About 6.1 GW of potential projects have entered into the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s fast-track interconnection review process’ second cycle, bringing the total capacity under review to about 11.2 GW, the grid operator said Monday.
Gas-fired generation in the Expedited Resource Addition Study’s second study cycle totals 4.3 GW, or 70% of the total capacity in the cycle, according to a summary of the pending ERAS projects. Battery projects totaled 800 MW in network interconnection capacity, followed by wind projects at 580 MW and solar at 475 MW.
“Cycle 2 builds on the momentum of Cycle 1 and reflects the continued demand for timely, reliable interconnection solutions,” Aubrey Johnson, MISO’s vice president of system planning, said in a news release. “These projects are essential to meeting near-term reliability needs and ensuring new resource additions are online to meet load growth.”
Three Cycle 1 projects have executed generator interconnection agreements and MISO said it expects the seven remaining projects in the cycle will complete interconnection agreements this month.
MISO said it has accepted or is reviewing 51 projects totaling almost 30 GW into ERAS, which aims to bring power supplies online quickly to meet near-term grid needs. The process allows planned resources that meet eligibility criteria to sidestep MISO’s standard interconnection queue reviews.
Under the ERAS process, MISO is studying up to 15 projects per quarter on a first-come, first-served basis. MISO will study up to 68 projects before the program ends on Aug. 31, 2027.
Last month, public interest groups sued to overturn the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval of MISO's fast-track interconnection review program, along with that of the Southwest Power Pool, arguing in part that they give the reviewed projects an unfair advantage over projects in the grid operators’ standard interconnection queues.
