California cuts costs of interconnection for distributed renewable energy sources

• 8 months ago (2024-03-22)
• David Flin

Distribution 122 North America 1021 Solar 272

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The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has passed a decision to allow distributed renewable energy resources like residential solar and battery energy storage to interconnect to the grid without triggering grid impacts that require infrastructure upgrades.

The decision will enable distributed resources to interconnect as a Limited Generation Profile (LGP), enabling them to join the grid without paying grid upgrade fees and delays related to upgrade work. California is the first state to enact such a resolution for distributed energy.

The order said: “Limited Generation Profiles specify the maximum amount of electric generation a distributed energy resource (DER) system will export to the grid at different times throughout the year, ensuring that the project is responsive to fluctuating grid constraints at different times.”

In addition to ruling that utilities in California must allow project developers to use LGPs based on the Integration Capacity Analysis in the interconnection process, the CPUC resolved other issues including:

• The kinds of control systems that can be used to control the export of power from a system.
• The allowable format of LGPs, including how many times per year a project can change its output.
• The instances in which a utility would be permitted to curtail the output of a system in ways that differ from the originally approved LGP.

The Commission ruled that certified power control systems will be the primary option that developers can use to manage the LGPs of interconnecting systems.