19 Apr, 2022

Outlook 2022: MISO expects net addition of 6.7 GW, primarily renewables

By Abbie Bennett and Anna Duquiatan


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MISO expects net addition of 6.7 GW, primarily renewables

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Canada to add more than 5.5 GW of wind, solar

Solar, gas drive capacity additions in ISO New England

Project developers in the Midcontinent ISO region plan to add more than 9,700 MW of generating capacity primarily from renewables such as solar and wind in 2022, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis.

The projected net addition of 6,719 MW this year includes 9,755 MW of new capacity and 3,037 MW of retirements. The market anticipates seeing added more than 4,000 MW of solar, more than 3,900 MW of wind and more than 1,300 MW of combined-cycle gas, according to the analysis. MISO expects retirements of nearly 2,000 MW of coal-fired generation, one nuclear plant totaling 817 MW and nearly 250 MW of steam-turbine gas generation.

Additions include the 200-MW Riverstart Solar Park in Indiana and Entergy Corp. subsidiary Entergy Arkansas LLC's 100-MW Searcy Solar Project with 10 MW of colocated storage, which both entered service in January. Desjardins Group and Connor Clark & Lunn Infrastructure Ltd each own a 40% stake in Riverstart and EDP Renewables North America LLC owns 20%, according to Market Intelligence data.

NextEra Energy Inc.'s 750-MW Clearwater Energy Resources wind plant in eastern Montana is scheduled to begin producing power beginning in December. A portion of its output is committed under a power purchase agreement to Washington state utility Puget Sound Energy Inc.

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The largest generating project expected to come into operation in MISO this year is DTE Energy Co. utility subsidiary DTE Electric Co.'s 1,146-MW Blue Water Energy Center (Belle River Combined Cycle Plant) in Saint Clair County, Mich., due in June.

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Several coal-fired units are scheduled to be retired by the end of this year, including: Ameren Corp.'s 867-MW Meramec plant in St. Louis County, Mo., which also has two natural gas-fired units; Vistra Corp.'s 585-MW E.D. Edwards plant in Peoria County, Ill.; Alliant Energy Corp. subsidiary Wisconsin Power and Light Co.'s 415-MW Edgewater plant in Sheboygan County, Wis.; and Alliant subsidiary Interstate Power & Light Co.'s 249-MW Lansing plant in Allamakee County, Iowa.

The 104-MW lignite-fired R.M.Heskett Generating Station in Morton County, N.D., owned by MDU Resources Group Inc. subsidiary Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., was retired in February.

In May, the 817-MW Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan is scheduled to be retired upon the expiration of a power supply contract with CMS Energy Corp. The federal operating license for Palisades will be transferred from plant owner and operator Entergy Corp. to Holtec International Inc., a company that, among other things, manages the decommissioning of U.S. nuclear plants no longer in service, after it is shut down.

In 2021, the MISO market experienced the net addition of 2,052 MW for a cumulative capacity of 195,487 MW.

MISO's 2022 wholesale power prices are expected to peak at the region's Illinois, Indiana and Michigan hubs in July, with Michigan the highest at $50.85/MWh. Prices will spike back up near those highs for those hubs in December, with Michigan again the highest, at $50.65/MWh. Wholesale natural gas prices at the Chicago and Henry Hub trading points are expected to stay between about $3.80/MMBtu and $4.55/MMBtu for the year, peaking at just above $4.55 in December.

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Ciaralou Palicpic contributed to this article.

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