A Ray of Hope for Clean Energy?

A❤️441-word🧡under💛3-minute💚read

No, I’m not referring to the fate of the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s looking increasingly grim for the IRA’s tax credits. Still, clean energy did recently receive some good news.

This may seem wonky, yet it’s an important topic for supporters of net-zero power generation. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected Midwest grid operator’s (MISO) proposal to fast-track new natural gas plants.

For anyone not in the utility industry the comings and goings of FERC may appear esoteric. However, FERC controls grid policy. Given the current political dynamics, the fact that it rendered a decision that favors renewables is notable.

With a newly appointed Republican chair and a Republican majority, I thought FERC would lean heavily toward fossil fuels at the detriment of renewables. This decision may indicate otherwise.

In the 2-1 decision FERC found that MISO’s plan was not a “fair and reasonable” way to solve the region’s expected power generation shortfall. The MISO proposal was filed as an emergency measure. It was essence a plan to fast-track gas-powered plants, while ignoring all other projects in the interconnection queue.

MISO’s plan differed from similar proposals that were approved by FERC. For example: Mid-Atlantic States grid operator PJM offered a one-time window for up to 50 projects to apply for fast-track status. In ways, the PJM plan also favored natural gas because it emphasized “dispatchable” large generation. But on its face, it was technology agnostic.

As an aside, the concern with focusing on natural gas as the solution to increasing energy demand is the current lead times for gas generators. The position of clean energy advocates is that renewables can be built more quickly. The problem though is that renewables aren’t considered “dispatchable.”

This has been my issue with solar and wind all along. Both technologies are intermittent, and the level of power generated is dependent on weather conditions. They both require storage to be dependable assets to a utility operator. Then again, current battery technology remains short of what’s required in terms of duration for renewables to achieve “dispatchable” parity with fossil fuels.

This was less of an issue when demand was flat. It’s becoming increasingly problematic with demand forecasted to spike.

MISO can resubmit a revised plan, but that isn’t the moral of this story. The key take-away is that a Republican commissioner voted against it.

Perhaps this is a one-off, and the result of a proposal that was blatantly biased toward fossil fuels. Or maybe, FERC won’t be a “rubber stamp” for fossil fuel generation. Clean energy advocates are hoping for the later. Time will tell if there is any basis for that potential optimism.

#miso #pjm #ferc #electricgrid #renewablenergy #renewablepower #netzeroenergy