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This policy brief by RMI argues that PJM's slow interconnection process and high network upgrade costs are driving a capacity crisis in the mid-Atlantic grid. The document highlights how the time required to bring new generation online has increased to eight years, causing capacity auction prices to skyrocket and increasing costs for ratepayers. RMI proposes four primary solutions: implementing third-party automation software, reforming Energy Resource Interconnection Service (ERIS), utilizing advanced transmission technologies (ATTs), and prioritizing proactive regional transmission planning.

This case study examines the transition of the Sherburne County Generating Station (Sherco) in Minnesota from a coal-fired power plant to a clean energy hub. It details how Xcel Energy, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and local stakeholders utilized federal incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), along with a 'generator replacement' process to bypass interconnection queues, to replace coal capacity with solar and battery storage while supporting the local workforce and economy.