Innovative Queue Management Solutions (iQMS) Demonstration Program - Generator Interconnection (TRACK 1)
Information
Description
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, in collaboration with ENERGYWERX, are looking to partner with distribution utilities to pilot solutions to improve, optimize and accelerate processing of generator interconnection and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) service load request queues. The Innovative Queue Management Solutions (iQMS) program provides $11.2 million in direct funding to solve emerging challenges to integrating the increasing number of non-residential, mid-scale clean energy projects (100 kilowatt (kW) to 5 megawatt (MW)) and EVSE into distribution grid networks.
The iQMS program plans to fund up to 25 electric distribution utilities to implement, test, and pilot different approaches to queue management that are aligned with their needs, capabilities, and goals. We encourage electric co-operatives, municipal electric utilities, and investor-owned distribution utilities to apply. The program, which will take place over 24 months, will enable the adoption of simpler, faster, and fairer queue management solutions and accelerate decarbonizing the nation’s energy system.
Objective
The i2X program, led by the Solar Energy Technologies Office and the Wind Energy Technologies Office, was launched in 2022 to enable simpler, faster, and fairer interconnection of clean energy resources to the distribution and transmission grids. The i2X team has hosted dozens of events and convened virtual meetings with more than 2,000 stakeholders from across the U.S. electricity ecosystem. The program has funded 12 technical assistance projects with three national labs and more than six distribution utilities. The Transmission Interconnection Roadmap developed by the i2X team identifies 35 solutions to speed up the interconnection of clean energy onto the nation’s transmission grid and clear the existing backlog of solar, wind, and battery projects to be built. The i2X team is currently drafting a Distributed Energy Resources Interconnection Roadmap. The draft has been released and is open for public comment. The Distributed Energy Resources Interconnection Roadmap will serve as a guide to key actions that stakeholders should take within the next 5 years and beyond to implement solutions to current DER interconnection challenges.
In April 2024, i2X and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (JOET), in collaboration with ENERGYWERX, publicly solicited feedback from stakeholders on ways to support distribution utilities as they explore solutions to improve, optimize and accelerate generator interconnection and EVSE service load request queue management on distribution grid.
The Challenge
Due to decarbonization goals and clean energy and EV charging tax incentives, interconnection requests for mid-scale projects and EV service load requests on the distribution grid are expected to increase. Examples of such projects include solar photovoltaic projects, community-scale distributed wind, battery storage systems, and EVSE. According to stakeholder feedback and comments, many distribution utilities lack the tools and internal capabilities to adequately manage large queues of interconnection requests for mid-scale clean energy and EVSE projects seeking to connect to low hosting capacity grid networks without delays or high costs. Distribution utilities recognize that tools and procedures are needed to efficiently process these applications, or they risk becoming bogged down in interconnection and EVSE service load request backlogs.
Collaboration Opportunity
The iQMS program aims to address this interconnection challenge with $11.2 million of direct funding to distribution utilities to test and demonstrate queue management optimization solutions for interconnection and EVSE service load request or both, within 24 months.
The program is designed to encourage functional departments such as research, planning, Information Technology (IT), and operations to work together to improve data quality, interoperability, and integration among their internal IT systems, such as geographic information systems (GIS), distribution management system (DMS), or supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA). By integrating and expanding the capabilities of internal IT systems, the program helps distribution utilities test, implement, and validate new queue management approaches, eliminating unnecessary work, reducing errors, increasing productivity, and delivering reliable interconnection and service load request services to customers, ultimately reducing costs to consumers.
Track 1: Generator Interconnection
- Focus: Distribution-level queue management solutions for generator interconnection of solar PV, wind, storage, small hydropower, and other clean energy technologies. This includes generator interconnection procedures, such as pre-application services, hosting capacity analysis and/or maps, customer-facing interconnection application portals, system impact studies, affected system studies, network upgrade mitigation, interconnection agreements, interconnection-related integration of grid enhancing technologies (GETs), and permission to operate procedures.
- Total Funding: $9.2 million
- Funding Levels: Funding is provided to selected partners in two phases. In each phase, the selected partnering distribution utility will demonstrate progress of internal capabilities to implement interconnection queue management solutions for mid-scale clean energy projects (100 kW to 5 MW).
