Description of need
The queue for new interconnections on the US transmission grid is many months long. New energy projects are desperate for utilities to adopt solutions that would speed up this process.
Problem severity (1-10)
9
Who has this need
- Renewables project developers
- Energy storage projects
- New loads (e.g. data centers)
- Utilities
Total addressable market (TAM)
Solutions today, and their shortcomings
- Pearl Street Technologies is tackling some of the technical steps involved in the interconnection process
Potentially relevant capabilities
References & notes
- Francis O’Sullivan had suggested providing the entities charged with the interconnection queue with tools to streamline their feasibility assessments. The assessment process is very complex, in part because it is dynamic: some proposed projects in the queue might come online, which would change everything for other projects in the queue. However, Frank cautioned that this is a problem that is very difficult to get into because you can probably can’t easily get paid.
- How might we get renewables developers (or data centers) to pay for some of the grid buildout, and have them hopefully adopt grid technologies faster than grid operators and utilities might? Francis O’Sullivan believes this probably not possible today; it would require legal or regulatory changes. Right now, all the grid buildout and associated planning needs to be done by the grid operators themselves. (note: Scott Burger from Form Energy might disagree).
- Phil Giudice is not bullish on venture opportunities on this topic, except perhaps with the exception of data centers (see 2024-01-16 Phil Giudice on grid expansion opportunities).