The US Department of Energy (DOE) Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) has released a new Distributed Energy Resource Interconnection Roadmap that can lead to shorter timelines and better outcomes for connecting clean energy resources to the distribution and sub-transmission grids. The roadmap also sets ambitious targets and strategies to improve interconnection processes and maintain grid reliability, a key purpose of launching the i2X initiative in June 2022.
DOE also announced $16 million in upcoming funding to support stakeholder engagement and technical assistance to adopt interconnection strategies on the distribution and transmission grids. Additionally, DOE and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announced $2.1 million for 10 utilities (such as American Electric Power, Appalachian Power, Duquesne Light Company, Eversource Energy and Xcel Energy)to 12 pilot interconnection software solutions. Further, DOE launched i2X Connect, an online platform that encourages collaboration among interconnection stakeholders. Improving interconnection processes will reduce costs, shorten timelines, and support a reliable, resilient electric grid.
Distributed energy resources (DERs) include a diverse set of technologies, such as residential solar systems, community solar systems, distributed wind systems, battery energy storage, system (BESS) and electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment.
The DOE roadmap provides the broad range of interconnection stakeholders—including utilities, state agencies, regulators, equipment manufacturers, consumer advocates, equity and energy justice groups, researchers, interconnection customers, and others—with 39 solutions organised around four goals:
- Increasing data access, transparency, and security
- Improving interconnection processes and timelines
- Promoting economic efficiency in interconnection
- Maintaining a reliable, resilient, and secure grid
The roadmap provides specific actions that the interconnection community can take in the next five years and beyond to address current DER interconnection challenges. The roadmap identifies five measurable targets for interconnection improvement by 2030. These include ambitious targets for shorter interconnection times and higher interconnection completion rates based on the size of the new system. The roadmap targets also aim for all 50 US states, as well as the District of Columbia and US territories, to have public, detailed, and current interconnection queue data available. Additionally, the roadmap sets goals for grid resilience and reliability: ensuring zero DER-related grid disturbances and decreasing the time to restore service after a power outage by 25 per cent. This roadmap complements DOE’s Transmission Interconnection Roadmap published in April 2024, which identified solutions for challenges in transmission system interconnection.
A kick-off and overview webinar is being held on January 30, as the first in a series of webinars discussing the roadmap’s goals and solutions.
To accelerate implementation of the solutions identified in the two i2X roadmaps, DOE announced the launch of i2X Connect, an online platform that provides a space for utilities, grid operators, state and local governments, clean energy industry, interconnection customers, and other stakeholders to connect and enable the implementation of solutions to improve interconnection processes through collaboration.
DOE also announced two upcoming interconnection funding opportunities expected to open for applications in the spring of 2025. The i2X Distributed Energy Resources Interconnection Solutions Collaboratives (DERISC) PIA will provide up to $8 million to support local, state, or regional collaborative teams to prioritise and tailor solutions in the DER Interconnection Roadmap. The i2X Accelerating Transmission System Interconnection Strategies (ATSIS) voucher programme Partnership Intermediary Agreement (PIA) will provide up to $8 million to offer specialised technical assistance to transmission owners and providers. The assistance will help evaluate cost-saving interconnection solutions using grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) and other advanced capabilities, ultimately accelerating grid interconnection timelines and reducing overall cost. The i2X Innovative Queue Management Solutions (iQMS), DERISC, and ATSIS PIA programmes are all administered by ENERGYWERX. This funding mechanism is made possible through the innovative PIA set up by the DOE’s Office of Technology Transitions.