- Phase 1 - Get Ready (8 Months): Up to 20 partnering utilities, will each be awarded $200,000 to take tangible actions towards determining the feasibility and value proposition of implementing a queue management optimization solution, combined with a plan to demonstrate this solution, under real-world conditions in Phase 2. Results of Phase 1 and lessons learned will be shared publicly.
- Phase 2 - Demo (16 Months): Up to 8 best-performing partnering utilities from Phase 1 will each receive $650,000 to complete their proposed implementation plan and demonstrate how the solution performs under real-world conditions and scenarios. Results of these demonstrations and lessons learned will be shared publicly.
- Areas of Interest: Queue management solutions must align with the utilities’ interests, priorities, needs, and capabilities to significantly improve their queue management practices and timelines for mid-scale clean energy projects. Example solutions include, but are not limited to:
- Advanced hosting capacity services and tools, such as dynamic hosting capacity maps equipped with point of interconnection cost data.
- Fast-track or self-service interconnection screening or studies.
- Use of load control management systems or other grid enhancing technologies.
- Expanding existing internal software and IT capabilities used for managing interconnection requests for small-scale generators or battery storage systems (<100 kW) to accommodate interconnection screening or studies for mid-scale systems.
- Automated technical screens or interconnection studies.
- Dynamic or flexible interconnection solutions and services.
- Group studies, or locational clustering for interconnection requests to co-optimize, generation, storage, EVSE, and flexible and scheduled loads (See Track 2).
- Other queue optimization solutions.
- Accelerated Option: Selected partnering utilities that complete Phase 1 deliverables and show significant progress towards completing Phase 2 deliverables (including an internally approved plan to demonstrate their proposed solutions) at the time of applying for Phase 1 funding or 90 days before the end of the 8-month performance period of Phase 1 may be able to advance directly to Phase 2. In such cases, a selected utility may receive funding for both phases.
- Collaboration and Technical Assistance: Selected partnering utilities are expected to dedicate resources and assign staff to coordinate, collaborate, and provide progress updates to the iQMS team. Participants will be assigned to a cohort for DOE-funded technical assistance and sharing lessons learned throughout the 24-month timeframe.
- Approval (if applicable): Partnering utilities are encouraged to identify and begin work on internal and external approvals needed to conduct pilots in the active interconnection queue. For example, if the partnering utility is regulated by a public regulatory commission, it may be required to seek approval to engage in Phase 2 demonstrations on active generation interconnection requests. Selected utilities will also be responsible for getting regulatory approval, if necessary, to conduct pilots on active interconnection generation requests and demonstrate queue optimization solutions within the 24-month timeframe.
Track 1 & Track 2 Options
Distribution utilities interested in solutions for both generator interconnection and EVSE service load requests and energization queues must apply to Track 1 and Track 2. Up to 5 partnering utilities may be selected to receive funding for both tracks in Phase 1, with up to 2 utilities advancing to receive Phase 2 funding.
Projects Specifically Not of Interest
The iQMS team will not review or fund projects considered nonresponsive to this opportunity. The iQMS team considers the following types of projects nonresponsive.
- Projects without committed partnering distribution electric utilities operating in the United States.
- Projects that focus on convening stakeholders or conducting research to produce new frameworks, grid modeling capabilities, propose new electricity regulations, or compile strategies for improving queue management practices.
- Projects that solely focus on improving queue management practices for small-scale (<100 kW) generators, storage systems, or EVSE.
- Projects that focus on off-grid applications or plug-n-play technologies for generators or EVSE or both.
- Projects that focus solely on transmission-level management solutions.
- Projects that focus on marketing efforts or business development activities for existing or new solutions or products.
- Projects to support or fund specific interconnection applications or service requests.
- Projects that propose solutions or technologies not based on sound scientific principles (e.g., violates the laws of thermodynamics).
Event Updates
- Sign up for the Teaming Partner List: Click Here to Sign Up
- View the List and contact potential partners here (password: “IQMSTEAM”): Click Here to View Potential Partners
How to Participate
- Review the resources from the Informational Webinar/Objective Strategic Session on August 29, 2024 from 3:00-4:00 PM ET under Webinar Resources.
- Review the resources from the Informational Office Hours Session on September 19, 2024 from 3:00-4:00 PM ET under Webinar Resources.
- Download the iQMS Project Proposal Template: Click Here to Download
- Complete the online application form. Upload the your iQMS Project Proposal and submit: Click Here to Submit (Submissions are due NLT October 16, 2024 by 3:00 PM ET)
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