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Joint Generator Interconnection Workshop (Virtual)
August 9, 2022 - August 11, 2022
Session recordings and presentations are linked below.
Click here to download a full summary of the entire three-day workshop.
This major online workshop by ESIG, NAGF, NERC and EPRI covers the important relationships between interconnection process reforms and new capability and performance standards for inverter-based resources. The workshop provides education on both topics and how they interact for potentially expediting the large generator interconnection process while also supporting a more economic, sustainable, and reliable future power system.
Interconnection queues around the U.S. are backlogged by approximately 1,500 GW of generation projects facing multi-year study delays. FERC recently issued two proposed rulemakings to address some of these challenges—“Building for the Future Through Electric Regional Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation and Generator Interconnection” and “Improvements to Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements”—with comments to FERC due this fall.
Separately, recent NERC Disturbance Reports have indicated gaps in interconnection studies, modeling, and interconnection requirements for inverter-based resources (IBRs). Also, the new IEEE 2800 standard for “Interconnection and Interoperability of Inverter-Based Resources Interconnecting with Associated Transmission Electric Power Systems” has recently been published and, if adopted by ISOs/RTOs and other authorities governing interconnection requirements, could provide additional benefits for both reliability and the interconnection study process. More information is available from the recording of a joint webinar on the IEEE 2800-2022 standard on May 3, 2022.
This timely online workshop shows the important relationships between these topics, as well as provide deeper technical understanding of each topic area, in a way that can facilitate fact-based discussion and meaningful feedback prior to the upcoming FERC comment deadlines. While panelists include engineering and technical experts on each topic, the workshop is intended for a broad engineering, policy, and decision maker audience.
The workshop includes three half-day online sessions on August 9, 10 and 11. Participation in all three days is recommended. Participants need to register separately for each half-day session. Materials and recordings of the respective sessions will be provided at the conclusion of the workshop. There is no charge for the workshop.
DOWNLOAD FULL 3-DAY AGENDA (includes session and presentation topics, along with speakers)
Day 1: The Interconnection Process
Tuesday, August 9 / 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. (EDT)
The first day of the workshop will discuss differences between the traditional interconnection and transmission planning processes—and why these practices were appropriate when originally implemented but may now be insufficient or inadequate. It will cover best practices in these two areas as well as the multiple benefits of transmission and proactive planning. Today, significant transmission expansion is happening through the generation interconnection process, and this contributes to the complexity and backlog of the interconnection process. Additionally, assumptions and criteria used in the transmission planning are not applied consistently, when identifying transmission upgrades in the interconnection process. A new generator interconnection is evaluated as a cost while benefits such as lower energy cost for consumers, contribution to resource adequacy, security of supply, etc., are not considered. As a result of this approach, transmission upgrade costs for interconnection may be fully assigned to generator owners, the transmission upgrades may not be least cost or optimal solutions from the system perspective, and the costs of upgrades may be prohibitively high. In turn, this may result in project withdrawals and restudies that further delay the interconnection process and putting excessive burden on developers and transmission engineers alike.
View Day 1 (Sessions 1 & 2) Recording
Introduction
Opening Remarks
Wayne Sipperly, Executive Director, North American Generator Forum
Brief Workshop Introduction
Julia Matevosyan, Chief Engineer, ESIG
Session 1: Generation Interconnection vs Transmission Planning, Why the Difference?
Chair: Warren Lasher, Lasher Energy Consulting
Transmission Upgrades identified through Interconnection Process vs Transmission Planning Process Pros and Cons
Johannes Pfeifenberger, Principal, The Brattle Group
A Roadmap for Modernizing & Integrating Interconnection and Transmission Planning
Aaron Vander Vorst, Senior Director, Transmission, Enel Green Power
Dispatch Assumption for the Interconnection Studies and Assumptions Around NRIS and ERIS
Horea Catanase, Senior Manager – Energy Resource Integration and Interconnection, Electric Power Engineers
Session 2: Integrating Interconnection and Transmission Planning, Benefits of Transmission
Chair: Debbie Lew, Associate Director, ESIG
SPP Consolidated Planning Process Task Force: Process Assumption and Criteria
Matt Pawlowski, Executive Director of Business Management and Regulatory Affairs, NextEra Energy
Sunny Raheem, Supervisor, Modeling, Southwest Power Pool
Joint Targeted Interconnection Queue Study
Andy Witmeier, Director Resource Utilization, Midcontinent Independent System Operator
Pro-Active Planning
T. Bruce Tsuchida, Principal, The Brattle Group
Multi-benefits of Transmission
Derek Stenclik, Founding Partner, Telos Energy
Day 2: Interconnection Studies and Modeling
Wednesday, August 10 / 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. (EDT)
The second day of the workshop will identify gaps in the study processes, identify needs for validated models both in the positive sequence and EMT domains, discuss challenges from both the developer and transmission provider perspective, and provide recommendations to improve the study and modeling processes. Complexities of the interconnection process are leading to challenges with interconnection studies and potential reliability concerns once projects become operational. Exacerbated by the rapid (and important) pace of technology innovation in today’s generation technologies, developers cannot know the equipment that will be available and used in their project because of the long timeline to complete interconnection studies and identify their interconnection upgrade costs. This causes discrepancies between what was studied and the equipment that is ultimately commissioned. Improvements to the study processes are needed to align interconnection process milestones, OEM equipment lifecycles, project development timelines and reliability study needs.
