Someone sent me this article earlier this week. It tries to pretend that Grain Belt Express has made some sort of regulatory or procedural progress... like it got things *approved*. But the reality is that the only things GBE recently got was a well-deserved kick in the behind from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and a big nothing from the U.S. Department of Energy. Big deal. Must have been a slow news day... or just one ripe for propaganda and fake news.
Let's go to the DOE thing first.
Let's go to the DOE thing first.
That's right... zero plus zero is still zero. GBE is still a big, fat zero. FAST-41 is supposed to be a government run program that "speeds up" the environmental review for selected projects. Except, the government getting involved has never sped up anything! Government slows everything because of its pendulous rules and process. GBE's Environmental Impact Statement has already been underway for more than a year, and it's already at least 6 months behind schedule. And there's no end in sight. How would anyone even know if FAST-41 speeds up the GBE EIS, since it's already behind the non-FAST schedule? This is just a waste of time and tax dollars, let's move on to FERC.
The article says
The article says
Grain Belt Express is also making procedural headway at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Say what? Did this silly reporter even READ the FERC Order he's reporting on? I'm thinking no, because no sane person would have read that Order and decided it was favorable to GBE. What GBE got from FERC was nothing but a scolding.
We've known for quite a while that GBE was going to connect to MISO and AECI in Callaway County at the existing McCreedie subtation and also at a new substation it is sharing with Ranger Power's immense solar farm. The new substation is called Burns. Burns will be owned and built by incumbent utility Ameren (however I hear that Ranger Power bought the land and scraped all the topsoil off it before handing it over to Ameren). Ameren has been ordered to build this substation and connect both Ranger Power and GBE by regional grid operator MISO. Ameren cannot refuse to build it. In addition, MISO's studies determined that there needs to be two new 345kV high-voltage transmission lines from the new Burns substation to the existing Montgomery substation (in Montgomery Co.) in order for GBE to connect. The existing line cannot carry enough power and new ones must be built. Ameren has also been ordered to build these new transmission lines, although GBE must pay for them.
GBE's interconnection to MISO was subject to a Transmission Connection Agreement between the parties. The TCA is a pretty standard thing that relies in large part on MISO's filed tariff with FERC. TCAs can be negotiated somewhat and once they are complete, they are filed with FERC for approval. Except GBE could not agree with MISO on a number of issues so MISO filed the TCA with FERC unexecuted (unsigned). FERC approved that unsigned TCA. GBE had asked FERC to make several changes to the TCA and force MISO to do certain things, and for FERC to make Ameren hurry up and build the new transmission lines that GBE needs to make its connection at Burns. FERC declined to make any of GBE's suggested changes and told GBE it was not necessary to tell Ameren to hurry up. GBE got NOTHING it asked for here. GBE was legally smacked upside the head. FERC has sided with its regional transmission organization, MISO, on all issues. This really isn't novel or different. FERC always sides with its pet RTOs. GBE is just stupid if it thinks it can challenge MISO and get a different result. Maybe now Polsky will get a clue about why they "don't hear from them" on all the complaints Invenergy has filed against MISO?
Although the TCA was approved by FERC, it doesn't do anything to make GBE's connection happen faster. It's still scheduled for, maybe, 2030. GBE had asked FERC to force MISO to connect some smaller portion of capacity in 2027. Not happening.
Why is this such an issue for GBE? Here's a quote from the Order:
We've known for quite a while that GBE was going to connect to MISO and AECI in Callaway County at the existing McCreedie subtation and also at a new substation it is sharing with Ranger Power's immense solar farm. The new substation is called Burns. Burns will be owned and built by incumbent utility Ameren (however I hear that Ranger Power bought the land and scraped all the topsoil off it before handing it over to Ameren). Ameren has been ordered to build this substation and connect both Ranger Power and GBE by regional grid operator MISO. Ameren cannot refuse to build it. In addition, MISO's studies determined that there needs to be two new 345kV high-voltage transmission lines from the new Burns substation to the existing Montgomery substation (in Montgomery Co.) in order for GBE to connect. The existing line cannot carry enough power and new ones must be built. Ameren has also been ordered to build these new transmission lines, although GBE must pay for them.
GBE's interconnection to MISO was subject to a Transmission Connection Agreement between the parties. The TCA is a pretty standard thing that relies in large part on MISO's filed tariff with FERC. TCAs can be negotiated somewhat and once they are complete, they are filed with FERC for approval. Except GBE could not agree with MISO on a number of issues so MISO filed the TCA with FERC unexecuted (unsigned). FERC approved that unsigned TCA. GBE had asked FERC to make several changes to the TCA and force MISO to do certain things, and for FERC to make Ameren hurry up and build the new transmission lines that GBE needs to make its connection at Burns. FERC declined to make any of GBE's suggested changes and told GBE it was not necessary to tell Ameren to hurry up. GBE got NOTHING it asked for here. GBE was legally smacked upside the head. FERC has sided with its regional transmission organization, MISO, on all issues. This really isn't novel or different. FERC always sides with its pet RTOs. GBE is just stupid if it thinks it can challenge MISO and get a different result. Maybe now Polsky will get a clue about why they "don't hear from them" on all the complaints Invenergy has filed against MISO?
Although the TCA was approved by FERC, it doesn't do anything to make GBE's connection happen faster. It's still scheduled for, maybe, 2030. GBE had asked FERC to force MISO to connect some smaller portion of capacity in 2027. Not happening.
Why is this such an issue for GBE? Here's a quote from the Order:
Grain Belt asserts that, with respect to the reasons for delaying the In-Service Date of the GBX Line, Ameren Missouri did not mention that its affiliate, Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois, was awarded a number of transmission facilities under MISO’s Long-Range Transmission Planning process, which it is constructing with planned In-Service Dates of 2028 and 2030.
That's right, folks! MISO ordered Ameren to build new transmission lines to be in service in 2028 and 2030 for the purpose of importing wind and solar energy from Iowa to Missouri and Illinois. These regionally planned lines are cost allocated to all ratepayers in MISO. This means that the cost to use them is going to be considerably LESS than the bloated $7B merchant transmission Grain Belt Express. In fact, ratepayers are going to be paying for the new Ameren lines, even if they choose to use GBE instead. Let's see... renewable energy on new lines you pay for OR renewable energy on the GBE, which costs a lot more, and then you STILL have to pay for the Ameren lines anyhow. Doesn't take an energy trader to figure out that problem.
The Ameren lines will be cheaper. Therefore, GBE is in a big hurry to try to get its bloated behemoth online before Ameren gets those lines built. Looks like that's not going to be possible.
GBE is stripped bare... it's too expensive and obsolete. Who would want to be a customer? And, speaking of customers, GBE still does not have negotiated rate authority to try to find any. No matter though... GBE can't connect its project until at least 2030, when there will be better options for renewable energy transmission service in MISO.
The Ameren lines will be cheaper. Therefore, GBE is in a big hurry to try to get its bloated behemoth online before Ameren gets those lines built. Looks like that's not going to be possible.
GBE is stripped bare... it's too expensive and obsolete. Who would want to be a customer? And, speaking of customers, GBE still does not have negotiated rate authority to try to find any. No matter though... GBE can't connect its project until at least 2030, when there will be better options for renewable energy transmission service in MISO.
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