Solar ABCs Updated Recommendations for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Small Generator Interconnection Procedures Screens

Download the one-page summary (PDF, 291KB) or the full report (PDF, 2.7MB).

Overview

One-page summary of FERC screens report.
This Solar America Board for Codes and Standards (Solar ABCs) Report is a status assessment of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Small Generator Interconnection Procedures (SGIP) fast track technical screens. The North Carolina Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council led the review and development of suggested updates to the FERC SGIP screens and the 10kW Inverter Process after conducting an interactive development process based on a questionnaire of small generator interconnection subject matter experts (SMEs).

Why the Report is Important

Public demand for customer-owned distributed generation, especially grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) systems, has encouraged federal and state legislation calling for practical procedures for interconnection of non-utility-owned generators to the electric grid. Existing procedures have evolved over the last decade as states and the federal government sought to implement and improves upon early efforts. Early efforts were often unsatisfactory because high costs, lengthy timelines, bureaucracy, and uncertainty proved to be formidable barriers. Fortunately, much has been learned during the last decade and "best practices" have begun to emerge.

Issue

The FERC SGIP contains the technical procedures that a small generator and utility must follow when connecting the generator to utility lines subject to FERC jurisdiction. The standards are embodied in a single set of ten screens for the 10 kW Inverter Process and the Fast Track Process. Revising these screens to simplify interconnection and increase the number of systems that pass the fast track screens (and the 10 kW Inverter Process) can reduce barriers to solar energy installations.

Solar ABCs Recommendation

Solar ABCs presents these recommendations with the intent that they will serve as the first step toward the update of the FERC SGIP. FERC and National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) should collaborate to update the following FERC SGIP screens.

For the following screens, the survey results did not reach consensus, but many respondents made strong arguments for updates: