Sierra Club and Earthjustice File Petition for Quicker Interconnection of Clean Energy for PJM

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Sierra Club and Earthjustice went to court today, filing a petition in the DC Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that the federal energy regulator improperly approved PJM's Order No 2023 compliance.

Order 2023 improves the interconnection for new generators. Gigawatts of clean energy have been stuck in the interconnection process for years, especially at PJM. FERC approved PJM's latest compliance filing, which gives them more time than FERC Order 2023 allows to process projects, ultimately slowing down how quickly new energy can get online.

Sierra Club has been a longstanding voice for responsible Order 2023 compliance, fighting for fair opportunity to bring critical clean energy generation online. Last June, Sierra Club protested PJM's compliance filing on FERC order 2023 because it flagrantly disregarded the requirements laid out in 2023 to improve interconnection processes. In July 2025, FERC agreed with the Sierra Club by denying PJM's compliance filing, ordering the regional transmission operator to come back to FERC with an improved compliance filing. This challenge continues our long-standing advocacy at PJM and FERC to fight for a just, clean energy future that protects American households from skyrocketing energy prices and reduces bulk power sector pollution.

In response to the filing, Sierra Club Senior Advisor Jessi Eidbo released the following statement:

"Over 67 million people depend on PJM to keep the lights on, which means getting clean energy online quickly should be a number one priority for the grid operator to keep energy bills low and protect utility customers. PJM has used their own inability to address longstanding queue delays as justification to fast-track primarily gas-burning projects through their RRI and now EIT initiatives. Instead of repeatedly creating fast passes for dirty fossil generation facilities to skip the queue, PJM needs to improve its existing interconnection process, including compliance with Order 2023. Today's filing urges FERC to correct that imbalance and require the grid operator to follow the requirements laid out in Order 2023."