October 1, 2020: Sweeping adjustments to California’s Rule 21, the rules under which distributed energy resources and storage can connect with the state’s grid, will pave the way to more clean energy and storage being deployed in the State, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council said on September 24.
IREC has been working since 2011 to change Rule 21, which the IREC says puts up barriers to potential interconnections with unnecessary and length approval procedures. It says the changes are a major milestone.
“The revisions to Rule 21 encompass many issues but three of the most noteworthy include 1) the plan to incorporate data on the actual grid conditions at the locations of projects that request to interconnect; 2) an option for developers to propose grid project operating schedules that are based on those grid conditions; and 3) the addition of more advanced interconnection policies for interconnection of energy storage projects,” the IREC says.
One of the adjustments to the rule is the Integration Capacity Analysis (ICA), which models the electricity grid and how it can best connect DERs, such as solar or storage, at specific locations without the need for upgrades or interconnection studies to be carried out.
“ICA is a revolutionary leap forward in grid transparency, in terms of providing customers, developers and regulators with truly useful, accessible and in-depth distribution and information,” says Sky Stanfield, partner at law firm Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, which represents the IREC in regulatory proceedings.
“It reduces the guessing game in selecting interconnection locations and will vastly improve the process for clean energy customers and developers.”
It means that applications can control the export of energy to better meet the changing needs of the grid demand.
“As California grapples with unprecedented climate change impacts, from wildfires to heat waves, providing pathways to deploy more renewable energy and energy storage faster and when it is most needed will help the state transition to a lower carbon, more resilient grid.
“With these changes to Rule 21, California regulators have set a new standard for modern interconnection policies that will support this goal,” says the IREC.
