Happy April Fools Day!!
In the news today…
Electric Grid:
- Utility Dive reports that grid operator the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) is asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to approve its new generator capacity accreditation process to bolster grid reliability. “The changing resource mix combined with extreme weather and shifting load profiles have created what the NERC has characterized as a ‘hyper-complex risk environment,’” MISO said. This new accreditation methodology aims to better account for how much different resources bolster grid reliability during stressed periods. Other grid operators — such as the Southwest Power Pool, PJM Interconnection and ISO New England — also have been making changes to how they measure capacity in efforts to ensure they have adequate resources to maintain grid reliability.
- States Newsroom reports that a section of southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas has long acted as a bottleneck in grid operator MISO’s territory, creating inefficiencies and increasing costs for utility customers.
- Inside Climate News reports that the ongoing legal dispute over a $649 million transmission line between Iowa and Wisconsin highlights differences between environmental and clean energy advocacy groups.
Renewable Energy:
- Columbia Missourian reports that local officials in Columbia, Missouri, plan to amend the city’s clean energy targets as a 100% goal by 2030 appears unattainable.
- Axios reports that the Biden administration announces $4 billion to help spur clean energy manufacturing in communities with closed coal mines or coal plants.
Electric Vehicles:
- Detroit News (subscription) reports that major U.S. automakers have cut billions in planned electric vehicle investments as demand falls short of overly optimistic volume forecasts.