EMP at Berkeley Lab

Our annual report on the generation interconnection queue -- Queued Up 2026 -- can be found at emp.lbl.gov/queues. Join a webinar with the authors on Thursday, July 16 at 1pm ET / 10am PT. Register here lbnl.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

ERCOT's "connect and manage" model has moved non-firm generator interconnection to the center of reform debates. Less examined: most US regions instead offer a non-firm option called Energy Resource Interconnection Service (ERIS). Has it worked? I’m pleased to share two new companion preprints I co-authored on this topic in my capacity @DukeU with Prof. Dalia Patino-Echeverri, @whgorman, Fredrich Kahrl, Joachim Seel, & @rand_joseph. Together, the papers provide the most comprehensive assessment of ERIS to date: the first statistically robust empirical comparison of ERIS and NRIS outcomes, paired with a systematic review of how ERIS is implemented. 📄 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝟏: 𝐈𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲-𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠? 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 Drawing on a novel dataset of over 4,500 interconnection cost studies and 36,000 interconnection requests, we find that ERIS has not delivered a durable cost or speed advantage. Its historical cost advantage is largely a "threshold effect" that appears only when a project avoids network upgrades altogether. As grid saturation has cut the share of zero-cost ERIS outcomes from roughly 80% to 10%, that advantage has largely evaporated, and developer demand has contracted in step. 🔗 ssrn.com/abstract=68816… 📄 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝟐: 𝐀 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲-𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 Reviewing six ISOs and three major vertically integrated utilities, we document wide and often poorly understood variation in study methods, cost allocation, and procurement rules, showing how regions range from managing congestion through real-time operations to triggering network upgrades during interconnection. 🔗 ssrn.com/abstract=68707… Notably, both papers conclude that the issue is not the concept of energy-only interconnection – which remains economically sound – but how it has been implemented: restrictive study assumptions that require upgrades for congestion that could instead be handled through operational redispatch. We hope these serve as useful resources as stakeholders and researchers continue to evaluate these issues, and very much welcome feedback!

Queued Up 2026 can be found at emp.lbl.gov/queues. And join a webinar with the authors on July 16 at 1pm ET / 10am PT. Register here lbnl.zoom.us/webinar/regist…. /END

And the large load interconnection side is just as heated, with the rush to build data centers. See our report, Speed To Power, which explores more than 40 potential solutions for accelerating large load connections. emp.lbl.gov/publications/s… 9/x

New data from @BerkeleyLab shows that the massive backlog of generation & storage interconnection requests has shrunk a bit, as reforms and other market factors take effect. See our slide deck, data dashboard, maps, and downloads at emp.lbl.gov/queues. THREAD!

Join us next Tuesday, June 23, for a webinar on regional study processes in @MISO_energy and @pjminterconnect. Presentations by staff from MISO and PJM, plus Engie and STRATA.

As the interconnection queue gets longer, how can we improve the speed and reliability of connecting new generation and storage? For DOE’s Interconnection Exchange (i2X), we are hosting a webinar series to dive into interconnection study methods. Register: uvig.webex.com/webappng/sites…

Under the Interconnection Cost Reduction Solutions for Transmission (iCRS-T) Program, @ENERGY is funding 16-30 recipients to help transmission providers model advanced transmission technologies and controls that are currently underutilized. Apply by 6/18. energywerx.org/opportunities/…

🚨 🚨 ICYMI 🚨 🚨 We released our latest queue dataset! Check it out here: emp.lbl.gov/publications/u… Thread below with some of the highlights 👇️ 👇️ Thanks to the @BerkeleyLabEMP team (@rand_joseph, Anna Cheyette, Ryan Wiser, @jo_seel) and @interconnectfyi

And as LBNL's new slide deck explains with this simple graphic, "Load Growth" can increase or decrease rates.

Berkeley Lab is headed to the #NationalLabSLAM! Our finalist Yashwanth Balaji from our @molecularfndry is tackling a hidden challenge in quantum computing: protecting delicate quantum bits from cosmic rays. #NLSLAM26 @doescience

The team that wrote the magisterial study below has produced an update. As usual, lots of good stuff - with a conclusion that electricity prices are only starting to see an uptick. But everything about the environment is flashing red lights! Like this slide, downright scary:

Babe wake up, new @LBNL report on retail electricity prices just dropped. 🧵 1/ emp.lbl.gov/sites/default/…