Clean Repowering Can Avoid Disastrous Delays with 250 GW of Clean Energy

The briefing proposes "clean repowering" as a strategy to overcome the US grid interconnection backlog, which currently sees over 2 TW of clean energy projects delayed. By utilizing existing interconnection points through surplus interconnection or generator replacement processes, the time to reach commercial operation can be reduced from an average of five years to less than one year. RMI analysis suggests this could deploy 250 GW of new clean energy, saving regulated utilities $46 billion over 30 years and reducing US carbon emissions by 25 percent relative to business as usual through 2035. The document highlights Xcel Energy's Sherco project in Minnesota as a model for this transition, combining solar, storage, and workforce retention.

• The US grid interconnection process is currently a major bottleneck, with over 2 terawatts (TW) of clean energy projects delayed—a volume exceeding the 1.25 TW of electricity generation currently online—and wait times reaching up to five years.
• The "clean repowering" strategy, which involves connecting new clean energy resources to the grid via an existing power plant's interconnection point, can reduce the timeline from application to commercial operation from an average of five years to less than one year.
• Implementing clean repowering has the potential to rapidly deploy 250 GW of new clean energy assets, which would reduce regulated utilities' costs by $46 billion over a 30-year period and lower US carbon emissions by 25 percent compared to business-as-usual scenarios through 2035.
• The Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment (EIR) program from the US Department of Energy provides $250 billion in loan authority and low-interest financing that can be paired with Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits, but the program expires in 2026.
• Xcel Energy is applying clean repowering at its Sherco plant in Minnesota, developing a 710 MW solar project and a 10 MW battery storage facility while converting a retiring coal unit into a synchronous condenser to maintain system stability.

APA

RMI (2024). Clean Repowering Can Avoid Disastrous Delays with 250 GW of Clean Energy. https://rmi.org/resources/clean-repowering-can-avoid-disastrous-delays-with-250-gw-of-clean-energy/

Chicago

RMI. Clean Repowering Can Avoid Disastrous Delays with 250 GW of Clean Energy. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/clean-repowering-can-avoid-disastrous-delays-with-250-gw-of-clean-energy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Clean Repowering Can Avoid Disastrous Delays with 250 GW of Clean Energy |date=7 June 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/clean-repowering-can-avoid-disastrous-delays-with-250-gw-of-clean-energy/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024clean, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Clean Repowering Can Avoid Disastrous Delays with 250 GW of Clean Energy}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = jun, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/clean-repowering-can-avoid-disastrous-delays-with-250-gw-of-clean-energy/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }