Despite the astoundIng increase of grid-connected solar from 2005 to 2013, U.S. utilities and developers still face interconnection challenges. With proper planning, however, and using integrated distribution planning (IDP), states can overcome major interconnection challenges, including closed circuits, that are hindering the integration of renewables.
Up Front with Erica Schroeder McConnell 
Sharing the Burden and the Benefits: The Quandary of Allocating DER Interconnection Costs
Interconnecting DERs to the distribution grid is generally a “cost-causer pays” system: consumers who want solar pay for necessary distribution system upgrades, even when the upgrades will likely support future interconnection projects. What’s more, future projects benefit from investment in the grid’s infrastructure and could escape upgrade fees. Economics and fairness theories aside, this practice can kill perfectly viable and beneficial projects that didn’t budget for high upgrade costs and cause major delays in the process.
Expanding Solar Access for Disadvantaged Communities
It was a good month for California consumers and for clean energy progress across the U.S., as other states watched a landmark vote by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that modifies but doesn’t undermine the state’s net energy metering program (NEM), and the value proposition of customer-generated distributed renewable energy.
Easing the Transition
What a week for energy news! And right in the middle of it all is what we believe to be a landmark paper. In the event you didn’t find time to take a look at it, here are the highlights.
MA Action Significantly Improves Interconnection
Last week, Massachusetts formally adopted improvements to its interconnection procedures that make it easier for small renewable energy systems to connect to the distribution grid, without compromising safety or power quality. MA joins a handful of other leading states, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), adopting use of a 100 percent of minimum load penetration screen in its supplemental review process. Most simply, this is a recognition that smaller systems have less complex review needs.
