News

Annual Berkeley Lab data visualization slide deck illustrates over 2,000 gigawatts of generation and storage capacity active in U.S. interconnection queuesGenerator interconnection queues across the U.S. are showing some signals of improvement as historical backlogs wane and the volume of newly executed interconnection agreements rises, though process timelines remain long.The volume of new power... Read more

Severe storms, freezes, floods, and heat waves can damage grid infrastructure and cause extended power outages, and the risks of utility equipment igniting wildfires is increasing. States and utilities are aiming to reduce the impact of these threats, while keeping down electricity costs. Addressing this challenge requires harmonizing siloed planning processes to balance grid resilience with other... Read more

Position OverviewSeeking two Graduate Student Research Assistants (GSRA) to join the Energy Markets and Planning (EMP) department at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The GSRAs would staff one or more of four potential projects: State-of-the-art modeling tools for planning and reliability assessmentsLeading utility practices for integrated system planningAll-source competitive... Read more

We invite you to a webinar on July 1 at 10:00 AM Pacific exploring interesting recent trends and patterns in transmission value using Berkeley Lab’s just-launched interactive data visualization tool (https://emp.lbl.gov/energy-market-value-tool-stage-1-transmission-value). The tool is designed to help stakeholders explore transmission market value data and analysis from two studies, a study... Read more

Webinar series facilitates conversations on interconnection study methods and opportunities for automation and harmonization across different regions of the U.S.Berkeley Lab in collaboration with the Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG) and Elevate Energy Consulting, is facilitating the Studies, Tools, and Interconnection Consistency and Harmonization (STITCH) Meetings as part of the DOE’s... Read more

Rapid growth in demand from data centers and other large loads is creating a range of new challenges for electricity planners, investors, system operators, and regulators, leading to bottlenecks that have slowed connection of large loads to the electric grid. In response, innovative solutions for accelerating large load connections are beginning to emerge across the U.S.A new Lawrence Berkeley... Read more

POSITION DESCRIPTIONSeeking two Graduate Student Research Assistants (GSRA) to join the Energy Markets and Planning (EMP) department at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). One GSRA would work primarily on projects relating to generator interconnection while the other would focus on solar+storage power plants. The two positions have similar responsibilities and qualifications, though the... Read more

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has published a new study and accompanying data resources on the wholesale market value of large-scale co-located photovoltaic-plus-storage (PV+S) projects in the United States.The research estimates the wholesale market value of 280 operational PV+S projects across the seven ISOs/RTOs and 19 additional balancing authorities, representing roughly 95% of... Read more

On May 5th, the University of California Board of Regents approved Katherine Yelick as the next director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Her appointment as director begins on July 1st.Yelick is a leading computer scientist with a highly distinguished research and leadership career at UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab. She is currently the Vice Chancellor for Research and the... Read more

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is pleased to announce the publication of a new study: “Electric Utility Distribution Costs: Scoping study on trends, drivers, and possible response strategies.” Its objective is to synthesize information that will help stakeholders understand the scope, scale, and drivers of recent increases in investor-owned utility (IOU) expenditures on local... Read more

We are pleased to announce the release of a new three-part Berkeley Lab report series, A Community Guide to Regulatory Barriers Affecting Microgrids. This series provides a strategic analysis of existing regulatory and legal factors affecting microgrid deployments, equipping non-technical community leaders and decision-makers with a foundational framework to evaluate key elements of a... Read more

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is pleased to announce the latest opportunity for state public utility commissions (PUCs) and state energy offices (SEOs) to receive extended duration, high impact technical assistance. On March 1st, 2026, the Resources and Assistance for State Energy Offices and Regulators program will begin accepting applications from PUCs and SEOs for Deep Dive technical... Read more

We are excited to announce the launch of the next version of the ICE Calculator. This is version 2.2 of the tool and includes results from both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 surveying efforts. The ICE Calculator is now based on 15 independent surveys administered across 30 different electric distribution service territories representing nearly 10,000 customer responses. The following are some additional... Read more

We’d like to share our recently published study that analyzes hourly energy transfers across thirty-two US transmission interfaces, from 2014 to 2023. By comparing real-time energy prices in the exporting and importing regions, it gauges the economic efficacy of transactions. Unlike many studies, this analysis uses empirical data to assess interregional transmission value instead of using... Read more

States and utilities can use a new toolkit, the Regulatory Sandbox Navigator, and apply for technical assistance from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to consider, develop, and implement regulatory sandboxes or other innovative approaches like pilots and novel programs for deployment of advanced grid technologies for transmission and distribution (T&D) systems.Regulatory sandboxes... Read more

Adoption of established technical standards, practices, and tools is essential for ensuring reliable electricity service with distributed energy resources (DERs) like solar, energy storage, and gas generators connecting to local utility grids. While some states and utilities have adopted IEEE 1547-2018, standards in the rest of the country are incomplete or outdated (see map). Other industry best... Read more

Several U.S. jurisdictions are exploring alternative cost allocation methods for eligible grid upgrades that support the interconnection of distributed energy resources (DERs), moving beyond the ‘cost-causer pays’ model. Distribution system upgrade costs can be distributed among beneficiaries in a variety of ways to improve economic efficiency of utility investments and foster timely and fair... Read more

Join Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, and the National Association of State Energy Officials on October 22nd, from 2–4 p.m. ET, for the fourth in a series of virtual, interactive webinars on grid resilience planning. State representatives, utility experts, and NARUC and Berkeley Lab researchers will discuss planning for extreme... Read more

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Research Scientist Bin Wang and Retired Staff Scientist Joe Eto were recognized for outstanding publications by the world’s largest technical professional organization, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and its Power & Energy Society (IEEE PES). Eto and Wang received 2025 PES Prize Paper Awards for their roles in co-authoring... Read more

Please join Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Resource Innovations (RI) on August 4th, from 10-11 a.m. PT, for a virtual webinar to learn more about our partnership with electric utilities across the country to more accurately estimate the costs of power outages. The ICE Calculator has undergone a complete rebuild with a new user interface and enhanced capabilities.Register for the... Read more

Electricity grids are facing significant pressure from load growth, aging infrastructure, increasingly dynamic operational needs, and severe weather events. Advanced grid technologies can help meet these challenges, but traditional regulatory frameworks may limit utility pathways to innovation. Regulatory sandboxes offer a potential solution by establishing a structured environment for piloting... Read more

Join Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, and the National Association of State Energy Officials on August 8th, from 1–3 p.m. CT, for the third in a series of virtual, interactive regional webinars on grid resilience planning. State representatives from Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, utility experts, and Berkeley Lab... Read more

Interconnection costs for distributed energy resources (DERs) like community solar are rising in many jurisdictions across the United States. Utility planning and implementation of electricity system upgrades in a piecemeal or serial fashion can cause inefficiencies that contribute to increased costs for interconnection customers and utility ratepayers.Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will... Read more

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) are partnering with electric utilities across the country to create more accurate cost estimates for both short- and long-term power outages, building tools to guide investments in grid reliability.Recent highlights of the work include an update to Berkeley Lab’s Interruption Cost Estimate (ICE) Calculator, a public website that... Read more

Join Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) on June 16, from 2–5 p.m. ET, for the second in a series of virtual, interactive regional webinars on grid resilience planning. State representatives from Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Massachusetts; utility representatives from Con Edison, Duke Energy, and Avangrid; and LBNL researchers will discuss planning for severe storms and... Read more