The POWER Podcast
POWER
The POWER Podcast provides listeners with insight into the latest news and technology that is poised to affect the power industry. POWER’s Executive Editor Aaron Larson conducts interviews with leading industry experts and gets updates from insiders at power-related conferences and events held around the world.
Categories: Technology
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There are several obstacles to overcome when building a clean-energy project, but perhaps the biggest is getting through the generator interconnection queue (GIQ). Every regional transmission organization (RTO) and independent system operator (ISO) in the U.S. has a significant backlog in its GIQ and processing interconnection requests can take years to complete. This has created a significant barrier to deploying renewable energy, as companies often face long wait times, and high costs for new transmission lines and other upgrades when the local grid is near or at capacity. Part of the problem is the complexity of the interconnection process, which involves multiple studies. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) reports that historically about 70% of projects submitted to its queue ultimately withdraw, resulting in extensive rework and delays, as studies must be redone when projects withdraw. MISO recognizes change is necessary and has implemented some reforms. On Jan. 19, 2024, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) accepted MISO’s filing (ER24-340) to increase milestone payments, adopt an automatic withdrawal penalty, revise withdrawal penalty provisions, and expand site control requirements. These provisions were designed to help expedite the GIQ process, and maximize transparency and certainty. MISO said the filing was developed through extensive collaboration in the stakeholder process, including multiple discussions in the Planning Advisory Committee and Interconnection Process Working Group. MISO expects these reforms to reduce the number of queue requests withdrawing from the process. It said the fewer projects in studies, the quicker the evaluations can be completed, and the fewer projects that withdraw, the more certain phase 1 and 2 study results are. Still, it’s likely that more needs to be done to improve the GIQ process. The Clean Grid Alliance (CGA), a nonprofit organization that works to advance renewable energy in the Midwest, conducted a survey of 14 clean energy developers who’ve had solar, wind, hybrid, and battery storage projects in the MISO interconnection queue over the last five years to better understand the challenges they’ve faced. Aside from interconnection queue challenges, the CGA survey also identified other hindrances to clean-energy project development. Soholt explained that a lot of development work is done face to face. COVID prevented that, which was a big problem that had a ripple effect. Some leases that developers had negotiated began to expire, so they had to go back out to communities and renegotiate. “Siting in general is getting more difficult, as we do more volume, as we do transmission in the MISO footprint,” said Soholt. “We need new generation to be sited, we need new transmission, and we have to find a pathway forward on that community acceptance piece,” she said. Among other challenges, Soholt said some projects saw generator interconnection agreements (GIAs) timing out and needing MISO extensions. Meanwhile, transmission upgrade delays also presented problems, not only the large backbone transmission upgrades, but also the transmission owners building interconnections for individual projects to connect breakers, transformers, and other equipment. Soholt said longer and longer component lead times presented timing challenges, which were also problematic for developers. These were all important takeaways from the CGA survey, and items the group will work to resolve. Yet, for all the difficulties, Soholt seemed optimistic that MISO would continue to find ways to improve the process. “When we get overwhelmed, we really step back and say, ‘What’s going to be the best thing to work on to really make a difference?’ So far, that really has been the big things like transmission planning. We feel good about where that’s at in MISO—they are doing good long-range planning,” Soholt said.
Previous episodes
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161 - 159. Navigating the Interconnection Queue Is One of Many Challenges Clean-Energy Projects Face Fri, 19 Apr 2024
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160 - 158. Molten Salt Reactor Technology Solves Several Nuclear Industry Problems Tue, 09 Apr 2024
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159 - 157. How Utilities Are Planning for Extreme Weather Events and Mitigating Risks Wed, 13 Mar 2024
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158 - 156. Community Solar Projects Bring Renewable Energy to the Masses Thu, 07 Mar 2024
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157 - 155. Improving Nuclear Plant Construction Processes: How to Build Projects More Efficiently Thu, 15 Feb 2024
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156 - 154. Hydrogen: ‘The Swiss Army Knife of Decarbonization’ Thu, 01 Feb 2024
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155 - 153. PGE Leans into an All-of-the-Above Strategy to Decarbonize Its Power System Tue, 23 Jan 2024
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154 - 152. A Boiler for Any Occasion Thu, 28 Dec 2023
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153 - 151. Microgrids a Win for Both Owners and Grid Operators Thu, 14 Dec 2023
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152 - 150. How Coal Fly Ash Is Reducing CO2 Emissions and Improving Concrete Thu, 30 Nov 2023
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151 - 149. DOE Competition Helps College Students Prepare for Cyber Jobs in the Energy Industry Tue, 21 Nov 2023
