Interconnection barriers to distributed PV in the West – Advisor
Download Report

  1. Obtain information from PV developers, utilities, and other stakeholders in Western states to identify the highest priority interconnection barriers in each state.
  2. Collect data and prepare a report that will review interconnection practices in Western states and explore emerging issues and best practices for reducing costs, delays, or uncertainty. The report will summarize current practices in each state, based on information collected publicly, from utilities and developers, and interviews. It will cover residential systems as well as several size categories of commercial systems. We will seek to obtain data from the largest utilities in each state. The first part of the report will cover current practices, with an emphasis on procedures that could potentially have substantial impact on PV markets, and the second part will cover emerging issues and best practices.
  3. Explore cost-related issues in greater depth. One challenge for PV deployment is if projects are required to implement costly system upgrades when less expensive solutions may be available. For example, use of smart inverters could potentially address some grid issues. NREL will conduct a deep dive on these cost issues that could either be included as a chapter in the assessment report, or perhaps a stand-alone report.