Solar Power World

  • Home
  • Top Solar Contractors
  • Articles
    • Most Recent Posts
    • News
      • Latest News Items
      • SPW State News Hub
      • IRA coverage
      • Solar tariffs
      • U.S. manufacturing updates
    • Featured
      • Latest Feature Stories
      • Contractor’s Corner
      • Trends in Solar
      • The Solar Explorer
  • Policy
    • The Solar Policy Scoop
    • IRA Coverage
  • Markets
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Community Solar
    • Utility
  • Products
    • Winners of SPW’s 2024 Top Products
    • Batteries and Storage
    • Electric Vehicle (EV)
    • Inverters
      • U.S. solar inverter manufacturers
    • Racking and Mounting
      • U.S. solar mounting manufacturers
    • Software
    • Solar Panels
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
  • Resources
    • About SPW
    • Digital Issues
    • Event Coverage
    • Podcasts
    • Product Manufacturing Locations
      • U.S. solar inverter manufacturers
      • U.S. solar mounting manufacturers
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
    • Solar Classrooms
    • Suppliers
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

FERC to explore options on updates to transmission and interconnection rules

By Kelly Pickerel | July 16, 2021

Share

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking inviting the public to comment on potential reforms to improve transmission planning and cost allocation and generator interconnection processes as the nation transitions to a cleaner energy future.

“As the generation fleet shifts at an unprecedented rate from resources located closer to population centers toward resources located far from load centers, we must evaluate whether our transmission planning and cost allocation and generator interconnection processes require a more innovative and anticipatory approach,” FERC Chairman Rich Glick said. “A piecemeal approach to expanding the transmission system is not going to get the job done. We must take steps today to build the transmission that tomorrow’s new generation resources will require.”

The Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, “Building for the Future Through Electric Regional Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation and Generator Interconnection,” recognizes that the changing resource mix will create new demands for expansion of the transmission system and questions whether the existing approach to transmission planning, cost allocation and interconnection is consistent with the requirements of the Federal Power Act. It seeks comment on a more forward-looking approach to how we build and allocate the cost of transmission infrastructure in this country.

“Today’s action is a critical first step in ensuring that FERC is thinking innovatively and actually anticipating transmission that will meet the needs of new generation as our nation continues to aggressively transition to a clean energy future,” Chairman Glick said. “This is the Commission’s first effort at major transmission reform in a decade and I look forward to moving as expeditiously as possible to advance these conversations.”

The Commission is seeking public comment on potential reforms in three specific areas: reforms for longer-term regional transmission planning and cost-allocation processes that take into account anticipated future generation, rethinking cost responsibility for regional transmission facilities and interconnection-related network upgrades, and enhanced transmission oversight over how new transmission facilities are identified and paid for.

Gizelle Wray, director of regulatory affairs and counsel for SEIA, commented: “FERC’s advanced notice of proposed rulemaking today on transmission, cost allocation, and interconnection is an encouraging start and could help us overcome utility-imposed market challenges that have hampered clean energy development across the United States.

“We need to quickly ramp up solar and storage deployment to address climate change and generate new economic opportunities, but the interconnection rules today allow utilities to put clean energy projects to the side and leave them in the interconnection queue for years. We cannot have projects in a perpetual waiting room when we need to deploy hundreds of gigawatts of clean energy over the next 10 years,” she continued.

Comments, identified by Docket No. RM21-17, are due 75 days after publication in the Federal Register. Reply comments are due 105 days after publication in the Federal Register.

News item from FERC

About The Author

Kelly Pickerel

Kelly Pickerel has over a decade of experience reporting on the U.S. solar industry and is currently editor in chief of Solar Power World.

Comments

  1. Solarman says

    July 16, 2021 at 3:11 pm

    ” FERC Chairman Rich Glick said. “A piecemeal approach to expanding the transmission system is not going to get the job done. We must take steps today to build the transmission that tomorrow’s new generation resources will require.”

    Therein lies this slow bloated infrastructure process has been stalled, making the average transmission project 10 years from start to finish. FERC has passed rulings like 841 and 2222 to add energy storage to the wholesale grid, NOW there needs to be a national interconnection from coast to coast and north to south installed in the U.S.. FERC has Federal powers and Federal oversight of interstate transmission lines. At this level FERC can use Federal right of ways along railroad lines, existing power lines, interstate highways to use as a right of way for buried UHVDC transmission pathways. There are five major transmission projects in some queue awaiting some regulatory OK to proceed to the ‘next level’, there are twenty three transmission projects waiting in the population dense Northeast. Congress could help by allowing some of the “abandoned” projects like the Keystone XL pipeline right of way that one could connect solar PV and wind generation from the plains States into the wholesale grid. The abandoned Atlantic Coast Pipeline still has a 600 mile right of way that could accommodate UHVDC from north to south along the East coast area in preparation for off shore wind farms in the near future.

    Reply

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

Related Articles Read More >

Prevalon Energy completes 80-MW energy storage project in Idaho
Viridi mobile lithium battery system reaches UL 9540 listing
Greenskies installs solar portfolio across 7 New Jersey school buildings
SMUD signs PPA for 640-MWh battery still under construction in Sacramento County
Solar Power World Digital Edition
Check in with the nation's leading solar construction magazine today.
 
“the-informed-solar-installer”
“solar
“spw
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, tools and strategies for Solar Power Professionals.

Contractor’s Corner Podcast

“solar
Solar Power World
  • Top Solar Contractors
  • Solar Articles
  • Windpower Engineering & Development
  • Leadership
  • About/Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising
  • WTWH Media

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Solar Power World

  • Home
  • Top Solar Contractors
  • Articles
    • Most Recent Posts
    • News
      • Latest News Items
      • SPW State News Hub
      • IRA coverage
      • Solar tariffs
      • U.S. manufacturing updates
    • Featured
      • Latest Feature Stories
      • Contractor’s Corner
      • Trends in Solar
      • The Solar Explorer
  • Policy
    • The Solar Policy Scoop
    • IRA Coverage
  • Markets
    • Residential
    • Commercial
    • Community Solar
    • Utility
  • Products
    • Winners of SPW’s 2024 Top Products
    • Batteries and Storage
    • Electric Vehicle (EV)
    • Inverters
      • U.S. solar inverter manufacturers
    • Racking and Mounting
      • U.S. solar mounting manufacturers
    • Software
    • Solar Panels
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
  • Resources
    • About SPW
    • Digital Issues
    • Event Coverage
    • Podcasts
    • Product Manufacturing Locations
      • U.S. solar inverter manufacturers
      • U.S. solar mounting manufacturers
      • U.S. solar panel manufacturers
    • Solar Classrooms
    • Suppliers
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe