PJM Interconnection Begins Review Of 46,000 MW Of New, Mostly Renewable Electric Generation Projects Under New Evaluation Process

On January 22, the PJM Interconnection announced it will begin performing System Impact Studies on 308 projects representing 46,000 MW of new, mostly renewable electric generation under Transition Cycle 1 of its new project review process.

After the Phase 1 System Impact Study is completed, PJM will post results to a new webpage that will be dedicated to Transition Cycle projects. 

PJM also will provide updates on study progress at the monthly public meetings of the Interconnection Process Subcommittee.

TC1 projects are expected to clear PJM’s study process and be ready for construction by mid-2025.

In addition to Transition Cycle 1 projects, projects totaling 26,000 MW qualified for an Expedited Process, or “Fast Lane,” with final documentation to be issued throughout 2024.

PJM anticipates posting the study cases for those projects the week of Jan. 22. They will be updated in sequential queue order.

PJM will make periodic announcements to stakeholders as the cases and files for Expedited Process projects are available and posted on PJM.com.

PJM has posted a Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) document to address developers’ questions about the project re-sort.

At the end of 2023, about 40,000 MW of projects that had completed the PJM study process had yet to move through construction due to issues including siting, supply chain and financing.

PJM’s new interconnection process was implemented in July 2023, with 734 projects eligible to be evaluated in the first step. 

Of those, 118 either dropped out of the process or did not post sufficient readiness requirements by the due date, clearing the queue of projects that were less certain to be developed but still requiring the same time and resources from PJM.

Click Here for the complete announcement.

The PJM Interconnection is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia, including Pennsylvania.

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[Posted: January 23, 2023]  PA Environment Digest