Overview
- PJM, which reopened its standard interconnection process Wednesday, said 811 proposals totaling about 220 GW entered Cycle 1 and are now in a validation check of required technical and financial data.
- Natural gas leads with about 106 GW, followed by 67 GW of storage, roughly 18 GW of nuclear, 15 GW of solar, 9 GW of solar‑plus‑storage, and 5 GW of wind, with PJM noting the “other” category now includes first‑time fusion entries.
- The new model replaces first‑come with first‑ready, requiring site control and up‑front funding to curb speculative filings, and PJM is using HyperQ, a Google Tapestry AI tool, to speed document review.
- PJM expects most studies to finish in one to two years, yet it warns that signed interconnection deals often stall because of state permits and supply chains, noting 103 GW reached agreements since 2020 but only about 23 GW are in service.
- PJM forecasts demand to grow by more than 30 GW from 2024 to 2030, driven largely by data centers, raising stakes for reliability and wholesale prices across the 13‑state region and D.C.