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Energy experts tell New Jersey committee: clear PJM queue and speed siting to bring down bills
Summary
Advanced Energy United told the legislature that PJM’s interconnection backlog — a queue closed since 2022 that holds hundreds of gigawatts of mainly clean projects — prevented supply that could have blunted recent auction price spikes and urged state reforms to speed permitting, transmission upgrades and use of storage.
Advanced Energy United representatives told lawmakers that a primary reason wholesale prices spiked in the recent capacity auction was not only generator retirements and higher demand but also a clogged PJM interconnection process that has kept new resources from reaching the grid.
"PJM currently has 290 gigawatts of generation storage projects that are actively seeking grid interconnection, of which 98% are clean energy and battery storage projects," John Gordon, a policy director at Advanced Energy United, told the committee. He said many of those projects were stuck in a queue that closed in 2022 and that prolonged interconnection studies, financing, permitting and supply‑chain delays have prevented projects from being available to mitigate the recent price shock.
Gordon and fellow witness Jim Purickell urged a package of actions: full compliance with FERC Order 2023 for interconnection reform, greater transparency around post‑queue project delays, streamlined permitting and consideration of siting boards or other state tools that can provide predictable timelines for developers. They said solar paired with battery storage can be deployed faster than new thermal plants and serve as a bridge to help affordability while larger transmission projects are planned.
"If the resources currently stuck in the queue were able to come online in a timely fashion...the prices in the last capacity market auction could have been reduced by as much as $7,000,000,000," Gordon said, citing recent independent studies discussed in their written testimony.
Members asked for actionable steps the state can take immediately. Purickell recommended targeted legislative fixes to speed local permitting, temporary use allowances for construction access across conservation easements where appropriate, and incentives for utilities to evaluate grid‑enhancing technologies that increase capacity without building entirely new lines.
The witnesses and lawmakers agreed that interconnection reform and faster deployment of solar+storage will not be a single quick fix but said the state has levers it can employ to reduce the time from project approval to operation.
