# What is a grid interconnection queue?
A generation queue is not a load queue. MW in queue is not an operation date. Reinforcement is a study outcome, not a universal MW threshold.
Author: NiLu
Locale: en
Published: 2026-08-28
Updated: 2026-08-28
Canonical: https://blog.nilu.pro/en/blog/what-is-a-grid-interconnection-queue/
Markdown: https://blog.nilu.pro/en/blog/what-is-a-grid-interconnection-queue.md
JSON: https://blog.nilu.pro/en/blog/what-is-a-grid-interconnection-queue.json
## In brief
- An interconnection queue is the process by which a project requests grid access and waits for studies before it can operate.
- In the US, Order 2023 governs generation; the large-loads track (DOE §403 / RM26-4) is separate.
- Most US generation projects that enter the queue are withdrawn before they generate.
- The dossier sources have no equivalent public load-queue dataset in the US, nor a pan-European queue.
## Contents
- [What the queue measures — and what it does not](#what-the-queue-measures)
- [Two processes, two scoreboards](#two-processes)
- [MW in queue is not an operation date](#mw-is-not-cod)
- [Where the queue is public](#where-it-is-public)
- [Uncertainties](#uncertainties)
## What the queue measures — and what it does not
An interconnection queue is the process by which a project requests grid access and awaits studies before it can operate. It is not a stock of megawatts that will switch on on a date. It is also not a single worldwide scoreboard: generation and load follow different rulebooks, and each jurisdiction names the study product differently. [[1]](#ref-1)
## Two processes, two scoreboards
In the United States, FERC Order No. 2023 reforms generator interconnection procedures. It is not a load interconnection rule. [[1]](#ref-1) [[2]](#ref-2) The large-loads track is separate: docket RM26-4 originated from a DOE letter (October 23, 2025) asking for a final decision by April 30, 2026. [[3]](#ref-3) [[4]](#ref-4)
In Brazil, distribution load follows ANEEL’s REN 1.000/2021 (a connection budget with 15-, 30-, or 45-day deadlines). On the Rede Básica (≥230 kV), the product is the ONS Access Opinion, valid for 90 days until the CUST. [[9]](#ref-9) [[11]](#ref-11)
In the European Union, the Demand Connection Code sets technical requirements and a ladder of operational notifications — not a public MW queue. [[12]](#ref-12) [[13]](#ref-13)
## MW in queue is not an operation date
From LBNL’s Queued Up 2024 (data through the end of 2023): of requests submitted in 2000–2018, about 20% of projects — and about 14% of capacity — had reached commercial operation by the end of 2023; more than 70% were withdrawn. The median request-to-operation time for projects completed in 2023 was close to 5 years. [[6]](#ref-6)
At PJM, the generation queue totaled 221,297.3 MW on an energy basis at the end of 2024; historically, about 17.4% of that type of MW reaches in-service status. [[8]](#ref-8)
Grid reinforcement is also not a universal MW threshold: it is the output of a specific study inside a specific jurisdictional process. [[1]](#ref-1)
## Where the queue is public
Widely cited US portals (PJM, MISO, ERCOT, CAISO) measure generation and storage — not large-load requests. [[7]](#ref-7) Among the dossier’s sources there is no equivalent public load-queue dataset in the US, and no pan-European queue comparable to Queued Up. [[14]](#ref-14)
## Uncertainties
Load-queue transparency may emerge from RM26-4 or tariff filings — it does not exist today. Newer Queued Up editions may change magnitudes; numbers from different editions should not be added without labeling the reference year.
## Read the Dossier
The full map — US, Brazil, Europe, reinforcement, and hybrids — is in [Capacity, interconnection queues, and reinforcement](/en/blog/grid-capacity-queues-reinforcement/).
## References
1. [FERC — Explainer on the Interconnection Final Rule (Order No. 2023)](https://www.ferc.gov/explainer-interconnection-final-rule). Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Accessed August 09, 2026.
2. [Federal Register — Improvements to Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/09/06/2023-16628/improvements-to-generator-interconnection-procedures-and-agreements). Federal Register. Accessed August 09, 2026.
3. [FERC — RM26-4 (large loads docket hub)](https://www.ferc.gov/rm26-4). Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Accessed August 09, 2026.
4. [U.S. DOE — Ensuring the Timely and Orderly Interconnection of Large Loads (§403 ANOPR letter)](https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2025-10/403%20Large%20Loads%20Letter.pdf). U.S. Department of Energy. Accessed August 09, 2026.
6. [LBNL — Queued Up: 2024 Edition (data through the end of 2023)](https://eta-publications.lbl.gov/sites/default/files/queued_up_2024_edition_r2.pdf). Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Accessed August 09, 2026.
7. [PJM — Cycle Service Request Status](https://www.pjm.com/planning/m/cycle-service-request-status). PJM Interconnection. Accessed August 09, 2026.
8. [Monitoring Analytics — 2024 State of the Market Report for PJM, Section 12](https://www.monitoringanalytics.com/reports/PJM_State_of_the_Market/2024/2024-som-pjm-sec12.pdf). Monitoring Analytics. Accessed August 09, 2026.
9. [ANEEL — Resolução Normativa nº 1.000/2021](https://www2.aneel.gov.br/cedoc/ren20211000.html). Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica. Accessed August 09, 2026.
11. [ONS — Submódulo 3.4 dos Procedimentos de Rede (Solicitação / Parecer de Acesso)](https://www.ons.org.br/ProcedimentosDeRede/M%C3%B3dulo%203/Subm%C3%B3dulo%203.4/Subm%C3%B3dulo%203.4_%20Rev_0.3.pdf). Operador Nacional do Sistema Elétrico. Accessed August 09, 2026.
12. [Regulamento (UE) 2016/1388 — Demand Connection Code](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32016R1388). European Commission / EUR-Lex. Accessed August 09, 2026.
13. [ENTSO-E — Demand Connection Code hub](https://www.entsoe.eu/network_codes/dcc/). ENTSO-E. Accessed August 09, 2026.
14. [ENTSO-E — ERAA hub](https://www.entsoe.eu/eraa/). ENTSO-E. Accessed August 09, 2026.