U.S. power demand is sprinting ahead of supply growth, leaving grid queues jammed and the industry with little choice but to get creative. MISO just opened an express lane with its Expedited Resource Addition Study (ERAS), driven by annual load growth now projected between 0.86% and 1.57% through 2030. ERAS allows projects serving near-term reliability needs to skip the years-long queue. It was the third process of its kind approved by FERC this year, following PJM’s Resource Reliability Initiative and SPP’s Expedited Resource Adequacy Study.
The first window of MISO’s ERAS drew about 26.6 GW of proposals, about three-quarters of which were gas plants — in line with Enverus Intelligence® Research’s prediction of increased gas generation to meet near-term load growth. If approved, qualifying projects would bypass the typical five-year MISO interconnection timeline (Figure 1).
Operators are jumping the queue, too. NextEra recently obtained a FERC waiver enabling it to consolidate interconnection rights from three upcoming solar projects at its Duane Arnold site into a single agreement for its planned nuclear restart. The workaround fits MISO conditions, where a renewable-heavy grid may make the independent system operator more inclined to shift freed interconnection rights toward nuclear capacity to address near-term reliability needs.
The takeaway is speed: fast-tracked studies, a greater focus on deliverability and backing projects that can show up when and where the load arrives.
About Enverus Intelligence® Research
Enverus Intelligence® Research, Inc. (EIR) is a subsidiary of Enverus that publishes energy-sector research focused on the oil, natural gas, power and renewable industries. EIR publishes reports including asset and company valuations, resource assessments, technical evaluations and macro-economic forecasts and helps make intelligent connections for energy industry participants, service companies and capital providers worldwide. See additional disclosures here.
