The Midcontinent Independent System Operator has proposed a framework for connecting power plants that will supply large loads at the same substation and voltage level, offering 90-day reviews for zero-injection resources that have little or no effect on the transmission system, according to an Aug. 18 filing at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Zero Injection Generator Interconnection Agreement proposal includes related study processes, operational requirements, and market and resource adequacy provisions aimed at speeding up connections for colocated generation and load. Google, Xcel Energy, and clean energy trade groups support the plan, while environmental advocates say it's flawed.
The proposal sets specific limits for eligible projects: a generating facility can have no more nameplate capacity than the load it would serve, and the generating resource can't require network upgrades beyond the substation, except for system protection facilities at an adjacent substation. MISO's zero-injection proposal represents one part of the grid operator's broader effort to handle a surge in planned large load additions, mainly from data centers and cryptocurrency miners. The initiative is the first proposal to come from MISO's newly created Large Load Working Group, which is also developing a fast-track Load Addition and Resource Study process to assess the transmission infrastructure needed for new large loads and new generation.
Utilities including AES Indiana, Ameren, and Dairyland Power Cooperative told FERC in a joint filing that "MISO's proposed ZGIA framework would establish a uniform and tailored interconnection service that will provide regional benefits to generation and load with safeguards to avoid disruptions to the Transmission System." Advanced Energy United said the proposal will help "reduce pressure on an already backlogged interconnection queue," while the Solar Energy Industries Association noted the plan "appropriately limits Zero Injection Generation Interconnection service to co-located configurations, addressing deliverability concerns." Google called the proposal a "step forward" but urged MISO to expand its concept to include situations with load and generation connected by two substations, which would be common in an "energy park."
MISO's proposal responds to FERC's mid-June "show cause" orders that found ISOs and regional transmission organizations appeared to have inadequate rules for interconnecting large loads, with the commission ordering grid operators to respond by mid-November. MISO had been working with stakeholders on the zero-injection proposal before FERC issued its order, according to the grid operator, which runs wholesale power markets and the electric system from Louisiana to Minnesota. However, the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, and other environmental groups opposed the approach, arguing it could perpetuate cost shifts onto existing utility customers and create an unfair advantage for generators with zero-injection service over projects in the Definitive Planning Phase study process. The coalition warned that "this process could have the opposite of MISO's intended effect" by operationalizing ongoing cost shifts that will be difficult for states to untangle and triggering otherwise preventable reliability shortfalls.