Promoting Economic Efficiency in Interconnection — Part 1: Coordination Between Interconnection & Grid Planning – CleanTechnica

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Last Updated on: 26th July 2025, 01:01 am

Interconnection costs for distributed energy resources (DERs) like community solar are rising in many jurisdictions across the United States. Utility planning and implementation of electricity system upgrades in a piecemeal or serial fashion can cause inefficiencies that contribute to increased costs for interconnection customers and utility ratepayers.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will host a public webinar on August 21, 1–3 p.m. Eastern, to discuss how closer alignment between DER interconnection processes and long-term grid planning can improve identification and deployment of potential system upgrades. The webinar will explore solutions such as coordinating interconnection for DER projects with distribution system planning, as well as improving data sharing between the DER interconnection process and electricity system planning processes to promote synergies.

Register here: https://lbnl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vAkap6TgR2CJxTHniBmHgA

Panelists include Lavelle Freeman, Eversource; Jeff Thomas, North Carolina Utilities Commission; and Schuyler Matteson, New York Public Service Commission. Lisa Schwartz and Kathryn Chelminski, Berkeley Lab, will moderate a robust discussion with a diverse group of stakeholders, including utilities, regulators and other state agencies, project developers, and regional grid operators.

This is the third in a series of webinars that provide a deep dive into the solutions advanced through the recently published DER Interconnection Roadmap by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) to enable simpler, faster, and fairer interconnection of DERs. Future webinars in the i2X DER interconnection series will cover improving practices for cost allocation and cost sharing, as well as maintaining reliable, resilient, and secure grids. Information on past i2X DER Interconnection webinars can be found here.

The roadmap identifies a wide range of solutions to address challenges for interconnecting energy resources to distribution and sub-transmission grids. The i2X program advances open dialogue on interconnection challenges, knowledge gaps, and practical solutions among diverse stakeholders across the U.S. electricity ecosystem.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Interconnection Innovation Exchange (i2X), sponsored by the Solar Energy Technologies Office and Wind Energy Technologies Office, supports this work.

News courtesy of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.