Louisiana’s large electricity customers will be allowed to purchase up to 500 MW of renewable power through a new type of agreement with renewable project owners.

Automation of interconnection study processes is already underway and has room to grow, said executives from Pearl Street Technologies and Nira Energy on an industry panel. Other panelists discussed developing the engineering workforce.

Some experts shared data to back up their praise for the “connect and manage” approach used by Texas grid operator ERCOT, while others speaking on an industry panel explained their reservations.

To greatly increase hosting capacity for distributed solar and storage, Sunrun executive Steven Rymsha calls for faster adoption of smart inverters using default settings, along with related consumer protections, and ultimately a plug-and-play experience for customers buying rooftop solar.

Maine has hired a consulting firm to evaluate whether forming a distribution system operator could speed deployment of distributed energy resources and support other state goals. Consultants are reviewing how the approach is used in five other countries.

A guide to utility resource plans aims to help state regulators and others engage effectively with utilities in reviewing the plans, which have often been challenged for limiting solar and storage in projections of new generating capacity needed.

A leader of a union whose members work in construction and maintenance said the union supported a moratorium on tariffs on certain imported solar panels, as domestic panel output increases, to preserve opportunities in solar construction and installation.

Potential sites for solar in Puerto Rico include reservoirs, brownfields, closed landfills, fossil generating plants after closure, and transmission rights of way, determined analysis by the National Renewable Energy Lab.

Allowing flexible interconnection for large solar projects can reduce costs and speed deployment, benefiting developers, ratepayers and utility staff, said a presenter at a North Carolina conference of utility regulators.

Pennsylvania and Minnesota have joined six other states in requiring smart inverters for distributed solar and storage. Certain utilities in 13 states and Puerto Rico also require smart inverters, while six states are considering the requirement. Smart inverters enable more solar on distribution circuits.