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Generator interconnection, the process by which power plants like large solar arrays, wind farms, and utility-scale batteries connect to the electrical grid, continues to be one of the biggest barriers to project development. 

Despite gradual improvement in some parts of the United States since the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) passed Order No. 2023 three years ago, messy, complicated, and sometimes outdated policies are still preventing electrons from reaching end customers at a time of skyrocketing electricity demand. Grid operators have made meaningful strides in reducing interconnection queue backlogs and improving planning processes, but significant challenges remain, as detailed in a new progress report from Grid Strategies and The Brattle Group, on behalf of Advanced Energy United, that evaluates how grid operators are progressing since an initial 2024 assessment.

On this episode of the Factor This Policycast, recorded live-to-tape at the 2026 Infocast Transmission & Interconnection Summit, Caitlin Marquis, managing director at Advanced Energy United, and Rob Gramlich, president of Grid Strategies, outline how each major regional transmission organization (RTO) and independent system operator (ISO) is approaching generator interconnection reform, criss-crossing the country and touching on progress in PJM, ERCOT, SPP, MISO, CAISO, ISO-NE, and NYISO. Marquis and Gramlich also share policy suggestions and discuss the recent show-cause orders issued by FERC to each of the six regional grid operators within its jurisdiction, directing them to either justify or reform the rules governing how large energy users, such as data centers, connect to the electric grid.

More episodes of Factor This Policycast

More episodes of Factor This Policycast