NYISO’s 2024 Priorities Are Fueling New York’s Clean Energy Future

We continue to make progress on connecting new renewable resources to the grid. In January of 2023, 27 new wind, solar, energy storage, and transmission expansion projects totaling 7,452 megawatts completed the final interconnection study, or “Class Year” – bringing them closer to commercial operation. Over the last two years, we’ve made enhancements to our process, people, and technology with measurable improvements. For example, in 2023 our team of planning experts completed System Reliability Impact Studies for 60 projects with an average completion time of just 132 days – a 200% improvement over historical performance.

But there’s still more work ahead of us. At the start of 2024, we’re still seeing an unprecedented number of renewable and clean energy projects entering our interconnection queue. In 2019, there were 275 projects in the queue; more than 500 projects are under consideration today. Building on recent process efficiencies, we’re hard at work reforming the interconnection process to comply with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order 2023. Those reforms will further shorten the total study period while maintaining a focus on system reliability. 

In addition to connecting renewable resources with the grid, we continue to advance transmission projects so clean energy can be sent to where it's needed most on the system. 

Through the NYISO's Public Policy Transmission Planning Process, we’ve played a pivotal role in advancing three major projects in New York: the Empire State Line in Western New York; the AC Transmission Projects in the Mohawk-Hudson Valley; and most recently, Propel NY to deliver offshore wind interconnected to Long Island. 

Additionally, we’re in the early stages of a public policy need identified by the Public Service Commission, which calls for proposed transmission solutions to move offshore wind energy directly into New York City to advance New York’s 9,000 MW goal. The scale of this public policy need is monumental. The NYISO team has built a track record of identifying more efficient or cost-effective projects to help meet state decarbonization targets while bolstering system reliability.

Managing wholesale electric markets is also a core responsibility for the NYISO. Looking at the mandates of the CLCPA, we know the competitive electric markets are the most efficient and cost-effective way to attract and retain new resources at the scale necessary to decarbonize the grid. Our market design team is hard at work developing new tools and programs to encourage investment in resources that are fast-ramping, flexible, dispatchable, and emissions-free – resource characteristics that are becoming increasingly important for grid reliability.

Finally, our Reliability Needs Assessment Report (RNA) will be released in the fall. This important reliability report is conducted every two years and evaluates electric system changes over a ten-year time horizon. The RNA will provide a detailed analysis of forecasted changes in supply and demand and the resources that may be necessary to maintain system reliability in the coming years.

We recognize the importance of New York’s climate goals, and our team of experts is working tirelessly to facilitate state policies that seek to address climate change. We’re proud of our dedicated workforce as well as our culture of learning and innovation. Our professional development opportunities, DEI initiatives, and community partnerships help us recruit and retain talented professionals from across the world. Working together with stakeholders and state leaders, we will maintain reliability, leverage competitive wholesale markets, and deliver the grid of the future.