In 2007, the U.S. solar energy industry saw a glimpse of a gigawatt future. There was signi?cant growth in the commercial and residential PV markets and a new utility-scale segment for PV emerged with the fastest growth of all segments representing over 15 percent of the annual U.S. installed PV capacity. The ?rst concentrating solar power plant was built in more than 15 years with dozens more utility-scale projects in the pipeline. The expansion of the solar water heating market continued. Thousands of U.S. jobs were created and billions of dollars were invested. And, the industry strengthened its presence in Washington and our united coalition support across the country.

This assessment was prepared by North American Electric Reliability Corporation in its capacity as the Electric Reliability Organization1 and provides an independent view of the 10‐year reliability outlook for the North American BPS,2 while identifying trends, emerging issues, and potential risks.

U.S. Solar Market Insight^TM is a quarterly publication of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)® and GTM Research.

This study report reviews four sets of interconnection procedures that regulators often consider when developing state and local procedures. As a framework for review, the report uses the grading criteria developed by the Network for New Energy Choices (NNEC) and used that organization’s review of state interconnection procedures.