PJM Selects 51 Projects to Deliver Over 9 Gigawatts of Capacity for Near-Term Demand Growth

PJM Interconnection on May 2 announced the selection of 51 generation projects aimed at quickly strengthening grid reliability as electricity demand rises and older plants retire. The projects, selected under the grid operator’s one-time Reliability Resource Initiative, or RRI, will collectively add over 9,300 megawatts of capacity over the next several years. RRI is a one-time opportunity for “shovel-ready resources” that can enter operations quickly and most effectively to support reliability.

Of the 51 projects, 39 involve uprates to existing facilities — including natural gas, nuclear, coal, and wind — while the remaining 12 are new builds. Half of those new projects are gas-fired, five are battery storage, and one is nuclear. Together, the upgrades will add just over 2,100 megawatts of capacity, with new projects contributing another 7,253 megawatts. Most of these resources are expected to be online by 2030, with full completion slated for 2031.

The projects were selected from 94 applicants. PJM ranked them using a scoring system that prioritized how much capacity each project could reliably deliver during peak demand periods and how quickly it could be brought online. Projects located in areas facing the greatest reliability concerns also earned additional weight. While PJM initially intended to select 50 projects, a tie in the final rankings brought the total to 51.

This move comes as PJM, which manages the electric grid across 13 states and the District of Columbia, continues to overhaul its interconnection process. In 2022, federal regulators signed off on a shift from the old “first-come, first-served” queue to a “first-ready, first-served” model designed to clear out speculative proposals and prioritize those ready to move forward. So far, the reforms have helped clear a backlog, with 18,000 megawatts of projects advancing through PJM’s streamlined Fast Lane process and a total of 47,000 megawatts now cleared for construction.

Looking forward, PJM expects to process another 62,000 megawatts of projects in 2025 and 2026. A whole new project cycle will be launched in 2026, promising quicker turnaround times. Meanwhile, PJM continues to urge state agencies and developers to work together to ensure approved projects get built without delay.

PJM is also working to speed up the process of how new power projects connect to the grid. They have cut interconnection backlogs by 60 percent and are partnering with Google and Tapestry to use AI in planning. New rules also make it easier to transfer capacity rights from retiring plants to new resources, improving grid reliability.