Promoting Economic Efficiency in Interconnection — Part 1: Coordination Between Interconnection & Grid Planning - CleanTechnica

The article discusses rising interconnection costs for distributed energy resources (DERs), such as community solar, across various U.S. jurisdictions, attributing inefficiencies to fragmented utility planning and implementation of grid upgrades. To address these challenges, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is hosting a webinar on August 21, 2025, focusing on enhancing coordination between DER interconnection processes and long-term grid planning. The event aims to explore solutions like synchronizing DER project interconnections with distribution system planning and improving data sharing between interconnection and grid planning entities to reduce costs and improve system efficiency. This webinar is part of a series stemming from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) and its recently published DER Interconnection Roadmap, which outlines strategies for simpler, faster, and fairer DER interconnections. The i2X initiative fosters collaboration among utilities, regulators, developers, and grid operators to tackle interconnection challenges and promote practical solutions. Future webinars will address cost allocation