The central U.S. grid operator Monday said it is studying another 15 power projects for accelerated interconnection to the grid to help avoid a potential supply crunch in the coming years as utilities scramble to meet surging demand from AI data centers.
The second cycle of Expedited Resource Addition Study (ERAS) requests includes more than 6,100 megawatts of generating capacity across the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO) 14-state footprint. More than 4,800 MW, or two-thirds of the projects seeking expedited connection, are natural gas plants with renewable energy and battery storage projects making up the rest.
The latest wave of projects aims to begin operation as soon as two years from now, in part to try to keep pace with tech giants racing to get data centers up and running. It’s a blinding pace for a normally lumbering process of regulatory approvals and engineering studies needed to safely connect new generators to the bulk power grid.
At least three of the projects in the second phase of ERAS are being proposed in whole or partially to meet data center demand growth. They include a 1,211-MW gas plant being developed by Invenergy in Wisconsin and a pair of Entergy gas plants in Mississippi totaling more than 1,500 MW.
