The two grid operators that supply the Midwest of the USA with electricity are proposing the construction of1.7 Billions of euros for new transmission lines to bridge the “seam” between their grids. The move could unlock massive amounts of clean energy and potentially serve as a model that other parts of the country can follow to build more of the power lines the U.S. needs to meet its clean energy goals.
Last week, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) submitted plans to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to ask for permission to do what SPPThe submission describes as “an unprecedented, innovative and proactive collaboration” between the two network operators.
The so-called Joint Targeted Interconnection Queue (JTIQ) Process is in progress since 2020When MISO And SPP The two companies have committed to jointly identifying transmission projects that could create added value for customers along the border between the two network operators’ territories.
This border stretches from Canada to Louisiana and runs through the Great Plains, the most productive part of the country for wind energy generation and the destination of a growing number of solar farms.
However, many of these projects are stuck in the lengthy interconnection process. The five new joint transmission projects that were JTIQwhich would connect the two grid systems across the part of their border marked in yellow on the map below, could facilitate interconnection for 28 To 53 According to a joint presentation by the two grid operators, projects with a capacity of several gigawatts are planned in the region.
This gap in cross-border transmission capacity is a well-known problem. And numerous studies by grid operators, government agencies, universities and independent analysts have shown that the cost of building new power lines to close this gap would be more than offset by their long-term value to the grid: namely, their ability to reduce congestion and bring more cheap, clean energy onto the grid.
However, despite their clear advantages, interregional transmission projects have struggled to get off the ground in recent years. MISO, SPPand the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s grid operator, conducted a series of joint grid expansion projects in the 2000s and early 2010s. But since then, large-scale grid expansion has slowed dramatically. The gaps have been filled by smaller upgrades and extensions within service areas – a simpler but far more costly way of expanding the grid, and one that benefits individual utilities more than electricity customers or the entire grid.
Overcoming the ““triple hurdle” of interregional transmission planning
Things quickly get complicated when it comes to planned transmission lines that involve multiple grid operators. This is because these projects must address what energy analysts call “triple hurdle” of interregional network planning.
The first two hurdles are navigating the complex negotiations between grid planners, transmission system operators, government regulators and other stakeholders over costs and benefits within each individual grid operator. The third hurdle is navigating even more difficult negotiations over coordinated transmission planning and cost sharing between these two grid operators.
MISO And SPPis new JTIQ Tariff structure represents a significant breakthrough in bringing together these separate processes into a unified approach, said Theodore Paradise, energy, infrastructure and resources partner at law firm KandL-goals.
The two network operators ““We have begun to identify coordinated transmission efforts that can connect more generation at a lower cost than the efforts of the two grid operators alone,” he wrote in an email to Canary Media.
This does not mean that the structure MISO And SPP created is ideal, said Rob Gramlich, president of consulting firm Grid Strategies. He noted that the five transmission projects proposed in this first round are too small compared to what is not only possible but necessary to generate more cheap, clean energy.
This first round of projects also does not yet take on the challenge of asking each grid operator’s utility to pay a portion of the costs of the proposed grid projects, Gramlich said in an email to Canary Media. Instead, as the SPP Submission to FERC Notes, Energy Project Developer “assumes responsibility for costs for JTIQ Improvements in the SPP and/or MISO footprints.”
