The interconnection event: GridTECH Connect Forum

(A panel speaks about progress through partnerships at GridTECH Connect Forum - Southeast.)

The interconnection event visits Newport Beach, California June 24-26

What’s a song without a chorus? A BLT without the bacon? A conference without a program?

Don’t spend another second worrying about that last item! The interconnection event GridTECH Connect Forum has published sessions for its upcoming stop at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach, California June 24-26. Registration is now live, and if you’re interested in speaking opportunities, drop us a line.

GridTECH Connect Forum takes on the critical issue of interconnection by creating a collaborative environment for transmission and distribution utilities, clean energy project developers, regulators, and policy advocates. Through a continued partnership with the Department of Energy, the event provides technical content for project integration, system planning, policy advancement, and more.

GridTECH Connect Forum covers a variety of topics related to distributed and transmission interconnection, including:

Flexible interconnection, non-wires alternatives, and battery storage
Capacity and permitting issues in transmission development
AI, machine learning, and how a rapidly evolving landscape is having a massive impact on project siting and interconnection queues
FERC Order 2023 compliant alternative technologies for grid planning and operations, including the employment of power flow controlling devices and topology optimization
Virtual power plant policy and FERC Order 2222 implementation
Protecting and interconnecting DER assets to the grid and their impact on planning and reliability
Electric vehicles, EV charging, and EV-to-grid technologies
Community solar programs

Here’s how the conference sessions stack up:

DOE bootcamp, lunch session, and town hall
The Department of Energy will host an interconnection bootcamp session on June 24, day one of the event. DOE’s i2x team will lead a panel on day two around lunchtime and will conclude GTC-CA with a town hall-style session on June 26. More details coming soon!

CAISO interconnection process enhancements
CAISO is finalizing its Interconnection Process Enhancements, an initiative that addresses the “unprecedented and unsustainable interconnection request volumes” in its study windows. This session will explore how the new process might work for all stakeholders and how it intends to speed up queues.

The safety dance: Understanding battery fires
We can dance if we want to, but we’d rather talk about battery energy storage fires. More specifically, storage safety. This session will incorporate fire officials into a discussion centered on the uniqueness of battery fires, how to prevent them, and how to fight them. Panelists will share what it means to “fail safe,” elaborate on prevention and safety mechanisms, and consider how to effectively communicate risks to the community.

Addressing capacity and permitting issues in transmission development
We must build more transmission to meet our climate goals, but permitting can be a major challenge to transmission development. This session will explore how utilities and transmission owners can effectively navigate complex rules and capacity challenges while getting projects online on time.

Microgrids as a wildfire resiliency solution
As wildfires become increasingly frequent in California, clean energy microgrids are emerging as a resiliency solution. This session will discuss the advantages of using small-scale, local energy sources disconnected from regional grids during emergencies.

EV fleet charging: Managing massive load
California is quickly electrifying large fleets and adding massive load to the electric grid. However, no statewide interconnection rules apply to EV charging infrastructure. This session will focus on how fleet owners are getting the job done and how grid operators are managing increased demand. It will discuss drayage and touch on hydrogen as a potential solution.

California interconnection 101: What to do when you’re stuck in the queue
This session is an introduction to the basics of interconnection in California. It will discuss what qualifies as a study and compare distribution and transmission grid interconnection processes. Panelists will elaborate on how to effectively communicate with the local utility and grid operator CAISO while abiding by the rules established by CEC and CPUC. Whether you’re an experienced engineer or an interconnection novice, this crash course will have something for everyone.

AI, machine learning, and interconnection
Artificial intelligence and machine learning dominate conversations across the energy industry. This session will explore how these new tools can optimize planning and alleviate pain points like long interconnection queues. It will also feature use cases that are already being implemented at scale.

Alternative technologies for grid planning and operations
Alternative technologies can help us plan and operate the electric grid more effectively and efficiently. This session will explore the implementation of power flow controlling devices, topology optimization, and using near real-time data to predictively rerate lines.

Community solar: A California dream?
Can a community solar program survive (or thrive?) in California? Is it even legal? This session will discuss California’s Community Solar Initiative. Panelists will delve into the program’s unique features including storage and elaborate on incentive structures that could promote the development of such an industry. The session will also include the latest developments in the program and discuss how disadvantaged communities could be included.

Making California’s grid more inclusive and equitable
Electric Rule 21 describes interconnection, operating, and metering requirements but it doesn’t consider energy equity. Yet such consideration is baked into California’s policies via SB 350. This session will explore ways to make California’s grid a more inclusive and equitable one. Panelists will explain how the interconnection process can be a barrier to renewable energy, discuss the financing challenges facing LMI projects and incentives to develop them, and innovative and collaborative projects in CA.

Protecting assets: DERs and cybersecurity
As we bring more DERs onto the grid, cybersecurity is paramount. A new standard 1547.3 explores standardizing cybersecurity for DERs and assesses the risks posed to a diverse collection of stakeholders, including asset owners and operators. This session will explore how to protect essential energy assets via cybersecurity.

Turning virtual power plants into reality
This session will consider models for operating virtual power plants including architecture, participation pathways, and alternatives to FERC Order 2222. Should utilities handle VPPs, or should their operation be outsourced? If the DSO model isn’t the right structure, what is?

How flexible interconnection can help fix California’s distribution grid
Last year, California passed legislation addressing delays in customer connections to the utility distribution grid. Two CPUC studies found that managing DER development, including interconnection, could make a $30 billion difference in costs to upgrade the distribution grid. Technologies and strategies applied at DER interconnection (i.e. phased or flexible interconnection, automated load management, on-site DERs, and others) provide an opportunity to improve grid connection timelines and reduce costs. This session will explore ways California’s distribution grid can be improved via mitigated interconnection.

Non-wire alternatives as real-world solutions: How DERs impact transmission planning and reliability
As California adds more Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) to the grid, transmission planners must account for extra load. How can we spot issues on the distribution grid before they cause problems at the transmission level? This session will discuss reliability reform on both sides of the meter, FERC Order 2222, and explore how DERs can postpone or forgo transmission development.

Battery energy storage: Distribution’s BESS friend
Battery energy storage is a multifunctional solution for a variety of grid constraints. California just approved energy systems connecting to the grid with export schedules. There’s great potential for using storage not just for meeting energy demands but also for providing ancillary services. This session will explore market incentives and how they’re guiding battery development.

Utility-scale BESS: Reliability and beyond
This session will explore Remedial Action Schemes (RAS), grid-forming battery technology, and how utilities can utilize BESS systems to forgo upgrades while simultaneously addressing grid stability via inverter-based resources.

Improving the California service upgrade process
Service upgrade processes in California are often inefficient, slow, and frustrating for asset owners who want to interconnect. PG&E has been working toward making this smoother, and this session will explore ways to improve it. This session will also discuss demand response and load programs instituted by CEC and CPUC incentivizing (and allowing) exporting energy behind the meter.

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