IREC’s Interconnection Grades Show Improvement in Several States
Freeing the Grid Report Finds Most Notable Improvements in New Jersey and Oregon, Followed by Maine and Wisconsin
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) today released its latest Freeing the Grid interconnection grades, which evaluate the quality of each U.S. state’s interconnection rules. These policies determine how efficiently and affordably distributed energy resources (DERs)—such as solar and energy storage systems—can connect to the electric distribution grid. As electricity rates and energy demand surge across the country, effective interconnection policies have become increasingly important as a way for states to enable new sources of affordable energy to come online quickly. Freeing the Grid is a joint initiative of IREC and Vote Solar that evaluates key state policies for enabling clean energy adoption.
Although this year’s results continue to demonstrate that the vast majority of states have significant room for improvement in their interconnection rules (only one state, New Mexico, earns an “A”), eight states have improved compared to the last release in 2023. Four states made interconnection improvements that were significant enough to earn higher grades. Oregon and New Jersey had the most significant improvements, both going from a “D” to a “B.” Maine also earned a “B” (up from a “C” in 2023), bringing the total number of states earning a “B” or above to nine. Wisconsin increased from a “D” to a “C.” An additional four states—California, Connecticut, Minnesota, and Vermont—made interconnection policy improvements but their overall grades remain the same since 2023.
“IREC’s Freeing the Grid interconnection grades are a powerful tool for states to benchmark the effectiveness of their interconnection policies. We’re thrilled to see improvements in eight states this year, but with over 80% of states scoring a “C” or below and a quarter of all states lacking statewide interconnection rules altogether, there is significantly more work to be done to ensure consistent, transparent, and efficient processes,” said IREC CEO Chris Nichols. “This report, and its state-specific policy recommendations, is particularly timely given the current pressure on regulators to rein in electric rate hikes and deliver more energy to meet growing demand.”
IREC’s Freeing the Grid interconnection grades are intended to assist regulators, legislators, and other stakeholders in identifying interconnection best practices for enabling the rapid growth of DERs. The grades also provide a basis for states (as well as Washington, DC and Puerto Rico) to benchmark their policies against those adopted by other states. The grades are based on ten categories of criteria that evaluate the cost, efficiency, and transparency of the interconnection process, the technologies that are eligible, and other factors. Each state’s “report card” identifies how its policies perform across these 10 criteria and identifies priority recommendations for how it can improve.
Of the 39 U.S. states and territories that have statewide interconnection procedures, only New Mexico received an “A” for its interconnection rules, indicating that it has adopted a majority of current interconnection best practices. Eight states (Arizona, California, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon) received “Bs,” indicating they have adopted many current interconnection best practices. All other states received a “C” or lower. Thirteen states have no statewide interconnection rules and received “F” grades (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wyoming).
“We’re encouraged to see states making meaningful progress toward faster and more transparent interconnection processes,” said Sachu Constantine, Vote Solar’s Executive Director. “But this year’s grades also make clear that many states still have substantial work ahead to ensure community power resources like solar can connect to the grid efficiently and fairly. Strong interconnection policy is foundational to achieving affordable, reliable, and equitable clean energy for all communities to benefit from.”
Because interconnection rules dictate how energy projects are reviewed and approved to connect to the electric distribution grid, they play a significant role in how efficiently new clean energy projects can be developed. States with rules that require a transparent and expedited review process are more likely to avoid backlogs. In states whose rules lack these characteristics, projects are more likely to experience delays that can span months or years.
Efficient interconnection has become even more important in recent years as electricity demand surges across the country and many states grapple with significant increases in electricity rates. Distributed solar and storage offer some of the most affordable and readily deployable sources of generation. States that adopt interconnection best practices can accelerate the deployment of clean, local energy sources to meet growing demand and keep costs down.
IREC’s state interconnection grades are based only on policies and practices explicitly included or referenced in a state’s interconnection rules, and therefore applicable to all jurisdictional utilities. The grades do not reflect interconnection provisions included in non-statewide interconnection rules, such as public utility commission orders that have not been formally adopted in the rules or individual utility technical documents. In some instances, the on-the-ground implementation of a state’s interconnection rules differs from what is required in a state’s interconnection rules; these differences are not captured in the grades.
To explore the Freeing the Grid interconnection grades, visit FreeingtheGrid.org. Interested stakeholders can also sign up here to be notified of a future webinar exploring the 2026 state grades in detail.
