The Southwest Power Pool announced the completion of a process that it says will “significantly accelerate the addition of new generating resources to the grid.”
Headquartered in Little Rock, the SPP grid includes Oklahoma and 13 other states and parts of others. It said it recently completed a plan to clear the backlog of requests in the SPP generator interconnection queue. This milestone allows SPP to transition toward implementation of its revolutionary Consolidated Planning Process (CPP).
The power pool explained that once the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves the CPP, it will speed up the addition of more resources to the grid.
Efficient interconnection studies are critical for SPP, a regional transmission organization (RTO) serving 14 states across the central United States. Faster studies give developers and utilities the cost certainty and regulatory approvals needed at a time when energy demand is rising and the need for reliability remains paramount.
“Clearing the GI backlog has been an SPP top priority,” said Jennifer Swierczek, manager of generation interconnection policy and study. “SPP’s interconnection customers deserve an efficient study process to enable their proposed generator projects, and we’re proud that our leadership, engagement, and commitment culminated in the completion of our backlog clearing plan.”
By the Numbers: SPP’s Backlog Clearing Success
- 24 cluster studies completed since 2022
- 1,652 projects evaluated through Definitive Interconnection System Impact Study (DISIS)
- 340 GW of generation analyzed, which is six times SPP’s peak load
- 190 new Generator Interconnection Agreements (GIAs) signed
- 30+ GW of new generation has executed GIAs
- 20 GW of additional new generation expected to sign GIAs in the next 12 months