FERC Proposes Overhaul of Transmission and Interconnection Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR) on reforms to transmission and interconnection rules for energy projects. The ANOPR is the first time in a decade that FERC has started to address transmission reform, which could level the playing field and improve market access for solar and storage assets.

Following is a statement by Gizelle Wray, director of regulatory affairs and counsel for the Solar Energy Industries Association:

“FERC’s advanced notice of proposed rulemaking today on transmission, cost allocation, and interconnection is an encouraging start and could help us overcome utility-imposed market challenges that have hampered clean energy development across the United States.

“We need to quickly ramp up solar and storage deployment to address climate change and generate new economic opportunities, but the interconnection rules today allow utilities to put clean energy projects to the side and leave them in the interconnection queue for years. We cannot have projects in a perpetual waiting room when we need to deploy hundreds of gigawatts of clean energy over the next 10 years.

“Power markets are quickly moving to clean, renewable energy, and we need rules to get those projects connected and move electricity from where it’s generated to where it’s used. However, today there is no mechanism driving utilities to do this.

“While Congress debates investments in grid infrastructure, we look forward to working with the Commission on a robust set of rules to efficiently connect clean energy projects and give them authority to approve the build-out of high-capacity transmission. This ANOPR is an important first step for the grid of the future.”

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About SEIA®: 

The Solar Energy Industries Association® (SEIA) is leading the transformation to a clean energy economy, creating the framework for solar to achieve 20% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030. SEIA works with its 1,000 member companies and other strategic partners to fight for policies that create jobs in every community and shape fair market rules that promote competition and the growth of reliable, low-cost solar power. Founded in 1974, SEIA is the national trade association for the solar and solar + storage industries, building a comprehensive vision for the Solar+ Decade through research, education and advocacy. Visit SEIA online at www.seia.org and follow @SEIA on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. 

Media Contact: 

Morgan Lyons, SEIA’s Senior Communications Manager, mlyons@seia.org (202) 556-2872