The “interconnection process” is the processes by which an electric generating facility (solar, wind, biomass, coal, etc) is allowed to connect to and supply the grid with power. The interconnection process is sometimes overlooked by new solar companies but it’s very important to understand for the health of your business. Similar to the permitting processes with solar, it can be a major obstacles to getting a project completed on time on getting paid, especially as your projects get larger but even for residential work.

The two key questions to address when looking to understand the interconnection is: what is the process and do we do it quickly and efficiently?

For this article, I’m going to focus on the interconnection process for distributed generation solar power planets, that is solar facilites that are 1MW or less. If the facility is larger then 1MW it must go through the standard ISO New England and ISO New England Reliability Pool and might also need to register for FERC if its a “qualifying facility”, meaning the owner is a independent power producer. We’ll save the ISO New England Standard Registration Process for large facilities over 1MW. The variables determing which interconnection process you will go through are based on 1) the size of the plant and 2) the specific location of the interconnection and where it will tie into the grid. Read below for the full article, if have more questions about the interesting process, leave a comment or ask us on the HeatSpring facebook page.

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