Assessing Transmission Bottlenecks for Renewable Energy Development in North Carolina

Abstract

North Carolina is ranked third for the cumulative amount of solar installation in the US. The aggressive renewable integrations have introduced potential transmission constraints and costly upgrades. We explore different kinds of bottlenecks in NC that hamper further growth: interconnection policy, a winter peaking system, regulatory hurdles to obtain the certificate of public convenience and necessity, and the participant funding model. Following Duke Energy's recent interconnection queue reform proposal, we firstly summarize the changes required in the interconnection study process to use a cluster approach. Next, we recommend the incorporation of short and long-duration energy storage to tackle the winter peak, the usage of Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs) to increase line carrying capacities, and a reallocation of transmission upgrade costs between developers and owners. Lastly, we researched the transmission planning from California Independent System Operator (CAISO) in California; compared its renewable policy to NC, and suggested potential market mechanism upgrades NC can utilize to pave out future renewable integrations.