Grid interconnection queues
The administrative line to be connected to the electricity grid. In several markets it is the slowest step in building anything.
judged, with a citation claimed, no citationNumber: papers, preprints and grants the feeds collected — unreviewed
Searched for “interconnection queue”, “grid interconnection”, “hosting capacity” in titles and abstracts.
3 collected items, newest first ↓Judged by hand ↓Who is active ↓
All stagesFundamental researchApplied / labPilot / demonstrationEarly commercialAt scaleNewestMost cited
Pilot / demonstration — readiness 5 to 7 of the nine-point scale. Evidence it takes: A pilot line, field trial or demonstration announced by the organisation running it; a demonstration or SBIR Phase II grant.
Judged by hand
- Small modular reactors
Designs are licensed or in licensing and first units are under construction; none is yet delivering power at scale in a Western market.
Collected by the feeds
- Purpose
the state energy plan funds will be used to supplement salaries of agency personnel and provide funds for energy related data and yearly subscriptions to industry news for agency staff working on sep grant related activities which will benefit the commonwealth with clean, affordable, equitable and a resilient energy future.
planned activities/objectives
the ma department of energy resources (doer) has planned three (3) activities for program year.
1. clean peak, grid modernization, storage and transportation
clean peak
the massachusetts clean peak energy standard (cps) is designed to provide incentives to clean energy technologies, such as energy storage, that can supply electricity or reduce demand during seasonal peak demand periods established by the department of energy resources (doer). by providing an incentive for the time of generation, doer is hoping to influence when system owners dispatch their systems in order to achieve the most benefit to the distribution system and the commonwealth. the cps also provides additional incentives for resources which provide resiliency benefits, are located in areas where there are significant benefits to siting resources, and dispatch during the highest peak time of the month.
grid modernization
doer is advancing policies to ensure massachusetts will have a modernized electric grid capable of supporting widespread distributed energy resources and electrification technologies like heat pumps and electric vehicles. doer serves as chair of the grid modernization advisory council (gmac), which reviews and provides recommendations on massachusetts investor-owned electric distribution companies’ (edcs) electricsector modernization plans (esmps). the gmac is an integral part of increasing transparency and stakeholder engagement in the grid planning process and is meeting on a monthly basis to develop stakeholder understanding of grid planning topics and develop a strategic plan for grid modernization and planning activities in the forthcoming years. additionally, in 2025, doer is engaging as an intervenor in dockets at the department of public utilities (dpu) to advocate for grid modernization and distribution system planning, including in dockets related to the esmps, new rate designs for electric vehicles, and long-term system planning for proactive grid investments. doer is also conducting a technical potential of load management study with consultant support and planned stakeholder engagement. by reducing peak electricity demand, load management measures like energy efficiency, demand response, and virtual power plants can reduce the amount of grid infrastructure needed to provide reliable, clean electric service. through this study, doer is further studying the load management landscape in the commonwealth and the potential for load management to build on the existing portfolio to achieve further savings for ratepayers.
storage
doer will continue to work with the clean energy center (cec) as the $20m in energy storage demonstration projects proceed through construction and operation.
the massachusetts clean peak energy standard (cps) is designed to provide incentives to clean energy technologies, such as energy storage, that can supply electricity or reduce demand during seasonal peak demand periods established by doer. by providing an incentive for the time of generation, doer is hoping to influence when system owners dispatch their systems in order to achieve the most benefit to the distribution system and the commonwealth. the cps also provides additional incentives for resources which provide resiliency benefits, are located in areas where there are significant benefits to siting resources, and dispatch during the highest peak time of the month.
in 2025, doer intends to launch a new $50 million energy storage grant program. the program is currently being designed with support from stakeholders and will issue a straw proposal before a final design is selected.
lastly, doer will be coordinating with the massachusetts electric distribution companies on the procurement of energy storage resources as directed by the massachusetts legislature.
transportation
the goal of the transportation program is to reduce emissions from the transportation sector.
the department of energy resources (doer) continues to host the clean cities coalition. the clean cities coordinator provides educational services and public outreach to improve public and private awareness of alternative fuels technologies, including plug-in hybrid, battery electric, biofuels and other technologies to reduce emissions. the program is intended to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of the use of alternative transportation technologies and reduce ghg emissions.
massachusetts offers rebates for electric vehicles (mor-ev) is a massachusetts program that issues rebates to electric vehicle drivers and fleet owners. these programs aim to provide air pollution emission reductions for the commonwealth by increasing the use of light-, medium-, and heavy- duty electric vehicles. doer manages the mor-ev rebate programs which will not only include rebates for new vehicles later in py2025 but used light- duty vehicle rebates for income- qualified applicants as well. the mor-ev incentives are available to consumers who are residents of the commonwealth, and for some vehicle types, corporations and nonprofit entities that purchase or lease eligible electric vehicles may also seek rebate funding. for qualified low- income applicants, the program offers a rebate adder in addition to the standard new or used vehicle rebate. light-duty vehicle rebate applicants can also apply for a trade-in rebate if they are trading in a qualifying internal combustion engine vehicle when purchasing or leasing an electric vehicle. for medium and heavy- duty vehicles, a rebate adder is available for eligible vehicles that are registered or operate at least 50% of the time in designated environmental justice communities.
as the electric vehicle market matures, doer supports electric vehicle infrastructure buildout decisions to make sure evses are located to support the expansion of the ev market. as the energy policy agency of the administration, the doer participates in electric company rate cases and dockets in front of the department of public utilities (dpu). in this role, the doer provides policy analysis and comments on electric distribution company programs that support evse infrastructure, off--peak charging incentives, fleet advisory services, and other programs as proposed by the companies.
2. renewables portfolio standards
the massachusetts renewable and clean peak energy portfolio standards (rps and cps) are statutory obligations that require retail electricity suppliers to obtain a percentage of electricity from qualifying generation units.
the rps began with an obligation of 1% in 2003 and has now increased to roughly 27% in 2025 and will continue to grow 3% each year until 2029. beyond 2029 the program will increase 1% each year. the green communities act of 2008 established other rps classes and subclasses, such as a carve out for solar systems and waste-to-energy systems and the rate of increase is set by the massachusetts legislature.
the rps programs have effectively stimulated new renewable energy development. the minimum standard has been successfully met with new generation with only small shortages since 2007. in addition, the commonwealth has seen tremendous growth in its solar programs and met its initial goal of installing 1,600 mw by 2020 by mid-2017 and in 2020 surpassed 2,700 mw. in response to the rapid pace of deployment, doer developed the solar massachusetts renewable target (smart) incentive program, which was launched in november 2018. the tariff- based program allowed for an additional 1,600 mw of solar to participate for the new incentive, which was later increased to 3,200 mw. since its launch, approximately 55,000 applications have been submitted, and approximately 2 gw ac of the capacity is committed. however, due to volatile prices beginning in 2020, the smart program has seen a decline in the rate of applications being submitted. doer is currently in the process of updating the smart program and anticipates filing draft regulations in 2025 with the new program rolling out in 2026. the revision will focus on changing the structure of the program from a declining block structure to an annual adjustable structure. this will allow doer to annually evaluate the cost to deploy solar, progress towards meeting 2050 requirements, and impacts on ratepayers.
in 2019, doer rolled out the clean peak energy standard (cps), which provides incentive to projects based on their impact on peak load. renewable energy projects and battery storage systems receive an incentive for dispatching during times of peak demand when the grid is the dirtiest. additionally, demand response
resources (such as smart thermostats and load curtailment technologies) receive incentive for reducing load during peak windows. the program had a relatively slow start, and has historically been undersupplied since 2020, resulting in large amounts of alternative compliance payments (acp) collected by doer. in 2024, doer reviewed the cps program to identify ways to qualify more projects, reduce acp collection, and also implement a competitive procurement in partnership with the massachusetts electric distribution companies (edcs) to provide long term contracts to resources for their clean peak energy certificates (cpecs). this long- term financing will provide significant benefits to projects and result in an increase in qualified cps capacity. in november 2024, the massachusetts legislature passed legislation to authorize a large scale procurement of energy storage, which will subsume the cps procurement. the legislation required the electric distribution companies, in coordination with doer to procure 5,000 mw of energy storage by 2030.
in 2025, the renewable energy division at doer plans to continue to implement the rps and cps programs, conduct a rulemaking to improve the smart program in order to ensure maximum efficiency, issue a request for proposal for the first round of energy storage procurement, and continue to work towards deploying historic amounts of renewable resources in massachusetts.
3. resiliency and energy security
the massachusetts doer is responsible for developing and administering policies, plans and programs related to energy emergencies with the overall objective of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the commonwealth. the goal of efforts within the resiliency and energy security program is to enhance the commonwealth’s energy security and resilience to all hazards, mitigate the impacts of disruptive events and risk to the sector overall through preparedness and planning, and assist in facilitating the recovery from energy disruptions in collaboration with other state agencies, the private sector, federal government, and local government.
energy security stakeholder engagement
the department of energy resources (doer) biweekly regional winter fuel coordination calls with liquid fuel stakeholders in new england and new york. the intent of these calls is to provide a forum to increase regional communication across all sectors concerning delivered fuels in new england and new york. the coordination calls are conducted in a webinar format and allow industry and government stakeholders to share information about potential or actual energy supply or delivery issues and coordinate response and mitigation actions to resolve or mitigate problems. the calls serve as a “one-stop shop” for biweekly updates on energy situations affecting the region and individual states. the doer senior energy security and resilience lead will continue these calls during winter 2025-26 with approximately eight calls planned. doer utilizes this same format and group of roughly 150 stakeholders to share information and coordinate response actions in energy emergency events occurring outside winter months as well.
the department of energy resources bi-weekly winter energy supply, pricing, and outlook webinars for stakeholders within the executive office of energy and environmental affairs (eoeea). these meetings are conducted approximately bi- weekly during the winter heating season or during periods of time when there are actual or potential energy supply constraints involving liquid fuels, natural gas or electricity. participants include the doer commissioner, dpu chairperson, undersecretary of energy and other state-level stakeholders within the executive office of energy and environmental affairs (eoeea) with responsibilities concerning energy security, reliability and resiliency. the doer senior energy security and resilience lead has conducted these bi-weekly calls over the past several winter heating seasons. topics include current pricing, inventories/supplies, potential or actual delivery logistics issues, or other constraint issues or concerns. the calls also provide an opportunity to review any potential regional, national, or international issues with energy supply or distribution with potential impacts on the region. a webinar presentation briefing format is utilized. during winter 2025-26 approximately eight webinars are planned, however, the total may be adjusted based on need or conditions. this format is also utilized during other periods of the year when issues or concerns related to energy security arise, providing a common format and structure for information sharing, coordination and response across the secretariat.
doer will continue to participate in national and regional energy security coordination calls and webinars with other state energy offices, the department of energy, and the national association of state energy officials. doer participates in monthly and quarterly regional and national energy security coordination calls with other states, doe ceser, and naseo. during the 2025-26 planning year, doer expects to continue this, with approximately 12 monthly national coordination calls as well as other calls with the department of energy ceser office on winter and summer preparedness, an annual esf-12 (energy) coordination meeting to review roles and responsibilities, and other related energy security planning activities. during 2025-2026, the doer senior
energy security and resilience lead will continue to serve on the naseo energy security committee leadership team representing the northeast states.
doer will continue to staff iso-new england committees and meetings related to reliability, transmission, and planning. doer staff will continue to staff monthly meetings of several iso-new england standing committees and working groups with a nexus on regional energy security, reliability, and resiliency. this includes the transmission, planning and reliability committees. several projects within these committees have a direct impact on energy security, reliability and resiliency. active projects include the 2050 transmission study process examining future transmission needs out to 2050 needed to accommodate future energy generation demands, compliance with ferc order 1920a requiring regional transmission planning for the future, and the (pending) ferc order 2023a requiring interconnection queue reform to ensure generators that are first ready to interconnect are first served in the interconnection queue. during 2025-2026 we expect the iso to issue a final ferc order 2023a that will finalize reform of the interconnection queue and study process to speed up the interconnection process for new generation resources in the interconnection queue. in addition, other committees are exploring the mechanisms to transition to a prompt seasonal energy market for procuring generation resources to be more responsive to market dynamics and changing generation resources. doer expects to continue to staff at least 3 committees and various other iso-ne related working groups and initiatives. we expect approximately 3 monthly meetings in the coming year (30 total).
doer will continue to participate in massachusetts emergency management agency-led state emergency support function (esf) team meetings, preparedness, and pre-incident planning calls as a lead supporting state agency for esf-12 (energy). during 2025-26, doer will continue to participate in regularly scheduled massachusetts esf team meetings. currently held biannually, esf team meetings provide an opportunity for mema and esf stakeholders to meet and review ongoing coordination, preparedness and planning activities as well as trainings. during planning year 2025-26, the esf team meetings are expected to remain biannual (spring and fall) and be supplemented with pre-hurricane season and pre-winter planning meeting. in addition, mema also conducts occasional exercises and trainings for esf team members as well as critical infrastructure branch esf team meetings. doer expects to participate in approximately six esf team related meetings in the 2025-26 planning year.
