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Community Installations >100kW
Community Installations >100kW
The interconnection process will depend on the size and location of the renewable energy system. It will also depend on standards established by individual utilities. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has established standard generation interconnection procedures. The guidelines established by FERC are described here, but it is worth mentioning that NARUC (the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners) and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association also have good guidelines. All costs associated with necessary studies, facility modifications, and interconnection equipment are the responsibility of the project developers unless otherwise specified in an agreement with the utility.
The interconnection steps listed below are quite comprehensive, and may not all be necessary for every community energy project. FERC recommends a “Fast Track Process” for facilities no larger than 2 MW. This fast-track process uses a screening procedure to assess the ability of the local grid to accept the generated electricity, thus bypassing the need for a series of studies. Early meetings with the utility should include a discussion of the studies necessary to ensure a safe interconnection while keeping expenses and time investment to a minimum.
The steps involved are:
- Step 1: Submit Interconnection Request to Transmission Provider
- Step 2: Scoping Meeting with Utility
- Step 3: Feasibility Study
- Step 4: System Impact Study
- Step 5: Facilities Study
- Step 6: Interconnection Agreement
More information on each step can be found on FERC's website.
It's important to understand that all of the above steps are flexible at the discretion of the utility. The initial meetings with the utility will establish the procedure for generating an interconnection agreement. Utilities with prior wind interconnection experience may already have an established procedure or may work on a case-by-case basis. Talking with other small generators already interconnected to the utility can provide insight into how the utility approaches the process and can provide a baseline to ensure that community energy projects are not asked to undertake unnecessary studies and transmission improvements.