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150 - 148. Advanced Nuclear Fuel Approved for Installation at Plant Vogtle Tue, 31 Oct 2023
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149 - 147. Five Key Transformations Required to Achieve Net-Zero in the U.S. Fri, 13 Oct 2023
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148 - 146. Reducing Carbon Intensity with Renewable Propane Wed, 04 Oct 2023
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147 - 145. How Power Companies Benefit from Accurate Weather Forecasts Tue, 26 Sep 2023
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146 - 144. Environmental Justice: What It Is and Why It’s Important to Power Projects Thu, 07 Sep 2023
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145 - 143. Power Grid Investments Improve Reliability and Make Blackouts Less Likely Wed, 30 Aug 2023
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144 - 142. Nuclear Power, Electrification, and Carbon-Free Fuel Are Key to INL Achieving Net-Zero by 2031 Wed, 23 Aug 2023
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143 - 141. CTOTF Conference: ‘Best One-Stop Shop to Hit It All’ Wed, 09 Aug 2023
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142 - 140. Hydrogen Offers a ‘Multi-Billion-Dollar Opportunity’ This Decade for Innovative Companies Thu, 27 Jul 2023
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141 - 139. How to Achieve a Thriving Nuclear Power Industry in the U.S. Thu, 20 Jul 2023
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140 - 138. How Renewable Propane–Fueled EV Charging Solutions Can Significantly Cut Carbon Emissions Thu, 13 Jul 2023
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139 - 137. POWER’s 2023 Plant of the Year: Estrella del Mar III Thu, 06 Jul 2023
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138 - 136. Subsequent License Renewal: Extending Nuclear Power Reactors to 80 Years of Operation Thu, 15 Jun 2023
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137 - 135. TVA Head Wants Nothing to Do with Building One Reactor Unless He Can Build 20 Wed, 17 May 2023
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136 - 134. New Technology Offers Options for Offshore Wind and Power-to-X Projects Thu, 04 May 2023
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135 - 133. How Propane Can Help Decarbonize the Power Grid Wed, 19 Apr 2023
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134 - 132. How an EMP or GMD Could Destroy the Power Grid and Create Chaos Thu, 13 Apr 2023
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133 - 131. Offshore Wind and Green Hydrogen Offer Great Opportunities for Gulf Coast States Thu, 30 Mar 2023
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132 - 130. Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, and FDR: Big Players in U.S. Hydropower History Thu, 23 Mar 2023
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131 - 129. Microgrids Provide Reliable Power During Emergencies and Help Decarbonize the Grid Thu, 16 Mar 2023
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130 - 128. Help Wanted: Retirements and the Energy Transition Lead to Job Openings in the Power Industry Wed, 08 Mar 2023
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129 - 127. Cutting Costs with Technology-Driven Improvements Tue, 07 Feb 2023
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128 - 126. Is Delivering 100% Renewable Energy on an Hourly Basis at Cost-Competitive Rates Achievable? Mon, 30 Jan 2023
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127 - 125. Fish Friendly Hydro: Natel Energy Is Proving It's Possible Thu, 17 Nov 2022
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126 - 124. How Rural Communities Can Benefit from the Energy Transition Thu, 03 Nov 2022
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125 - 123. A Pillar in the Community and Collaborator Around the World: DLC Lights Pittsburgh Tue, 25 Oct 2022
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124 - 122. How Bitcoin Mining Can Help Power Companies Optimize Generation Assets Thu, 06 Oct 2022
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123 - 121. Four Important Ways Aero-Derivative Gas Turbines Are Being Utilized in Power Systems Wed, 28 Sep 2022
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122 - 120. Decarbonizing the Power Supply While Maintaining Reliable and Affordable Electricity Wed, 21 Sep 2022
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121 - 119. How to Overcome Challenges to the U.S.’s Offshore Wind Energy Goals Thu, 11 Aug 2022
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120 - 118. Community Choice Aggregation Provides Renewable Energy at Reduced Costs Thu, 21 Jul 2022
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119 - 117. Hydrogen Poised to Play Prominent Role in the World’s Energy Transition Thu, 16 Jun 2022
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118 - 116. Keeping Coal Relevant: University of Wyoming Leads the Way Thu, 05 May 2022
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117 - 115. Four Questions You Must Ace to Ensure Sound Cybersecurity in OT Systems Thu, 21 Apr 2022
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116 - 114. How a UPS Can Provide a Return on Investment as an Energy Storage System Thu, 14 Apr 2022
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115 - 113. How Ammonia Could Help the World Transition to Clean Energy Wed, 23 Mar 2022
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114 - 112. Women Are an Important Piece of UAE Nuclear Power Program Thu, 10 Mar 2022
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113 - 111. Power Industry People: Finding Top Talent in the Military Mon, 28 Feb 2022
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112 - 110. Decarbonizing the World: Hydrogen Technology Is the Next Big Thing Thu, 24 Feb 2022