Clean Coalition guides FERC to improve interconnection
The proposed changes will be open for comment this summer and then finalized in the months that follow.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently proposed significant rule changes to the Small Generator Interconnection Procedures. These changes, which build upon the Clean Coalition’s extensive work streamlining interconnection rules and processes in California, highlight how critical state-level work can be beneficially leveraged for national impact.
FERC’s proposed changes adopt Clean Coalition recommendations from a March 27, 2012 FERC filing, which was submitted in coordination with the Solar Energy Industries Association.
These changes remove significant barriers to development of clean local energy. One key rule change, resulting from the Clean Coalition’s work on California’s Rule 21 interconnection process, will allow interconnection customers to request a pre-application report from transmission providers. This added transparency streamlines interconnection efforts for project developers by facilitating straightforward evaluation of potential points of interconnection before having to initiate formal and expensive interconnection processes. FERC also proposed revising its current 2 megawatt (MW) project threshold for participation in the Fast Track Interconnection Process by basing eligibility on individual grid and resource characteristics, up to a 5 MW project limit.
The Clean Coalition previously succeeded in raising California’s Fast Track limit to 3 MW and pushed for the 5 MW threshold at FERC. The proposed changes will be open for comment this summer and then finalized in the months that follow.
