The PJM Interconnection has told federal regulators it opposes granting a waiver to a roughly $2 billion gas-fired power project that's seeking to reduce its maximum output while remaining in the grid operator's fast-track interconnection review. The dispute centers on Advanced Power Services' Chestnut Run power project in Carroll County, Ohio, where the Boston-based independent power producer asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to let it cut the project's maximum output to 1.245 GW from 1.3 GW and reduce its capacity interconnection rights. PJM filed a protest at FERC on June 18, arguing the waiver would give Advanced Power an unfair advantage and disrupt the interconnection process.
Advanced Power, owned by ArcLight Capital Partners, originally planned to use GE Vernova's HA.03 turbine model with the project operating by May 2030. But that model is in high demand, pushing out the project's in-service date by at least two years, according to the waiver application at FERC. The company now plans to use the GE Vernova HA.02 model instead, which would reduce the power plant's maximum output by about 55 MW but allow it to come close to the originally planned online date. Without the waiver, the project could be ineligible for PJM's upcoming reliability backstop auction, which will likely require projects to be online by June 1, 2032. The project is in PJM's Reliability Resource Initiative review process, which initially drew 51 projects totaling about 11.8 GW and was designed for shovel-ready projects that can't change their size or capacity interconnection rights.
PJM contends that Advanced Power's request fails to meet FERC's criteria for issuing waivers, including that it be limited in scope, resolve a concrete problem, and not have undesirable consequences. The grid operator also said there's no evidence that Advanced Power won't experience delays in acquiring the HA.02 turbines. PJM told FERC that Advanced Power has other options, including applying for interconnection approval through the Expedited Interconnection Track process, which FERC approved on June 9. In a response filed June 23, Advanced Power said that "the PJM region currently faces well-documented and unprecedented resource adequacy challenges," and accused PJM's protest of ignoring the practical implications of the situation.
The clash highlights the tension between strict interconnection rules and the need to bring new generation online quickly in a region facing capacity concerns. Advanced Power argued that PJM is asking FERC to deny a narrowly tailored waiver request that would delay "more than 1.2 GW of firm, dispatchable capacity from a highly efficient natural gas electric-generating facility, by approximately two years — thereby passing up a concrete opportunity to bring much-needed firm, dispatchable capacity online in an expedited manner." The company asked FERC to issue a decision by July 1, though the project can remain in the RRI review process without the requested waiver. The outcome could set a precedent for how grid operators handle equipment supply chain issues that force developers to adjust their projects mid-review.