pv magazine Webinar | Grid-First Site Selection: Understanding Grid Capacity and Hidden Network Upgrade Costs

Grid constraints continue to be the leading bottleneck for bringing new solar and digital infrastructure online, and most proposed projects never clear utility queues due to unforeseen interconnection hurdles.
In this webinar by PVcase, we will examine the financial impacts of hidden network upgrade costs and outline why a "grid-first" site selection strategy is now essential to protect project viability. Led by AJ Dhillon, a former utility transmission engineer now with PVcase, the session will break down how to understand grid upgrades, how they differ across generators versus large loads, and how project developers can actually maximize their ROI by strategically evaluating upgrade costs.
We’ll conclude with a practical walk-through of a “grid-first” screening workflow, illustrating how development teams can leverage automated capacity data to right-size installations, optimize infrastructure budgets, and eliminate unviable sites on day one.
Webinar Content:
• Why grid constraints are the leading cause of projects failing to clear utility interconnection queues
• How grid operators calculate network upgrade costs, and why they can turn a seemingly viable site into an unprofitable one
• The key differences in how upgrade costs and grid impact studies apply to generators versus large loads
• How to evaluate power flow study results to right-size project capacity versus upgrade costs before committing engineering and development budget
• A practical "grid-first" screening workflow for finding viable sites with a path to interconnection on day one, before due diligence costs pile up

Q&A

Discussion participants
AJ Dhillon, Transmission Planning Engineer
AJ Dhillon is a Transmission Planning Engineer at PVcase. He brings a background in utility-side transmission planning, giving him firsthand insight into how grid operators evaluate interconnection requests and assess grid capacity.
Questions can be submitted beforehand in the comments window when registering or in the chat during the live webinar. Ryan Kennedy, senior editor at pv magazine USA, will be the moderator of this webinar.