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The US generator interconnection process is a significant barrier to economic competitiveness, with over 2.2 TW of projects queued and average wait times increasing to nearly five years. While FERC Order 2023 introduced some improvements, the brief argues for further reforms: deploying AI and advanced software for studies, utilizing Grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) to lower costs, and implementing 'fast track' pathways for energy-only, surplus, and replacement generation. It also suggests integrating the planning of load, generation, and transmission to reduce redundant network upgrades.

This RMI briefing argues that aging coal-fired power plants are an unreliable and inflexible solution for meeting the rising electricity demand driven by the data center boom in the United States. The document asserts that clean, scalable resources such as battery storage and demand flexibility are better suited to the real-time operational needs of data centers and can meet over 95 percent of future demand.

The RMI report 'The State of Utility Planning, 2024 Q4' analyzes updates to Integrated Resource Plans (IRPs) for US electric utilities. It finds that while load projections did not increase in Q4 2024, utilities increased planned gas capacity and reduced planned wind and solar capacity, leading to an 8 percent increase in projected emissions for those updating their plans.

This policy brief by RMI outlines the potential for 'clean repowering'—siting new renewable energy projects at existing fossil fuel interconnection points—to accelerate the energy transition and reduce costs for customers in the United States by leveraging Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives.

The RMI report 'Clean Repowering: A Near-Term, IRA-Powered Energy Transition Accelerant' identifies a strategy called 'clean repowering'—siting new clean electricity generation and storage at the same point of interconnection as existing or retiring fossil generators—to bypass interconnection delays and leverage Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives in the United States.

This research paper by Energy Innovation analyzes the potential costs to electricity customers of a US Department of Energy (DOE) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) that would provide out-of-market subsidies to power plants with a 90-day on-site fuel supply, specifically targeting coal and nuclear facilities.