Avoiding Grid Constraints
Brian Lydic is Chief Regulatory Engineer at the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. He has been active in renewable energy since 2005. He works with regulatory stakeholders to further the organization’s mission to increase access to sustainable energy and energy efficiency. He is a member of UL 1741, UL 3141, and IEEE 1547 working groups, helping to improve the grid integration of PV systems.
As electrification efforts and deployment of distributed energy resources (DERs) accelerate, utilities and state regulators around the country are seeking innovative approaches to serve growing electricity demand and connect DERs faster and more economically while maintaining grid safety and reliability. The challenge is that as more new customer resources connect to the distribution system, the grid’s ability to host them becomes more limited.
Fortunately, new strategies are emerging that provide temporary or long-term pathways for DERs to avoid grid constraints that can lead to costly and time-intensive utility infrastructure upgrades. These strategies typically fall under the banner of “flexible interconnection” or “flexible connection” and are gaining momentum in states where queue backlogs, grid upgrade costs, and affordability are of particular concern.
While many jurisdictions are still grappling with how to design flexible connection offerings, there are some key considerations that regulators and other stakeholders should be aware of to ensure that new programs are set up for success.