Authorizes and directs the department of public service to conduct a study on the deployment of energy interconnection processes into the electrical grid

• Democratic4

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Rachel May says this is needed

In order to reach the goals set out by the Climate and Community Protection Act, New York state most examine how each part of our power system works and maximize the efficiency at which we operate. One area that has received lots of national focus is the interconnection process. Interconnection is the process through which power generation facilities are connected to the larger energy grid. Last July, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) mandated changes to transmission providers' interconnection rules, aiming to address requests from generators and energy storage developers to connect to the grid. One process that has received a lot of attention is a "connect and manage" approach. In our current approach, there is an interconnection queue, and a study has to be completed for each proposed project to ensure that the overall grid system has capacity before a project is allowed to connect to the grid. The queue can be delayed because an extensive study has to be completed for each proposed energy production facility. However, in a connect and manage approach, production gener- ation facilities are brought onto the grid, and then the grid operator directs the facility to curtail energy production if needed during times of high congestion on the grid. This allows for much faster deployment of new renewable energy generation projects, as this is a much more efficient process. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has seen success in bringing in new energy at a rapid clip onto the grid after adopting this type of approach. This bill is designed to holistically study our interconnection process in New York State and ensure that our process is able to bring enough renewable energy onto the grid to hit our important climate change goals. There are a wide variety of system changes, processes, and new technologies that can be studied to ensure maximum productivity in bringing new electric production onto the grid.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.