Energy Interconnection Timelines Have Stalled

Large solar projects face delays of nearly four years to secure permission to operate, a new report finds.

Updated on Oct. 5, 2026 in Utilities

Isometric editorial illustration showing a vast array of solar panels and high-voltage electrical towers, representing power grid infrastructure. — Solar energy developers face median delays of nearly four years to secure grid interconnection, stalling thousands of gigawatts of new clean energy capacity. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Is the process for connecting solar energy projects to the power grid getting better in America?

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that solar projects between 1 MW and 5 MW required a median of 45 months to gain permission to turn on between 2020 and 2025. This creates significant hurdles for developers as thousands of gigawatts wait in transmission queues.

Why it matters

Long interconnection wait times act as a bottleneck for the deployment of renewable energy capacity, complicating efforts to integrate clean power into the national grid. Understanding these delays is essential to identifying the structural grid challenges limiting energy growth.

Researchers analyzed 2.7 million interconnection applications across 188 utilities in 24 states. While large projects face long waits, the average time to execute an interconnection service agreement declined 26% from 2020 through 2025.

The players

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

This is a multidisciplinary research institution managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The details

Although smaller systems under 30 kW make up 97.3% of the total applications, larger projects face the most significant delays. Data indicates that 76% of projects exceeding 100 kW remained without permission to turn on during the study period, contributing to the 2,061 GW of generation and storage capacity currently stalled in U.S. transmission queues.

The study period for interconnection timelines and costs spanned from 2000 through 2025.
Median timeline analysis for projects by state occurred from 2020 through 2024.
Median timeline analysis by project size covered the years 2020 through 2025.
At the end of 2025, 2,061 GW remained in U.S. transmission interconnection queues.

Market Landscape

The grid interconnection bottleneck is part of a broader struggle to modernize national energy infrastructure as massive generation demand outpaces utility processing. The 2,061 GW currently locked in transmission queues highlights a systemic gap between renewable energy ambitions and the pace of grid integration.

These interconnection delays can increase project costs and reduce the speed at which renewable energy projects reach consumers. For the average subscriber, this often results in slower implementation of clean energy initiatives and continued reliance on established, slower-to-upgrade power generation methods.

The takeaway

The data suggests that while administrative processes for service agreements are improving, physical grid integration remains a massive barrier for large solar projects. Stakeholders must focus on streamlining site inspection and construction workflows to clear the massive backlog in transmission queues.