims to ensure the Biden administration's goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035 is achieved. The roadmap includes four goals focused on data access, transparency, security, process improvement, economic efficiency, and grid reliability, with the intention of making the interconnection process more efficient and reliable.
U.S. regulators have approved reforms to expedite the connection of new wind and solar power projects to the electric grid, aiming to address the backlog of requests and facilitate the deployment of renewable energy. The reforms include shifting from a "first come, first served" to a "first ready" approach, imposing financial conditions and penalties for grid operators, allowing projects to be studied in clusters, and streamlining the interconnection process. However, more reforms are still needed to clear the significant amount of renewable power waiting to be connected. The reforms are part of a broader package of measures being developed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and storage.
