DER - Solar

‘The door is open’: At last, utilities, developers, and regulators join hands on interconnection

‘The door is open’: At last, utilities, developers, and regulators join hands on interconnection
(Hundreds collaborate on DER interconnection at GridTECH Connect Forum – Northeast.)

(Newport, RI) – Hundreds of the most influential minds in the energy industry gathered at the second GridTECH Connect Forum to tackle challenges posed by distributed energy resource (DER) interconnection. 

“It’s an event of the future,” beamed Nicola Medalova, chief operating officer for National Grid New England. “And I can’t wait to see the things we’re going to do to deliver that future.” 

The event’s keynote assembled utilities, regulators, and developers from across the Northeast to find common ground in taking a holistic approach to meeting climate goals. 

“The door is open. We can’t do this alone anymore,” Medalova insisted. “We need you all and we want your ideas.” 

Rhode Island boasts more than 400 miles of coastline, making it an appropriate (and scenic) location to discuss the future of interconnecting DERs. 

“The Ocean State” currently has the most aggressive Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) in the United States, targeting 100% renewables by 2033. It’s also acutely vulnerable to rising sea levels. Interconnection is poised to be the largest threat to achieving those goals. 

SAVE THE DATE! The next edition of the GridTECH Connect Forum will be held in Orlando, Florida on February 26, 2024. We’re bringing together developers, utilities, and regulators to take on the critical issue of DER interconnection in the Southeast. Register to secure your seat today.

Carrie A. Gill, Ph.D, head of the electric regulatory strategy at Rhode Island Energy, the state’s primary electricity and gas utility, and a co-host utility of the GridTECH Connect Forum – Northeast event, is confident her state will get there. 

But Gill also acknowledges that staying there will be a significant challenge of its own. The push to electrify is poised to bring immense load growth to the system. 

“What keeps me up at night is what are we going to do about the localized challenges from now to 2033,” explained Gill. “How are we going to stay at 100% renewable electricity as we add this load? It’s going to take an immense amount of DERs.” 

According to Gill, Rhode Island has one of the highest rates of installed DER in the country by area and by capita, with more than 600 MW online and another 600 MW in the queue. 

As more projects come online and electrification accelerates, Gill expects a fundamental shift in our relationship with the grid. We will rely on electricity to heat our stoves, charge 

our cars, work from home, educate our children, and regulate potentially hazardous climate conditions. 

“Thirty years from now, a power outage has the potential to be a public health crisis,” Gill warned. “We need to be ready for that now.” 

That concern was shared by several of GridTECH Connect Forum’s keynote speakers, uniting often-opposed stakeholders under a common cause. 

Zaid Ashai, CEO of the Massachusetts-based community solar developer Nexamp, which served as the event’s host developer, suggested the industry “wasted years on opposite sides of the table.” But the gravity of the climate crisis, he said, requires radical collaboration. 

“We can’t let the next generation down. We have to get there,” Ashai said. 

Nexamp CEO Zaid Ashai delivers a keynote address at the GridTECH Connect Forum – Northeast in Newport, Rhode Island on Oct. 24, 2023. (Courtesy: Nexamp)

Ashai thinks the most difficult challenge ahead will be establishing business models to incentivize utilities, owners, and operators to work together. He believes traditional rate-basing does not incentivize utilities to be proactive and cautions against passing costs along to consumers. 

Gill, for her part, already sees the transition pinching pockets of average families. 

“This is forcing our customers to make tough choices when they’re paying their bills at the kitchen table,” she warned. 

Affordability – in the cost of development and the cost of energy – will be key to a carbon-neutral future. 

“Clean energy doesn’t work unless it is affordable and scalable,” Ashai added. His company, Nexamp, has been encouraged by recent policy changes and dozens of states applying for community solar energy. However, he thinks navigating the pitfalls posed by DER interconnection will still be difficult. 

So does Medalova, who supports incentive programs like the three ongoing pilots in Massachusetts that allow developers to manage certain aspects of connecting new projects to the grid. 

“My kids still think it’s fun when the power is cut, until the battery in their iPad dies,” she joked. 

She is optimistic that interconnection, battery storage solutions, and non-wires alternatives will allow us to get more out of the network than we do today, perhaps staving off the seemingly-impossible proposition of expanding the grid by four times its current size. She thinks a two-times expansion is possible. 

Rhode Island Public Utilities Commissioner Abigail Anthony cautioned that the most profound changes brought on by the energy transition are yet to come. She says a level playing field across utilities will be critical to delivering energy with the least cost resources. 

“It would be a game changer if utilities could quickly provide the cost of interconnection, or at least an estimate,” she explained. “If we don’t minimize the cost of the power system, we will price out electricity as a climate solution.” 

In order to meet our climate goals, collaboration and interconnection will be essential. And it will come down to partnerships and innovations in process, not just new technology. 

“A rising tide lifts all ships,” said Gill. “Let’s work on this together and we will all be better for it.”