The largest electrical grid operator in the U.S. is seeking to block all new connections into its multistate transmission network, most of them new solar projects, while it works through its 1,200-project backlog, Inside Climate News reports. PJM Interconnection’s proposal, released late last month, is driven by the economic competitiveness of solar energy and the ensuing rapid increase in the number of new solar energy installations seeking to connect to the grid. The pause would force developers into a financial bind, derail city and state sustainability plans, and throw a wrench in the gears of the Biden administration’s goal of powering the U.S. grid with 80% renewable energy by 2030.

“Anyone paying attention would acknowledge that this has a tremendous impact on climate policy and energy policy in the United States,” Adam Edelen, a former Kentucky state auditor now working to bring solar projects and jobs to ailing coal communities, told ICN. “There is broad national consensus, in the leadership from the public and the private sector, that we need to hasten the adoption of renewable energy,” he added. “The planet does not have time for a delay.” (Inside Climate News)