Two interactive maps now available on the ISO New England website provide insights into the interconnection process for resources in New England, the grid operator said on Oct. 2.
A new heatmap highlights what areas might best support new capacity, and a queue map shows the location and type of resources currently undergoing the ISO’s interconnection process -- the technical steps the ISO performs to ensure a resource can receive transmission service reliably, it said.
The heatmap illustrates how much power can reliably flow across transmission lines across different parts of the New England grid.
Blue and green represent areas near points of interconnection with the most estimated available capacity, and orange and red represent areas with less.
Though the heatmap is not a replacement for a full capacity analysis, which is just one part of an ISO interconnection study, potential developers can use it as a first step to inform the electrical feasibility of their project, it said.
The queue map provides information on all resources with an active interconnection request. Battery storage forms the bulk of proposed new resources in the current queue.
"The release of these maps comes well ahead of the timeline mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order No. 2023, and is just one of the ISO’s current initiatives to provide potential interconnection customers with more information to help inform their project development decisions," ISO-NE said.
The maps do not provide information on the feasibility of siting potential new resources, which is beyond the ISO’s jurisdiction.
Until recently, the ISO conducted interconnection studies one at a time, on a “first-come, first-served” basis.
Beginning with 2025’s Transitional Cluster Study, the ISO studies new resources under a collective cluster process. Developers can submit proposals for the first full cluster study between Oct. 5 and Nov. 19.
The heatmap will be updated after the completion of future cluster studies to reflect how the addition of new resources to the grid has affected available capacity.
