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Biden administration moves to protect Alaska wilderness; opening statements and first witness in NY trial; SCOTUS hears Starbucks case, with implications for unions on the line; rural North Carolina town gets pathway to home ownership.

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The Supreme Court weighs cities ability to manage a growing homelessness crisis, anti-Israeli protests spread to college campuses nationwide, and more states consider legislation to ban firearms at voting sites and ballot drop boxes.

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Wyoming needs more educators who can teach kids trade skills, a proposal to open 40-thousand acres of an Ohio forest to fracking has environmental advocates alarmed and rural communities lure bicyclists with state-of-the-art bike trail systems.

Midwest Power Grid Capacity Opens Up, Boosting Renewable Projects

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Tuesday, July 26, 2022   

States such as Minnesota have made progress in renewable-energy output, but a lack of grid capacity has created a logjam, preventing some projects from moving forward.

A decision issued Monday bodes well for such efforts in the Midwest. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, approved a $10 billion investment for 18 long-term transmission projects for its Midwest Subregion.

Natalie McIntire, technical consultant for the Clean Grid Alliance, called the action monumental amid the push for a carbon-free future under goals set out by state governments and utilities themselves.

"We're trying to meet the needs of utilities as they're planning for shifting towards clean energy resources," McIntire explained. "Clean energy resources that both benefit the environment but also have low cost to consumers."

The operator estimated the investments will provide a minimum of $37 billion in benefits to ratepayers over the life of the projects. While the news is seen as a boon for further advancing resources such as wind and solar, McIntire cautioned it will take a handful of years for new transmission lines to be operational.

Following the recent spike in energy prices, supporters of fossil fuels want to slow the closing of coal plants to meet current demands. But those backing renewables argue it is still more cost-effective to stay on the clean-energy path, and McIntire said the new transmission projects will allow for flexibility as innovation evolves.

"Our generation mix and the technologies are changing so rapidly that it's hard to know exactly where we're going," McIntire acknowledged.

In the meantime, McIntire stressed building more capacity for a variety of clean-energy resources paves the way for a more reliable grid.

"The transmission grid that we're building for the future is one that we expect to be much more reliable," McIntire pointed out. "In terms of being able to continue to meet consumer electricity demand during winter storms and during the summer when we have high heat indexes."

In all, officials say the new lines should add as much as 53 gigawatts of renewables and battery storage, enough to power about 12 million homes and create about 200,000 jobs.

Disclosure: Clean Energy Economy Minnesota and the Clean Grid Alliance Coalition contribute to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, and the Environment. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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