Freeing the Grid: Ranking U.S. States’ Interconnection Policies in 2026 Webinar

Join IREC for an exploration of key findings from its recent Freeing the Grid interconnection grades. Freeing the Grid is a joint initiative of IREC and Vote Solar that evaluates key state policies for enabling clean energy adoption and grid access. The state interconnection grades, updated earlier this year, evaluate the quality of U.S. states’ interconnection policies. The grades are intended to assist policymakers and other stakeholders in identifying policy best practices to safely and reliably enable the growth of distributed energy resources (DERs), such as solar and energy storage. They also provide a basis for states to benchmark their existing policies against those adopted in other states. In this 2026 release, IREC graded all 50 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, using scoring criteria that reflect current best practices for connecting DERs to the electric grid.

The webinar will cover:

• An overview of the Freeing the Grid interconnection scoring criteria and methodology;
• Key takeaways from the 2026 interconnection grades;
• Key trends in interconnection policy, including cost envelopes and export control provisions;
• A discussion of how states can improve their interconnection rules.

This webinar is intended for anyone interested in improving interconnection rules for DERs. Please note that IREC’s interconnection grades evaluate state policies for interconnections to the distribution grid; transmission interconnection policies adopted by regional transmission entities, such as Independent System Operators (ISOs) or Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs), are not covered.