Eastern grid manager PJM has selected 51 “shovel-ready” electricity projects to move up in the connection queue to head off possible energy shortages by 2030.
The new projects, announced Friday, would add 11,793 megawatts from a combination of new projects and upgrades to existing plants, most of which could be counted on to operate during peak stress on the region’s high-voltage network.
The 51 new projects were chosen from 94 applicants. Gas-fired generation accounted for two-thirds of the selected projects, offering 7,756 megawatts of new capacity and upgrades. Battery projects were the second-largest addition to the priority queue, contributing 2,275 MW of capacity. No solar projects were chosen. One wind farm made the cut.
PJM invited generation developers that are closest to construction to get priority review in PJM’s interconnection queue, the long list of projects waiting for permission to tie to the grid. Officials at PJM, which manages electricity flows across a 13-state region from the Great Lakes to northern Virginia, have said the grid is in a race against time. Older coal- and gas-fired plants are retiring faster than they can be replaced. And electricity demand is on the rise as big technology companies build more data centers.