energy security planning
the department of energy resources will continue to lead efforts in further updating the state energy security plan (sesp) related to requirements in the 2021 infrastructure and investment jobs act (iija). during the 2023-24 planning year, doer was notified by doe ceser the 2023 massachusetts sesp had fully met the requirements detailed in the iija. in plan year 2024-25, doer continued to make incremental plan improvements to reflect ongoing work related to energy security planning. of note, we expect to update elements related to state fusion center cyber coordination and the risk assessment and mitigation approaches portions of the plan for 2025. in 2025-26 doer will further update the state energy profile and the vulnerability and risk assess
MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY RESOURCES
Pilot / demonstration · Innovation or demonstration award.From US DOE, via USAspending · not yet reviewed
- Bipartisan infrastructure law (bil) - flexible interconnections and resilience for maine (project firm)
this project will create a more modern and dynamic grid that will drive robust distributed energy resource (der) and renewable energy deployment in maine while ensuring resilience and affordability for ratepayers. the project will accomplish this by implementing leading-edge software and hardware technologies to enable active network management (anm) and facilitate flexible interconnections; installing static synchronous compensators (statcoms) to dynamically control voltage on circuits with high penetrations of renewable energy; and deploying dynamic line rating (dlr) technology to increase transmission line capacity on circuits experiencing renewable energy constraints.
the expected outcomes of this project include reduction in der project costs associated with grid upgrades; use of der curtailments instead of disconnections to achieve grid reliability; reduction in time for der projects to clear the interconnection queue; increase in der and renewable energy capacity connection; increase in transmission capacity available to support renewable energy projects; lessons learned for scaling anm and dlr across maine, new england, and the united states; demonstration of safe and reliable grid operations with high levels of der penetration and streamlined interconnections; interconnection business process innovation; skilled workforce development to meet grid modernization needs; reduction in voltage anomalies occurring on circuits with statcoms deployed; and by investing in advanced technologies and workforce development, transformation of maine’s clean energy market – driving private sector investment, ensuring affordable electricity prices, increasing grid operators’ ability to coordinate the dynamic grid for reliability and resilience, and advancing state and federal climate goals.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY RESOURCES
Pilot / demonstration · Innovation or demonstration award.From US DOE, via USAspending · not yet reviewed
- To obtain a copy of the funding opportunity announcement (foa) please go to the arpa-e website at https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov. to apply to this foa, applicants must register with and submit application materials through arpa-e exchange (https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/registration.aspx). for detailed guidance on using arpa-e exchange, please refer to the arpa-e exchange user guide (https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/manuals.aspx). arpa-e will not review or consider concept papers submitted through other means. for problems with arpa-e exchange, email exchangehelp@hq.doe.gov (with foa name and number in the subject line).
questions about this foa? check the frequently asked questions available at http://arpa-e.energy.gov/faq. for questions that have not already been answered, email arpa-e-co@hq.doe.gov.
agency overview:
the advanced research projects agency – energy (arpa-e), an organization within the department of energy (doe), is chartered by congress in the america competes act of 2007 (p.l. 110-69), as amended by the america competes reauthorization act of 2010 (p.l. 111-358), as further amended by the energy act of 2020 (p.l. 116-260):
“(a) to enhance the economic and energy security of the united states through the development of energy technologies that—
(i) reduce imports of energy from foreign sources;
(ii) reduce energy-related emissions, including greenhouse gases;
(iii) improve the energy efficiency of all economic sectors;
(iv) provide transformative solutions to improve the management, clean-up, and disposal of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel; and
(v) improve the resilience, reliability, and security of infrastructure to produce, deliver, and store energy; and
(b) to ensure that the united states maintains a technological lead in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies.”
arpa-e issues this funding opportunity announcement (foa) under its authorizing statute codified at 42 u.s.c. § 16538. the foa and any cooperative agreements or grants made under this foa are subject to 2 c.f.r. part 200 as supplemented by 2 c.f.r. part 910.
arpa-e funds research on, and the development of, transformative science and technology solutions to address the energy and environmental missions of the department. the agency focuses on technologies that can be meaningfully advanced with a modest investment over a defined period of time in order to catalyze the translation from scientific discovery to early-stage technology. for the latest news and information about arpa-e, its programs and the research projects currently supported, see: http://arpa-e.energy.gov/.
arpa-e funds transformational research. existing energy technologies generally progress on established “learning curves” where refinements to a technology and the economies of scale that accrue as manufacturing and distribution develop drive improvements to the cost/performance metric in a gradual fashion. this continual improvement of a technology is important to its increased commercial deployment and is appropriately the focus of the private sector or the applied technology offices within doe. in contrast, arpa-e supports transformative research that has the potential to create fundamentally new learning curves. arpa-e technology projects typically start with cost/performance estimates well above the level of an incumbent technology. given the high risk inherent in these projects, many will fail to progress, but some may succeed in generating a new learning curve with a projected cost/performance metric that is significantly better than that of the incumbent technology.