View Day 2 (Sessions 3 & 4) Recording
Introduction
NERC Disturbance Events, Focus on Reliability Needs
Ryan Quint, Director, Engineering and Security Integration, NERC
Session 3: Interconnection Studies
Chair: Roberto Favela, Manager- Interconnections & Transmission Plan, El Paso Electric Company
Interconnection Process vs Project Development Timeline
Divya Kurthakoti, Senior Lead Specialist, Ørsted
ERCOT Interconnection Study Process, Focus on Reliability
Mario Hayden, Senior Manager, Transmission, Enel Green Power
Control Tuning as Alternative to Transmission Reinforcement
Alex Shattuck, Lead Electrical Engineer, Vestas
Interconnection study process, reliability implications and improvements needed
Jens Boemer, Principal Technical Leader, EPRI
Session 4: Importance of Modeling
Chair: Lauren Hughes, Project Manager, OATT Studies, Southern Company
Importance of Models, Model Validation and Lack of Follow-up Past Commissioning
Pouyan Pourbeik, President & Principal Consultant, Power and Energy, Analysis, Consulting and Education
IBR Models and Modeling Needs
Deepak Ramasubramanian, Technical Leader, EPRI
EMT Modeling Experience at ISO-NE
Brad Marszalkowski, Senior Engineer, ISO New England
Day 3: IBR Interconnection Requirements and Next Steps
Thursday, August 11 / 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. (EDT)
The third day of the workshop will focus on the gaps in existing interconnection requirements, provide information about the ongoing gap analysis between existing interconnection requirements and IEEE 2800, and discuss the path forward. Currently, there is no consistency in interconnection requirements for IBRs between the regions. Some areas already have stringent requirements, while others are still lacking. Recent NERC Disturbance Reports have identified gaps in existing interconnection requirements and incorrect application of existing interconnection requirements, leading to multi-generator disturbance events. State-of-the-art inverters are developed with the most stringent interconnection requirements in mind. The industry should take advantage of these capabilities to ensure reliable operation of IBRs in the future grids. The IEEE 2800 standard for “Interconnection and Interoperability of Inverter-Based Resources (IBRs) Interconnecting with Associated Transmission Electric Power Systems” has recently been approved and it builds upon state-of-the-art technology capabilities.
The workshop will conclude with discussion of next steps and DOE’s new Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2x) initiative.
View Day 3 (Sessions 5 & 6) Recording
Introduction
Interconnection Requirements, Need for Harmonization and IEEE2800
Jason MacDowell, Senior Director – Technology, Strategy & Policy, GE Energy Consulting
Session 5: IEEE2800
Chair: Manish Patel, Chief Engineer – P&C Applications, Southern Company
IEEE2800 and Roadmap to Adoption
Andy Hoke, Prinicipal Engineer, NREL
IEEE2800 OEM Readiness Panel Discussion
Lucas Meubrink, Senior Application Engineer – Large Scale Storage, SMA America
Samir Dahal, Grid Specialist, Siemens Gamesa Renewables
Alex Shattuck, Lead Electrical Engineer, Vestas
Rajat Majumder, Lead Grid Connection Specialist US, Ørsted
Siddarth Pant, Senior Systems Engineering Manager, GE Renewable Energy
IEEE 2800 vs Existing ERCOT Interconnection Requirements, Gap Analysis Learnings
Stephen Solis, Principal, System Operations Improvement, ERCOT
ISO-NE IEEE 2800 Adoption Update
Brad Marszalkowski, Senior Engineer, ISO New England
Session 6: DOE i2x Initiative
Chair: Mark Ahlstrom, President, ESIG Board of Directors & NextEra Energy Resources
DOE i2x Overview, Roadmap and Feedback
Cynthia Bothwell, Grid Integration Engineer, Systems Integration, Wind Energy Technologies Office at U.S. DOE
Tom McDermott, Chief Engineer and Solar Sub-sector Lead, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Closing Remarks
Summary of Workshop Next Steps, White Paper
Julia Matevosyan, Chief Engineer, ESIG