PJM opened a one-time process for new generation to skip its long interconnection queue and come online faster, called the Reliability Resource Initiative. The initiative chose 51 shovel-ready projects to be placed in front of the interconnection queue, totaling 11.8 GW of additional generation.

Of the selected projects, 69% are natural gas, 19% are battery energy storage, 12% are nuclear, and 0.1% are coal. 90% of projects are expected to come online by 2030, with the remaining 10% to come online by 2031. Although the application guidance indicated that any resource was eligible to apply, it is clear that there was a heavy bias towards thermal resources. In Ohio, nine projects were approved. All of Ohio’s approved projects are natural gas power plants, seven of them being expansions of already existing plants and two being new natural gas power plants in Lucas and Carroll counties. PJM’s Reliability Resource Initiative is one of several reforms PJM is instituting to interconnect more electricity generation. 5/8/2025