A group of generation projects in the MISO Central planning region has amassed an eye-popping $2 billion in network upgrades.
The cluster of 102 projects, representing 15.7 GW of capacity, entered the generator interconnection queue in 2019 and will need $1.9 billion in upgrade costs to synch to the grid, MISO planners said during a Central Subregional planning meeting on Aug. 17. The Central planning region contains portions of Missouri, Illinois and Indiana and part of Kentucky.
Solar and wind projects account for the bulk of the cluster. Hybrid resources, storage facilities paired with onsite renewable generation, are also included.
MISO engineer Miles Larson said the upgrade costs will dwindle as more developers in the 2019 schedule reach decision points and cancel their project plans.
“You’re going to see this number continue to drop for the rest of the study cycle,” Larson told stakeholders.
Historically, only about 20% of generation projects that enter the queue eventually connect to the MISO system. The grid operator completed a record number of interconnections the past two years, bringing about 10 GW of capacity online both years.
Stakeholders pointed out that the Central 2019 cycle’s upgrade costs account for about half of those in MISO’s 2021 Transmission Expansion Plans (MTEP 21). The portfolio contains 368 projects costing $3.4 billion. The Central region accounts for 95 of the projects at about $590 million, but upgrade costs in the queue are separate from the MTEP’s annual transmission spending.
The GI queue currently contains 552 projects representing 83 GW of capacity. Staff is still processing interconnection requests from a July application deadline that are all but certain to send the queue ballooning to the 100-GW highs seen in 2020.
“We have every indication that we’re going to have a large study cycle,” Larson said. He also predicted high upgrade costs for the Central region’s 2020 batch of projects.
MISO’s Central region currently contains the most active projects in the queue at 222. They could add an additional 36.4 GW of capacity to the region.
The Central project count nearly doubles that of the East (119 projects, 15.7 GW). MISO South has 99 project hopefuls representing 14.5 GW of capacity. The West planning region — often criticized for its inadequate transmission capacity that hinders new generation — contains the fewest projects with 94, accounting for 13.7 GW.
