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Electric grid interconnect

Discussion in 'Too Hot for Swamp Gas' started by G8trGr8t, Jul 28, 2023.

  1. Jul 28, 2023 #1
    G8trGr8t

    G8trGr8t Premium Member

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    Rules updated to allow new connections to be streamlined. Long past due

    In a 'watershed moment,' interconnecting the US grid just got a lot more efficient

    In a much-anticipated move, the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) [COLOR=var(--c-primary)]passed a new rule today[/COLOR] that’s finally going to streamline the backed-up US grid interconnection process.

    At the end of 2022, there were more than 2,000 gigawatts of bottlenecked new power generation and storage waiting to be connected across the US. That’s the same amount of electricity generation capacity as all the power plants currently operating around the country.
    Projects have faced an average wait of up to five years to connect to the grid – and today’s ruling is expected to shorten that wait (we’ll keep an eye on it to see to what extent).
    FERC says today’s rule will provide “greater timing and cost certainty to interconnection customers, and prevent… undue discrimination against new sources of power generation.”
     
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  2. Jul 28, 2023 #2
    homer

    homer GC Hall of Fame

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    What’s been the holdup?

    Has to be a reason if it’s been forbidden?
     
  3. Jul 28, 2023 #3
    ATLGATORFAN

    ATLGATORFAN Premium Member

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    Was
    Is it so grid is separated as to not be all taken down simultaneously? That’s just a guess…I have no idea
     
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  4. Jul 28, 2023 #4
    Emmitto

    Emmitto VIP Member

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    There is a lot to this, and more than just this one rule, but this particular gyst:

    New generators got “in line.” And each one went through a full review, beginning to end. If a particular review got delayed or stalled, all others were also stopped in their tracks. If you had a viable product but not an established player with money to burn and had to wait 5 years because you were 10th in line, and sometimes it could literally be on deck, you’d run out of financing. This would not only kill viable sources but more commonly they’d never even start. ExxonMobile can wait five years to start to get revenue from a project. A newbie can’t.

    So this particular dynamic was a status quo maintainer. Basically a killer for alternatives. I have my own opinion but form your own as to whether it was an efficient plan or inefficient bureaucracy.

    The result was the same either way. Stranded energy.

    I would also note that the grid simply will not support doubling capacity even if it were all fast-tracked in, say, the next few years. That’s another shoe to drop.

    I will say that IMO this is a positive step. But just one of a bunch that could change everything. This singular one isn’t a magic bullet. Certain regional areas could see something close to magic in the near term. But it will take a lot more will to benefit 350M, and that is not a pipe dream if it is true that good ultimately prevails.
     
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  5. Jul 28, 2023 #5
    G8trGr8t

    G8trGr8t Premium Member

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    White House unveils proposed reforms to speed clean energy permitting

    (Reuters) - The White House on Friday proposed reforms to the environmental review process for new energy projects that it said would help speed up permitting for electric transmission and other projects needed to curb emissions linked to climate change.
    The proposal would revise National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations by encouraging more "programmatic" environmental reviews of multiple projects rather than individual reviews, and by allowing federal agencies to exclude more project categories from review.
     
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