Deployment of distributed energy resources (DERs) has increased in recent years and is anticipated to continue growing in the future. Small hydropower is one of the DERs that is projected to rise, and as this resource grows there is a need for utilities and regulators to consider interconnecting them to the main grid. Connecting DERS to the grid may allow utilities to better manage peak demand, avoid transmission overloads and keep electricity flowing to the customers. An emerging application for renewable DERs is resilience – providing power if a site loses grid electricity. Although these upgrades have the potential to improve resilience, a barrier to their execution are distribution and transmission interconnection processes which have been described as prolonged, opaque, and inconsistent by applicants. On the other hand, utility owners have struggled to understand how to limit strains on both the distribution and transmission grid. To address this gap, a national dataset was developed to summarize different cost drivers and required work that are associated with hydropower projects. This study aims to build a shared understanding that will enhance project selection, limit stranded costs, and benefit interconnection customers as well as the system operators, and ultimately energy consumers. The focus of this study is to find trends within three major queue owners, PJM, PacifiCorp, and Idaho Power Company (IPC) and investigate how network upgrades associated with conductoring, line protection and control, substation modification and construction, and communication infrastructure have an effect on project timeline and cost. This will also help up compare the three different queues and analyze the trends within each one.
