PJM eyes hybrid fix to jumpstart surplus interconnection
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- PJM Interconnection floated an "issue charge" allowing hybrid resources to participate in energy and ancillary services markets as separate, independent resources — a fix stakeholders say is needed because the current single-ID model prevents co-located batteries from accessing capacity interconnection rights tied to an existing generator.
- MISO had 44 surplus interconnection projects online and SPP had 22, compared with PJM's approval of just 2 of 8 applications since 2023, per a late November presentation and an analysis by advisory firm Surplus Interconnection.
- PJM missed reserve margin targets in its last two capacity auctions, with the shortfall growing to 6.8 GW for the 2028/29 delivery year from 6.5 GW for 2027/28, intensifying pressure to find faster pathways for new capacity.
- MN8 Energy senior manager Grant Glazer said many PJM solar projects have interconnection rights covering only 40%–60% of nameplate capacity, leaving substantial spare capacity that surplus interconnection could monetize.
- An August 2025 UC Berkeley working paper estimated PJM thermal and renewable facilities could support roughly 150 GW of solar, wind, and storage via surplus interconnection, though the loss of federal tax credits has eroded that potential.
- Advanced Energy United supports PJM's effort, with senior director Jon Gordon calling the fixes "relatively easy" and expressing optimism they will move quickly through the Market Implementation Committee.
- Indiana and Virginia passed laws this year directing in-state utilities to study surplus interconnection potential on their systems, layering state-level momentum onto the federal regulatory effort.
Why it matters: For PJM to close a 6.8 GW capacity shortfall without costly network upgrades, it must unlock tens of thousands of megawatts of unused interconnection rights at existing generators — but the current hybrid-resource market structure blocks co-located batteries from accessing those rights. If PJM's proposed rule change clears its Market Implementation Committee, developers like MN8 Energy can fast-track battery projects by attaching them to solar farms' spare CIRs, sidestepping the multi-year standard interconnection queue.
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