Newly approved lines will enable nearly 116 gigawatts of new renewable generation and storage to come online.
On Thursday, December 12, 2024, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which operates the wholesale electric power market for Minnesota and 14 other states and Manitoba, approved nearly $22 billion of long-range transmission projects across the upper Midwest. While such an investment represents the largest portfolio of transmission projects to ever be approved in the country, each dollar spent in Minnesota’s region will result in $1.80 to $4.90 of benefits.
These lines will enable nearly 116 gigawatts of new generation — mainly from solar, wind, and storage — to come online economically and reliably. They will ensure more efficient regional transfer of power across states and benefit utility customers in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Kentucky. In the states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and in Western Wisconsin, lines are anticipated to enable more than 29,000 megawatts of storage and renewable energy additions with the ability to power nearly 8 million homes.
At a cost of nearly $22 billion for the upper Midwest, this portfolio will pay for itself from its impact on lower wholesale electricity prices and avoided investment in further generating resources alone. The bulk of the remaining benefits from this portfolio come from its enablement of decarbonization and the mitigation of reliability issues, which accounts for avoided costs associated with any economic impact that lower electric reliability might otherwise have caused.
In this time of increased extreme weather events and rising demand for power, these new lines will help ensure reliability and reduce grid congestion by providing new flexibility for conveying power over long distances. Eight transmission lines will directly impact Minnesota, and the 24 total lines making up the larger portfolio in MISO are anticipated to create more than 228,629 jobs in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Western Wisconsin.
Fresh Energy was active throughout this portfolio’s development at MISO, and we will continue to actively work with MISO to ensure that transmission investments help Minnesota reach its goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. We will also be deeply involved in the enabling proceedings before the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission by providing expert research and testimony, helping Minnesotans engage in the process, and in building public support for the work—all to ensure that the lines approved today will be built in a just, equitable, and cost-effective way.
