The recent approval of a slate of long-range transmission lines in the Midwest moves the US closer to realizing a reliable, resilient grid for a net-zero carbon economy. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) Board of Directors unanimously approved the $10.3 billion grid expansion that will increase grid reliability, lower system costs, and remove barriers to renewable energy projects waiting for grid interconnection.
The nation’s electric transmission grid is the engine of our economy. It is also a key to unlocking the carbon-free energy future we at GPI and many others are working to achieve. Leading studies consistently show that the most economic path to decarbonize our economy rapidly will require a massive expansion in the volume of energy we can move between states and regions.
You may be staring up at a big power line outside your window right now, thinking that we’ve already got power lines everywhere. And you’re right, we do! But today’s grid was designed to move electricity from big coal plants to cities.
Now, we need a network of high-voltage, long-distance transmission lines. We need such a network to tap into all the resources our nation has to offer, making us more energy independent and resilient.
Lag in transmission buildout limits clean energy expansion
We have built this type of infrastructure before in the United States, but only in fits and starts. In 2011, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) collaborated with states and utilities to plan 17 such projects to integrate nearly 20 gigawatts of wind capacity and meet renewable portfolio standards. In Texas, the CREZ lines were built in 2013 to support the economic boom of wind development in the panhandle. And in the west, there are a handful of high-voltage direct current lines delivering hydropower to major cities.
But in the last decade, our ability to plan and build transmission has not kept pace with the need to address climate change. Even as renewable energy became the least expensive form of power generation, a lack of transmission keeps projects from moving forward since they can’t connect to the grid. If we don’t have enough transmission capacity, we cannot reliably connect new clean energy resources to the grid.
Several innovative, privately developed, long-distance direct current transmission lines have been proposed since the early 2000s. While several are still in development, none have been built. In parallel, regional and interregional planning have stalled since 2015.
MISO approves massive grid expansion that would boost reliability, lower system costs, and reduce emissions
That changed on July 25, 2022, when the MISO Board of Directors voted to approve 18 high-voltage, long-distance transmission lines. The planned lines would span its north-central region totaling over 2,000 miles in length.
Today, the MISO Board of Directors unanimously approved $10.3 billion in new transmission projects. Visit our website to learn more about this major milestone – https://t.co/TdWalmd5Nm #energytwitter pic.twitter.com/WGPiHAemy9
— Midcontinent ISO (@MISO_energy) July 25, 2022
These projects will enable 53,000 megawatts of new renewable energy to connect to the grid. And they will keep the grid reliable in the face of emerging challenges. The estimated benefits will outweigh the total cost of $10.3 billion by more than 2-to-1. Those benefits include the following:
- fuel (natural gas, coal, oil) savings
- avoided need to build new power plants
- avoided need to build other transmission lines
- mitigation of blackout risk
- greenhouse gas emissions reduction
Utilities and transmission developers will now further refine these projects and submit them to state regulators. The regulators will determine if the state benefits from the project and where it should be built. If approved, the project will move forward to land procurement and construction and ultimately enter service around 2028.
Need and benefit assessment and siting and routing requirements vary by state. In some states, siting authority lies with local governments. In others, there is no regulatory requirement for state need assessment.
Why now is the time for transmission expansion
So why is this time different from before? Why is this the start to building the infrastructure needed to meet critical climate milestones as quickly as possible?
First, the electric industry recognizes that transmission is key to unlocking the benefits other technologies like wind, solar, batteries, and even electric vehicles can bring to the grid.
Second, MISO has potentially provided a model for other regions to adopt. In line with many of the directives proposed recently by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, MISO deeply engaged with stakeholders to develop a comprehensive set of planning scenarios. The scenarios included utility goals, state policies, and other market drivers of clean energy deployment as base assumptions. MISO also used a broad array of benefit metrics to assess the value of these projects.
Third, we simply must continue to plan and build the transmission grid. The public demand for clean energy is accelerating the deployment of clean energy technologies in every corner of the nation. And it’s only grown with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. As MISO states:
“While Tranche 1 [the 18 projects referenced above] provides a meaningful start, much more work is left to ensure that the shifting resource fleet transition occurs in an orderly, efficient, and reliable manner.”
Other regions are taking up similar planning initiatives. And FERC has a handful of open proposals for new rules that would require more forward-looking planning.
Come this fall, MISO will turn the crank once again and begin reassessing their planning scenarios with stakeholders and consider the need for more long-range transmission planning. And while we won’t see these 18 projects carrying power until for a few more years, that comprehensive transmission planning will continue, and with it, progress toward our climate goals.
