FERC approves Duke Energy’s interconnection queue reform process

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved the interconnection queue reform process for Duke Energy to connect more solar energy to its energy distribution system.

The proposal to connect solar projects from most of the major solar developers in the Carolinas was approved by the N.C. Utilities Commission in October 2020 and the S.C. Public Service Commission PSC in February 2021. It was filed with FERC on April 1, 2021, and approved this week.

“We are pleased FERC has approved our interconnection process, which was crafted over the course of two years in cooperation of other stakeholders across our Southeast footprint,” Duke Energy officials said.

This will create a more efficient interconnection process, transitioning from analyzing each request one by one to studying interconnection requests in clusters. The cluster study method, which has been employed by several states and system operators nationwide, provides a more predictable path to interconnection as it looks at only those projects committed to becoming operational within a certain period. This new process will eliminate the backlog that was created when “ready” projects were delayed while the utility studied sometimes speculative projects that were in a higher spot in the utility interconnection queue.

Currently, Duke Energy has more than 3,500 MW of solar capacity connected to its energy grid in the Carolinas. The company has connected almost 600 solar facilities operated by other companies in the Carolinas.