Nexamp uses ‘self-performance’ to modify grid and interconnect projects quicker in Maine and Massachusetts
As interconnection queues lengthen, Nexamp is taking matters into its own hands with a “self-performance” approach that improves project viability and speeds up development timelines.
This self-performance practice, still relatively rare in the United States, allows developers to perform certain utility-side work themselves, including procuring equipment and modifying / upgrading grid infrastructure. By doing so, developers like Nexamp can shave months off deployment timelines while easing the workload on overburdened utilities.
“Self-performance allows us to take much greater control over the interconnection procurement and construction, enabling us to bring projects online faster and closer to budget,” said Daniel Passarello, Lead Consulting Engineer for Grid Integration at Nexamp.
Three self-performed project examples
Working in close coordination with Central Maine Power (CMP) and National Grid in Massachusetts, Nexamp brought the following projects online through this model:
- Hartland Solar – 1.2 MWdc in Hartland, Maine
- Barre Road Solar – 1.3 MWdc in New Braintree, Massachusetts
- Summit Farm Solar – 2.6 MWdc in New Braintree, Massachusetts
Lower costs, faster timelines, and a lighter load for utilities
Nexamp’s self-performance method doesn’t mean cutting corners. The company maintains tight alignment with utility engineering and safety standards. Passarello notes that the company orders much of the same utility-required hardware for its own facility in bulk, and if an expedited shipment is needed, the company can go to the supplier directly. But by leveraging its existing contractor network and bulk procurement relationships, Nexamp is able to move utility interconnection work forward in parallel with site construction, instead of waiting for a utility crew to become available.
That parallel process, Passarello notes, “creates opportunities to reduce the number of mobilizations,” improve cost control, and ensure greater timeline certainty.
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) says this model should be widely adopted.
“We must modernize and streamline the interconnection process to keep pace with fast-growing demand for energy,” said Sara Birmingham, SEIA’s Vice President of State Affairs. “Self-performance is one of several innovative approaches that can accelerate project timelines and lower costs, which benefits all ratepayers.”
As deployment scales, Nexamp and other developers will need new tools like self-performance and flexible interconnection — another strategy Nexamp is promoting with the Solar and Storage Industries Institute (SI2). Flexible interconnection allows distributed generation projects to operate dynamically to accommodate grid capacity dynamics, rather than requiring the developer to spend significant sums of money to build additional capacity.
“The opportunity to lead some of the very first self-performance projects is significant and we’re proud to see the results,” said Nicholas Burica, Sr. Director of Grid Planning at Nexamp. “CMP and National Grid are each showing the market how adaptability and process improvements make a difference in getting more renewable energy resources onto the grid.”
