MISO report highlights grid evolution insights and implications

CARMEL, Ind. — Today, MISO published the 2022 Regional Resource Assessment (RRA) offering a collective, regional view of how member resource plans are evolving, revealing how system risks could emerge and shift over time. The report provides insights and implications to help inform the work that members, states and MISO are doing to balance reliability, affordability and sustainability priorities.

“The RRA report provides a unique analysis of all the resource plans and member goals across the MISO footprint,” said MISO’s CEO John Bear. “In the absence of a coordinated transition plan, having a holistic assessment of our entire operating region is important for our members, policymakers and MISO as we all work to anticipate and manage the complex issues facing our industry.”

The 2022 RRA provides the following key insights:

• The 2022 snapshot of MISO member plans indicates an increase in the overall amount of installed capacity, but a decline in accredited capacity compared to current levels.
• The RRA modeling indicates a continued near-term capacity risk, highlighting the urgent need for coordinated resource planning and additional investment.
• Wind and solar generation are projected to serve 60% of MISO’s annual load by 2041, which would reduce emissions by nearly 80% relative to 2005 levels but also sharply increase the complexity of reliably operating and planning the system.
• As the solar generation fleet grows, the system will have a much greater need for controllable ramp-up capability. Maximum short-duration up-ramps increase by three times by 2031 and four times by 2041 compared to current levels.
• The capacity contribution of solar generation is forecast to decline rapidly as more solar capacity is added to the system, impacting the region's overall capacity outlook. The contribution of wind generation remains relatively stable as more wind capacity is added.

“As the MISO region rapidly transitions to a decarbonized fleet, the system will become more interconnected and interdependent,” said Jordan Bakke, MISO’s director – strategic insights and assessments. “The task of resource planning is becoming more complex and having a shared understanding of future trends and risks is necessary to ensure reliability.”

MISO was able to produce the RRA thanks to the generous support and cooperation from its members and state partners. The complete report is available on the MISO website.

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