Texas is quickly adding solar, wind, and storage to its grid by using a relatively simple interconnection process. Now, 24 industry participants have expressed support for the use of a similarly streamlined process across the nation, according to Duke University researcher Tyler Norris. PV Magazine quotes Norris's latest insights from a series of posts on BlueSky and LinkedIn.

Renewable energy produced nearly a third of the electricity used around the globe, according to a new report, but even more could have been used by modernizing electrical grids. The biggest challenge in the United States is coordinating all the states, cities, counties and utilities to invest and expand and update the grid at the same time, Duke Ph.D. student Tyler Norris told Marketplace.

The interconnection queue is the process by which utilities decide which wind and solar farms get to hook up to the power grid in the United States. Duke University Ph.D. student Tyler Norris, formerly vice president of development at Cypress Creek Renewables, joined Heatmap's Shift Key podcast to discuss perhaps the biggest obstacle to deploying more renewables on the U.S. power grid—and how to fix it.

Flexible interconnection service could sharply reduce the time and cost it takes to bring power supplies online, according to a study from Duke University scholars being discussed at a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission workshop. “This [study] offers a very clear, quantitative analysis on the potential benefits of flexible interconnection service that just hasn’t been available to date,” Duke Ph.D. student Tyler Norris told Utility Dive.

Two studies conducted by Duke University researchers have found substantial cost and time savings are possible with flexible “connect and manage” interconnection of utility-scale solar and solar-plus-storage projects, reports PV Magazine. The lead researcher for both studies, Duke Ph.D. student Tyler Norris, reported the findings to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in advance of a workshop next week. 

Utilities in some states are proposing new natural gas plants to keep up with rising electricity demand. “I can’t recall the last time I was so alarmed about the country’s energy trajectory,” Tyler Norris, a power systems expert and PhD student at the Nicholas School of the Environment told The New York Times. Norris wrote a policy brief last year that provides an example of an innovative regulatory solution that could push utilities toward clean energy sources.

The Department of Energy and others are looking to the "connect and manage" process employed by Texas grid operator ERCOT to connect energy generators to the grid more quickly. Tyler Norris, a Ph.D. student at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment, talked with Utility Dive about his Nicholas Institute policy brief exploring how lessons from ERCOT's experience could influence interconnection reform across the country.

At the eighth annual Energy Week at Duke, experts across diverse sectors shared insights on the global transition to clean energy. Hundreds of students, faculty, professionals and community members took part in the event series, which included a one-day conference in addition to panel discussions, a field trip, a business case competition and more.

During Energy Week at Duke (Nov. 6-10, 2023), members of the university community will explore strategies for swiftly advancing an equitable clean energy transition. Organized by Duke students from diverse undergraduate and graduate degree programs, this year’s Energy Week events feature insights from industry and community leaders along with opportunities to compete, network and share ideas.

The new Office of Climate and Sustainability brings together several of Duke University's climate, energy, and environmental assets—including the Nicholas Institute—to help advance the mission of the Duke Climate Commitment.