US interconnection queues: ERCOT, PJM, MISO and CAISO compared
FieldProspects summarizes the interconnection queues of four grid operators: ERCOT, PJM, MISO and CAISO. Together they list 6,315 planned power projects totalling 1,280 GW, which is 78.4% of the 8,057 planned projects in the national database. ERCOT has the largest pipeline at 532.2 GW.
Data as of
What is an interconnection queue?
An interconnection queue is the list of power plants and storage projects that have asked a grid operator for permission to connect to its grid. Each one waits there while its connection is studied, so the list shows what developers intend to build before construction starts.
How the four queues compare
The four pipelines differ in size against the fleets they would join. Set against the operating capacity Form EIA-860M lists on each grid, ERCOT plans 532.2 GW against 182 GW operating, 2.9 times its fleet. PJM plans 1.1 times its 230 GW, MISO 1.4 times and CAISO 1.9 times.
Technology differs as well. Solar has the most planned capacity on ERCOT, PJM and MISO, while on CAISO battery storage is ahead of solar, 100.6 GW against 72.2 GW.
Read the timing tables with the dates in mind. 45.2% of planned PJM entries and 34% of MISO entries carry an expected year that has already passed or no date, against 5.3% for CAISO and 1.2% for ERCOT. The remaining 21.6% of planned projects nationally sit on other grids and utilities.
| Grid | Planned projects | Planned capacity | Operating projects | Operating capacity | Largest planned technology |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ERCOT | 2,359 | 532.2 GW | 2,290 | 182 GW | Solar |
| PJM | 1,492 | 260.3 GW | 4,056 | 230 GW | Solar |
| MISO | 1,684 | 301.4 GW | 5,027 | 217.3 GW | Solar |
| CAISO | 780 | 186.2 GW | 2,858 | 100.3 GW | Battery Storage |
| Four grids together | 6,315 | 1,280 GW | 14,231 | 729.5 GW | |
| United States, all grids and utilities | 8,057 | 1,547.4 GW | 28,423 | 1,413.1 GW |
Source. U.S. Energy Information Administration Form EIA-860M and ISO/RTO interconnection queues, compiled by FieldProspects.
Related pages
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- Who it is for How developers, data center teams, lenders and sales teams use the database.
- Rankings Company rankings drawn from the database, each with the share of the market it covers.
- Data Every dataset in the database, with how many rows it holds and how complete it is.
- Interconnection queue data Planned projects from the grid operator queues, combined into a single table.
- Investors and lenders Screen the pipeline by technology, grid and sponsor before you underwrite it.
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- Largest solar developers Solar developers ranked by attributed project count and capacity, with how much of the market is attributed.
- FieldProspects vs Cleanview A dated comparison of what each product costs and includes, using only public information.
- Pricing Flat monthly access to the database, on a Solo, Unlimited or data license plan.