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ISO: interconnection queue now dominated by batteries; quarter of proposals have executed agreements
Summary
ISO New England told senators that most new proposals in the interconnection queue are grid‑scale batteries, many projects remain in earlier stages, and roughly one quarter of ~40,000 MW in the queue have executed interconnection service agreements.
ISO New England staff briefed the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee on the region’s interconnection queue and the recent dominance of battery storage proposals.
Sarah Adams told the committee that the interconnection queue now contains a mix of resources markedly different from 2017: where earlier filings included substantial natural gas and wind proposals, most new filings are for lithium‑ion battery projects paired with other resources. She said Vermont has about 344 megawatts proposed in the queue, “and that is mostly batteries.”
Adams said the ISO has about 40,000 megawatts of proposals in the queue overall; roughly a quarter of that total—about 10,000 MW—has completed ISO study and reached an interconnection service agreement but is not yet commercially operational. She told the committee that project delays often arise from non‑ISO factors such as permitting or supply‑chain issues, not solely from the ISO’s study timeline.
On technology, Adams said the queue currently shows predominantly lithium‑ion batteries and that long‑duration storage technologies have not yet reached commercial scale in the queue. She added that many proposals combine storage with solar or other resources and that mixed proposals can be recorded in the non‑storage resource category when they are coupled.
Committee members asked for clarification about whether the queued batteries are grid scale (Adams: “This would be grid scale batteries.”) and about study and in‑service timelines. Adams noted that many proposals have interconnection agreements but are not yet operational for a variety of reasons.
Ending: The ISO presentation underscored a rapid change in investor interest toward batteries, and committee members said they would follow up on local implications for siting and grid integration.
