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RENSSELAER, N.Y. — NYISO on Friday announced that it had completed the final interconnection studies for its Class Year 2021 (CY21) group of projects.

The 27 wind, solar, energy storage and transmission expansion projects, which total 7,452 MW, had gone through multiple rounds of decision-making. (See “Class Year 2021,” NYISO Operating Committee Briefs: Dec. 15, 2022.) Assuming NYISO sticks to its timetable, Class Year 2022 will begin the week of Feb. 12. (See “Decision Process and Timeline,” NYISO Class Year 2021 Cost Allocations Advance to OC Vote.)

“These projects will help move the state closer to the ambitious clean energy mandates of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act,” Zach Smith, vice president at NYISO, said in a statement. “As pleased as we are with this major accomplishment, we’re already preparing to begin the next class year.”

In an accompanying white paper, NYISO has sought to accelerate the Class Year process by balancing flexibility with grid reliability because of the influx of new projects in the interconnection queue.

These efforts have included eliminating elements of the system reliability impact study, engaging stakeholders in the interconnection process more and improving the management of “material modification” requests from developers.

NYISO said it is also investing in its engineering, legal and technical teams to ensure projects move quickly through the interconnection process without sacrificing critical analysis needed to support grid reliability.