If done well, DER hosting capacity calculations and visual presentation can improve the interconnection process by encouraging DER applicants to seek interconnections sites with available capacity, lowering their interconnection cost, accelerating their interconnection timeframe, and optimizing grid use.  If the hosting capacity data becomes outdated, or if the indications diverge from the results of subsequent impact studies, the value is lost, and utilities are perceived as not providing an interconnection friendly environment. Stakeholders may question the fairness and transparency of these processes, which should be consistent between hosting capacity and impact analysis. This panel will discuss California’s experience with the Integration Capacity Analysis (ICA) effort. We will also discuss newer tools, methods, and possibilities for improving both hosting capacity and impact analysis. This panel was organized in collaboration with the U. S. Department of Energy’s Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) project.