A Retrospective Analysis of Distributed Solar Interconnection Timelines and Related State Mandates

Emily Fekete, Jesse Cruce, Shiyuan Dong, Eric O'Shaughnessy, Jeffrey Cook

Research output: NRELTechnical Report

Abstract

Most distributed residential photovoltaic (PV) systems must secure an interconnection agreement prior to operation that ensures the local electrical system operates safely within the broader electrical grid. Many states' utility commissions have established mandates to encourage timely execution of this process by limiting the maximum number of days allowed for utility review and approval of interconnect on certain small, often residential applications. In this paper we derive the median and range of cycle times for the pre-install approval phase of the interconnection process (i.e., from application submission to approval by the utility) across 24 U.S. states using a dataset of approximately 170,000 projects. We evaluate the percentage of projects that are approved within their respective state mandated timelines for the pre-install phase from 2017-2019. We further evaluate how timelines have evolved since 2012 for a subset of five states: Arizona, California, Colorado, New Jersey, and New York. The analyses were divided into two size ranges: systems that are <=10 kW, and systems that are 11-50 kW.
Original languageAmerican English
Number of pages27
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/TP-6A20-81459

Keywords

  • distributed energy resources
  • interconnection
  • residential PV

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