The IREC Blog

Washington, D.C. (March 24, 2023) — The national SolSmart program is expanding to help 500 more cities, towns, counties, and regional organizations strengthen local solar energy markets, achieve energy equity goals, and encourage economic growth. Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the SolSmart program offers expert technical assistance at no cost to help local...

A ruling by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission significantly improves the state's interconnection rules by incorporating national best practices for the review of renewable and energy storage projects.

New rules in New Mexico reflect best practices for connecting clean energy systems to the grid, with particular improvements for energy storage and smart inverters

We explore the methodology of our research, underlying assumptions, and the resulting estimated timelines for when smart inverters with grid-support capabilities will be available on the market.

A new decision today from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) marks a significant milestone by dramatically simplifying the interconnection process for distributed energy resources (DERs), like solar and batteries, and providing valuable transparency for project developers.

A new paper from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) offers recommended best practices to streamline the process of interconnecting electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to the grid. Paving the Way: Emerging Best Practices for Electric Vehicle Charger Interconnection identifies new policies and practices at the state, local, and utility levels that can help resolve...

Interconnection is a crucial, yet often overlooked, issue for enabling timely deployment of solar and other clean energy projects. Literally every grid-connected project must go through the interconnection process and delays can thus impact projects of every size and type. Across the country, outdated and cumbersome interconnection policies put the brakes on clean energy development, hindering market growth and the rapid climate action needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Transportation electrification is essential to helping states and the federal government achieve their energy and climate targets. Electric vehicles (EVs) can provide myriad benefits, from reduced air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions to vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services—in which electric vehicles can both charge from and send energy back to the grid, providing grid benefits.  Before V2G...