The nation's largest electric grid operator is struggling to keep pace with the demands of its 65 million customers, but its issues are reportedly largely self-inflicted.
What's happening?
According to Canary Media, dirty energy-powered plants run by PJM are ceasing operations faster than clean energy sources can fill the gap in the District of Columbia and all or part of 13 states from the mid-Atlantic coast to the Great Lakes.
This dilemma has overtaxed PJM's grid, but the company apparently will not take the necessary steps to alleviate this burden. It has delayed about 160 gigawatts' worth of power grids — most of which are wind, solar, and battery — waiting to go online, creating a "worst-in-the-nation grid-interconnection backlog," per Canary Media.
PJM also refuses to add batteries or other forms of energy storage to take advantage of the excess grid capacity generated by its existing wind, solar, and fossil-based infrastructure despite mandates from federal regulators.
Regulators have implemented what's known as surplus interconnection service rules, or SIS, ordering grid operators to allow power plants to install batteries and other energy capacity that can reserve excess energy until it's needed — something that would be particularly useful for intermittent renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
SIS projects utilize previously approved grid capacity and are subjected to an expedited review that only takes 270 days. Nonetheless, PJM has rebuffed this solution, frustrating environmental and clean energy groups.
"They've adopted a standard that says, 'If it's possible that interconnecting something could impact another project in the queue or trigger a transmission upgrade … we're not going to allow it,'" said Mike Borgatti, the senior vice president of wholesale power and market services for economic consultant Gabel Associates.
Why is PJM's overburdened grid concerning?
This crisis has spiked the cost of electricity for the millions of residents in its territory and could also potentially compromise the reliability of its grid by 2030.
PJM has a generation capacity of 180 gigawatts, but estimates from an independent market review cited by Canary Media found that it could lose 27% to 32% of that total by the end of the decade.
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Borgatti told Canary Media that around 6.3 gigawatts of "stuff we need" will be built in that timeframe, falling short of what's necessary to compensate for electricity demands expected to increase by 40 gigawatts by 2030 and the shuttering of PJM's coal- and oil-fired power plants.
What's being done about PJM's overburdened grid?
PJM's resistance to SIS projects has forced clean energy advocates and developers to seek intervention from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Several groups have petitioned the FERC to reject PJM's interconnection reform plan, which includes language that allows it to continue to avoid compliance with SIS rules.
Meanwhile, renewable energy and battery developer EDP Renewables submitted a complaint to FERC in July to overturn PJM's rejection of a proposed solar to a wind farm in Indiana.
"We go to PJM and say, 'Look at this amazing deal. We already have the capacity. Our transmission system is underutilized during the periods we need it. Let's connect this,'" David Mindham, EDPR director of regulatory and market affairs, said during a September webinar. "And they say no."
However, EDPR and PJM recently filed a joint motion to suspend consideration of the complaint, giving hope that the two parties can resolve the dispute without the FERC's involvement.
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