Today, interconnecting new generation to the grid is a years-long process that can involve costly upgrades to the transmission system. Surging levels of new clean generation and storage projects in development as well as rapidly rising demand for electricity have come up against an aging grid that is nearing maximum capacity. This bottleneck poses major problems for grid reliability, economic development, and climate policy.

More transmission is needed to accommodate this expansion of both generation and load, but in the near term, there are tools we can use to ensure we’re getting the most out of the grid we have. In this analysis, we assess the potential for grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) to facilitate the cost-effective, timely interconnection of new generation within the PJM Interconnection.

Key Findings

Key Finding 1

GETs could enable 6.6 GW of new solar, wind, and storage projects to interconnect by 2027.

Key Finding 2

GETs are significantly cheaper than the default network upgrades that interconnection customers might face.

Key Finding 3

GETs and the new generation they enable could yield approximately $1 billion annually in production cost savings across the PJM region.

Download the appendix here.