Federal energy regulators approved requests by grid operators for much of the central U.S. to fast-track certain power projects to stave off potential shortfalls as electricity demand booms.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued unanimous orders Monday night conditionally authorizing requests from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and Southwest Power Pool (SPP). The approvals, which take effect in the coming days, follow FERC’s rejection of a similar petition from MISO earlier this year.
The orders follow a similar approval of an expedited interconnection process for the nation’s largest power grid, PJM Interconnection. Like with PJM, the fast-track processes also face continued pushback from clean energy groups that said they favor new gas plants at the expense of renewable energy.
The MISO and SPP plans aim to get “shovel-ready” projects online quickly as legacy coal plants are being shuttered and replacements are stuck awaiting studies for approval to plug into the bulk power grid. Meanwhile, utilities are signaling the need for more generation to serve rising demand, including data centers that can require as much capacity as large cities.
