PJM, the largest grid operator in North America, has taken a bold step into the future by partnering with tech titan Google and its Alphabet X moonshot Tapestry. The multiyear collaboration, announced on April 10, aims to revolutionize PJM’s grid interconnection process using cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) tools. This initiative comes at a critical time, as grid pressures intensify and the need for efficient, reliable energy integration becomes ever more pressing.
At the heart of this partnership is Tapestry, powered by Google Cloud and Google DeepMind. Tapestry will build on its core technology to develop a new suite of AI tools and models designed to intelligently manage and optimize the connection of power generation sources to the PJM electric grid. Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer for Alphabet and Google, emphasized the potential of this collaboration to significantly improve planning and decision-making processes. “This is the first time artificial intelligence is being used to manage the entire energy interconnection queue and process, as opposed to point solutions,” said Page Crahan, general manager of Tapestry, during an April 9 press roundtable. “We are bringing more energy capacity on the grid faster. We’re driving efficiency and affordability by enabling more projects to send power to the grid and meet the region’s energy needs as efficiently as possible.”
The AI-powered tools will automate the application intake and data verification process, unify disparate grid modeling databases into a single, collaborative platform, and support the faster integration of variable energy resources—such as wind, solar, and storage—that now dominate PJM’s interconnection queue. This is a game-changer for an industry grappling with a backlog of over 2,600 GW of capacity waiting in interconnection queues nationwide, more than double the size of the current U.S. power fleet. PJM’s executive vice president for Planning, Operations, and Security, Aftab Khan, highlighted the urgency of the situation. “We project in the 2022 to 2030 timeframe that we could lose up to 40,000 MW—or 40 GW—of generation off the PJM system, and that’s due primarily to government and corporate policies that are putting pressure on our fossil fuel fleet,” Khan said. “And there are economic factors, but you can see that that represents about 21% of our installed capacity.”
The partnership aims to ease the burden on planners and developers, speed up project approvals, and enhance affordability and reliability across the PJM region. But the implications of this initiative extend far beyond PJM. It could serve as a blueprint for grid operators facing similar concerns, offering a scalable model that could be adapted to accelerate clean energy integration across other U.S. regions and international systems. “This is the first time artificial intelligence is being used to manage the entire energy interconnection queue and process, as opposed to point solutions,” Crahan said. “We are bringing more energy capacity on the grid faster. We’re driving efficiency and affordability by enabling more projects to send power to the grid and meet the region’s energy needs as efficiently as possible. And we are integrating more diverse energy resources—solar, wind and storage project capacity currently makes up over 90% of the PJM interconnection queue—and our Tapestry’s AI powered tools can support the rapid and reliable integration of these sources into the grid.”
Tapestry’s vision is to create a unified, intelligent grid model—a “Google Maps for electrons,” as Crahan described it. This cloud-based, version-controlled, and collaborative model aims to replace the current patchwork of tools with a shared, unified environment. The goal is to track changes so that developers, planners, and operators can access everything they need to make critical decisions in one place. “We think about creating the world’s first knowledge graph for the electric grid,” Crahan said. “We set out to do the same thing for the electric grid, and the information required that brings together all sorts of disparate data into a single place.”
The project will roll out in phases over several years, with the potential to drive significant efficiency and quality improvements in the overall interconnection process. Khan acknowledged the challenges ahead but expressed optimism about the potential benefits. “It’s very difficult at this time to quantify and say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to achieve,’ but I can only say that I think there’s a huge potential for us,” he said.
This partnership is more than just a technological upgrade; it’s a strategic move to future-proof the grid against the backdrop of increasing demand and the retirement of aging fossil fuel plants. As PJM’s 2025 forecast reflects a dramatic shift in load trends, driven by data centers, electrification of transportation and heating, and a resurgence of manufacturing, the need
