This story was originally produced by the New Hampshire Bulletin, an independent local newsroom that allows NHPR and other outlets to republish its reporting.
The Department of Energy has 15 months to draft regulations that would set uniform procedures for hooking up energy projects to the grid.
Gov. Chris Sununu approved Senate Bill 391 on Friday, which pushes the department to “set cost effective, timely, and predictable processes for customer generators wishing to interconnect to the state’s electric grid,” something that has been a challenge for larger solar projects in the state.
In New Hampshire, utility companies have essentially written their own rules for the process to interconnect solar projects over 1 megawatt, which is about enough energy to power 173 homes, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. Developers and clean energy advocates say this has often resulted in long, frustrating delays.
Within the next two months, the DOE must open a proceeding to examine and draft regulations that set “uniform procedures” for interconnecting energy projects to the infrastructure of the state’s investor-owned utilities. By October 2025, those draft rules must be submitted to the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, a body that provides legislative oversight to the regulatory process.
For some developers, the unpredictability of New Hampshire’s interconnection process has made it a less attractive place to invest.
In written testimony in support of the bill, Kate Tohme, the director of interconnection policy at the renewable energy company New Leaf Energy, said “a clear set of interconnection standards” is one of the key factors the company considers before investing in the state.
With the lack of clear guidelines in New Hampshire and three projects waiting to interconnect, she wrote to a House committee in March, the company was “forced to focus our attention and resources in other states.”
The DOE must update the chairpersons of House and Senate committees on Science, Technology, and Energy every six months on the proceeding.