The clean energy revolution is upon us, and the U.S. grid is feeling the growing pains. A staggering 2,600 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy projects, primarily solar and wind, are lined up waiting to connect to the grid . This clean energy tsunami is more than double the existing generating capacity in the U.S., signifying a strong shift towards low-carbon power. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, with its incentives for clean energy development, likely serves as a major driver behind this surge.
California leads the pack with nearly 450 GW of renewable energy projects in its interconnection queue, followed closely by Texas, illustrated in Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 2. Interestingly, the top five states with the most clean energy waiting to connect contribute to over half of the total demand. But here’s the rub: while the desire for clean energy is strong, the process to connect these projects to the grid is agonizingly slow. On average, it takes a project between 3 to almost 6 years to navigate the studies and permitting needed before construction can even begin. This significant wait time acts as a major hurdle in the clean energy transition.
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