The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday rejected Oklo's complaint against PJM Interconnection over the removal of a 750-MW mixed-technology project in Virginia from the current interconnection study cycle. FERC said Oklo failed to demonstrate that PJM violated its rules, and that application flaws identified by PJM staff were not resolved.
The project would interconnect at two Dominion Energy substations between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, and includes 150 MW of advanced nuclear generation, 300 MW of fuel cells, and 300 MW of gas-fired generation. Oklo had argued that being dropped from the cycle would delay the project by at least 18 months and increase its costs.
FERC noted that collaboration between PJM and developers is critical to meet growing demand, and pointed to two paths forward: fix the errors and reapply in the next study cycle, or submit the project to PJM's Expedited Interconnection Track, which is open until Dec. 31, 2027. Five other complaints alleging PJM improperly dropped projects from the same study cycle remain pending at FERC.