Connect and Manage: How Texas is Leading the Way in Utility-Scale Solar
At Viridan Group, we feel deeply connected to the environment and even more passionate about our work to decarbonize and support the clean energy transition. As a recruitment agency dedicated to the renewable energy and sustainability market, we find it essential to highlight ongoing challenges we face worldwide and what we can do to help or raise awareness.
Over the next six weeks, we will share key developments within the industry that we are passionate about and tangible action points readers can follow to make a difference. Thank you to our very own Hunter Williams for this week’s piece.
In recent years, Texas has flourished in mobilizing renewable energy generation projects. Their innovative approach to transmission interconnection has seemingly given them a leg-up on other Transmission Organizations (TOs.) Yet questions have arisen regarding this system's reliability and rapid deployment. Even with its imperfections, Texas is on a roll, and it's now up to other TOs to find a way to keep up.
Since 2019, the Lone Star state has excelled in the development and deployment of utility-scale solar projects. At the time, Texas was 2nd in installed utility-scale capacity, with 2.44 GW in operation, compared to California's 12.8. Today, Texas has shortened this disparity to a mere 1.15 GW. They've increased their capacity six-fold since 2019. With 7.8 GW of planned installations this year, Texas will soon become the countrywide leader in utility-scale solar capacity.
Altogether Texas accounts for 26% of planned additions to US solar capacity in 2023. Their development pipeline is the largest it's ever been. They're completing interconnection studies at unprecedented levels, with 5x the completion rate as SPP MISO or NYISO (relative to the population served.)
So what's the trick? Their approach to the Interconnection Process.
There are many factors to attribute to Texas's expeditious expansion. They're the second largest state in the US, the 4th sunniest, and objectively the most geographically suited for large solar arrays. On top of this, Texas has been proactive in setting legislation that maximizes development capabilities. All of these have lowered barriers for Renewables to thrive in Texas. Yet none defend Texas from arguably the most prominent issue stifling solar development for TOs nationwide—Generation Interconnection.
The PJM region is undergoing an unprecedented influx in pipeline levels. Interconnection studies are taking over a year longer than anticipated to complete. After 2021, PJM had over 115 GW of solar projects in its interconnection Queues. All 13 states in the region called on the RTO to expedite its processes. In MISO and SPP, Developers are bearing 90% of transmission upgrade costs; with over 150 GW of projects sitting in queues, a more robust system is needed to accelerate development in these regions.
While Interconnection queues are a tremendous bottleneck in the efforts of many other regions, Texas has seemingly hurdled this issue.
Economist Johannes Pfeifenberger cites how ERCOT has integrated a "Connect and Manage" approach to Generation Interconnection. One similar to the method that has gained traction in the UK.
This approach focuses solely on the essential local reinforcements needed to strengthen the connection point and give the generator access to the transmission network. This process has proven to cut lead times by five years in the UK. With ERCOT's method, "Projects can be developed and interconnected within 2-3 years." Pfeifenberger states. Meanwhile, for other regions still utilizing the prior "Invest and Connect" method, "the interconnection study processes itself may take longer than [2-3 years]."
Yet, there are concerns regarding congestion risks and the overall reliability of the system(s). With the Connect and Manage method, network constraints are handled through a network management process once they arise. This makes the system susceptible to congestion and curtailment issues that last for extended periods.
Inevitably, the dependability of these systems comes to the forefront. In a recent panel discussion, SVP of NERC Mike Lauby highlighted that the focus on capacity has lost some relevancy, "I think [what] we're really coming down to is [that] capacity used to be king." This notion has become increasingly significant in recent years. While capacity has been the primary focus so far, we must shift our focus to measures and regulations concerning grid resiliency.
All in all, it would be ridiculous to discredit the extraordinary commitment and effort Texas has put forward to position itself as an industry leader. The Connect and Manage method has proven to work not only in Texas but around the globe, and its flaws only leave room for future enhancement and innovation.
So how can these systems be improved for ERCOT and other TOs alike?
Proactive planning of the Transmission system - Facilitating the development of multiple transmission projects at once reduces the time and money required to interconnect at scale
Increased focus on congestion management - if we can better forecast peak usage hours or periods with high curtailment risk, we can subside congestion swiftly and efficiently when it occurs.
Utilizing Distributed Energy - Microgrids can alleviate grid disruptions and expedite recovery. As a result, these DE technologies can play a massive role in bolstering grid resilience.
The fact is that there is no overarching perfect system; each region has unique strengths and weaknesses. However, TOs are now responsible for learning from Texas's triumphs. How can they take something from what ERCOT has done, improve it, and implement it themselves? This repeated process drives innovation and will eventually lead us to a carbon-free future.
Interested in Learning more? Check out the Podcast below, which provides a great discussion on Microgrids as a key to grid resiliency.
