Distributed Generation Interconnection Collaborative Feedback

OMB # 1910-5160

Distributed Generation Interconnection Collaborative Feedback

1. DGIC members have suggested the following as potential projects for fiscal year 2015. Please select three options from the list below to indicate the projects that you believe would be most impactful for our stakeholders, including electric utilities, PV developers/installers, and regulatory agencies.

• Prioritization and Analysis of Interconnection Challenges: Compile and analyze the questions posed throughout the monthly webinar-meeting series to identify common and frequently occurring stakeholder concerns and priorities related to distributed PV interconnection. These will be researched and, with the assistance of the DGIC, a Frequently Asked Questions document with key answers and insights will be created. This will become a living document on the DGIC website that can be updated and added to on a regular basis.

• Summary of Practices and Mitigation Measures: Collectively source data and information from utilities and PV installers related to current interconnection practices and PV impact mitigation measures. Compile a summary document of high- to low-cost mitigation techniques and tools for use by stakeholders.

• Interconnection Process Considerations for Smart Inverters: Conduct deep dive analytics around the series of questions utilities should consider related to operational impacts and functional dynamics. This report will seek to illustrate the considerations and alternatives facing utilities with these assets and identify impacts to future interconnection processes, standards, and requirements.

• Data Standards and Protocols: Convene electric utilities and other stakeholders to drive consensus on a common framework for managing and sharing utility data. As an increasing number of public utility commissions seek to implement utility interconnection reporting requirements, stakeholder consensus and utility buy-in on best practices and a common framework for data standards and protocols is needed.

• Utility Interconnection Soft Costs: Determine a methodology for base lining soft utility interconnection administration soft costs. Baselines and targets have been developed for the solar industry under the purview of the U.S. DOE SunShot Initiative. Permitting, inspection, and interconnection (PII) soft costs are expected to drop to $0.14/W by 2020 under the current trajectory for the solar industry from $0.17/W in 2014. Develop the methodology to determine these similar metrics for utilities and begin collecting information from utilities to aggregate the information in order to set utility interconnection soft cost targets.

• Other (Please identify any additional research or consensus-building activities that you think would help inform improvements for the interconnection process.) ________

2. Do you think there should be a national database of distributed solar interconnection information?

• Yes

• No

3. If so, what information would be useful to include in a national database of distributed solar interconnection information? (Select all that apply.)

• Interconnection requirements, standards, or guidelines by state

• Interconnection requirements, standards, or guidelines by utility

• Financial PV system-level specs

• Site PV system-level specs

• Technical PV system-level specs

4. If so, what entity do you think would be best to manage a national database of distributed solar interconnection information?

• A national laboratory

• Energy Information Administration

• Solar Electric Power Association

• Other

BDS

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 7 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.  Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Office of the Chief Information Officer, Records Management Division, IM-23, Paperwork Reduction Project (1910-5160), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC, 20585-1290; and to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), OIRA, Paperwork Reduction Project (1910-5160), Washington, DC  20503.