arpa-e funds technology with the potential to be disruptive in the marketplace. the mere creation of a new learning curve does not ensure market penetration. rather, the ultimate value of a technology is determined by the marketplace, and impactful technologies ultimately become disruptive – that is, they are widely adopted and displace existing technologies from the marketplace or create entirely new markets. arpa-e understands that definitive proof of market disruption takes time, particularly for energy technologies. therefore, arpa-e funds the development of technologies that, if technically successful, have clear disruptive potential, e.g., by demonstrating capability for manufacturing at competitive cost and deployment at scale.
arpa-e funds applied research and development. the office of management and budget defines “applied research” as an “original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge…directed primarily towards a specific practical aim or objective” and defines “experimental development” as “creative and systematic work, drawing on knowledge gained from research and practical experience, which is directed at producing new products or processes or improving existing products or processes.” applicants interested in receiving financial assistance for basic research (defined by the office of management and budget as “experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundations of phenomena and observable facts”) should contact the doe’s office of science (http://science.energy.gov/). office of science national scientific user facilities (http://science.energy.gov/user-facilities/) are open to all researchers, including arpa-e applicants and awardees. these facilities provide advanced tools of modern science including accelerators, colliders, supercomputers, light sources and neutron sources, as well as facilities for studying the nanoworld, the environment, and the atmosphere. projects focused on early-stage r&d for the improvement of technology along defined roadmaps may be more appropriate for support through the doe applied energy offices including: the office of energy efficiency and renewable energy (http://www.eere.energy.gov/), the office of fossil energy and carbon management (https://www.energy.gov/fecm/office-fossil-energy-and-carbon-management), the office of nuclear energy (http://www.energy.gov/ne/office-nuclear-energy), and the office of electricity (https://www.energy.gov/oe/office-electricity).
program overview:
the grid-free renewable energy enabling new ways to economical liquids and long-term storage (greenwells) program is targeted at producing sustainable carbon-containing liquids from renewable energy and carbon dioxide (co2) by developing dynamically operable reactor systems that can take advantage of cheap, intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar.
to meet current climate goals, dramatic increases in renewable energy deployment are required. yet construction of renewables (particularly wind and solar) is hampered by challenges in interconnection to the electric grid. wait times for wind and solar projects from interconnection request to operation now approach four years. a method to use renewable energy without grid interconnection can accelerate renewable deployment. this method could provide cost-effective energy carriers for long- and medium-term energy storage and potentially moderate imbalances of supply and demand in a high renewable penetration scenario.
simultaneously, transportation sectors, like aviation, marine, and heavy-duty vehicles, require technological solutions to lower their emissions. alternative fuels and power trains are being developed for these difficult-to-decarbonize sectors with no clear economic winner. low-carbon fuels can be a drop-in replacement, but are currently expensive, around $10 per gallon (gal) for sustainable aviation fuel (saf) derived from power-to-liquids (ptl) from a concentrated co2 source. costs can be reduced by minimizing high capital expenditure (capex) units like hydrogen (h2) storage and by using cheaper electricity sources like wind and solar power with no connection to the grid. projects that are independent from the grid can achieve lower overall costs and minimize project timelines and uncertainty, but this renewables-to-liquids (rtl) approach must grapple with the intermittency of wind and solar.
the primary objective of the greenwells program is the development of chemical reactors and supporting units that economically store at least 50% of incoming intermittent electrical energy in carbon-containing liquids. to achieve attractive economics, arpa-e expects that chemical reactors will need to be dynamically operable to optimize the entire system of renewable energy production, electrolysis capital, and energy storage. thermal, electrochemical, plasmonic, photonic, biological, and other technical process approaches are expected to potentially address this problem. the integration of these novel and known processes (e.g., oligomerization, water separation) in a dynamic system will be needed.
if successful, the greenwells program will provide low-cost carbon-containing liquids that (i) enable the transportation and storage of renewable energy, (ii) are suitable as-is or with upgrading for use in the difficult-to-decarbonize sectors, and (iii) will speed the development of new renewable energy projects by alleviating requirements for connection to an electric grid. with these goals, this program contributes to the arpa-e statutory goals of “improv[ing] the resilience, reliability, and security of infrastructure to produce, deliver, and store energy,” “reduc[ing] energy-related emissions, including greenhouse gases,” and “reduc[ing] imports of energy from foreign sources,” as seen in section i.a of the foa.
to view the foa in its entirety, please visit https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov.
Pilot / demonstration · Innovation or demonstration award.From US DOE, via USAspending · not yet reviewed