Fixing the grid, with Rob Grimlich

S1E11 episode overview

Renewable energy capacity is expanding quickly across the US but developers are running into long-standing, now critical obstacles: grid bottlenecks, stricter regulations, and shifting market economics.

In this episode of Watt Matters, Ana sits down with Rob Gramlich, founder of Grid Strategies, to explore the growing challenges at the intersection of transmission, interconnection, and power market design. Drawing on decades of experience at FERC and within industry policy planning, Rob breaks down why infrastructure constraints have moved to the forefront of project viability, and what changes are needed to support the next phase of solar deployment.

What you’ll learn in this episode

• How interconnection queues have become a major bottleneck for utility-scale projects

• Why transmission expansion is critical to reducing delays and costs

• The practical limitations of current reforms like clustering and queue requirements

• How market saturation is impacting solar pricing and capacity value

• The role of battery storage in reshaping energy markets

• What permitting reform could mean for project timelines

• Why long-term contracts and procurement structures are key to market stability

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction and guest background
02:00 – Transmission constraints and interconnection challenges
05:00 – How the interconnection process works
09:00 – Are current reforms enough?
12:00 – Economic impacts on solar projects
15:00 – Policy and permitting reform outlook
20:00 – Understanding FERC’s role
24:00 – Market dynamics and solar value
28:00 – Capacity value and derating explained
32:00 – Storage and evolving market structures
36:00 – Future policy scenarios
39:00 – Structural changes needed for growth
42:00 – Designing markets for renewables