Where's the Customers, Invenergy?

Invenergy's lobbyist spun a tale at the recent "Missouri Energy Initiative" "Policy Series."  What's Missouri Energy Initiative?  I dunno, but it looks like some utility, government, and environmental entities getting together with Grain Belt's law firm to pretend they are "grassroots."  This "coalition" is about government, organizations, and corporations, not about people and what's really good for them.  What other reason could there be to combine coal plant retirement "securitization" with GBE?  One session plans to pay off utility debt for coal plants that close early by selling bonds that electric ratepayers repay for decades; and the other session pushes "renewable" energy that will shut down coal plants early.  Combined, it's going to cost you a bundle!

Invenergy's lobbyist's tale was all about the company's recently announced PLANS (not thoughts!) "to deliver up to 2,500 MW of wind power to Missouri."  The tale admitted, "[w]hile this change will require approval by the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC), it's a response to the growing market for renewable-generated power in the region, with cities and utilities setting long-term goals for increasing reliance on clean energy."

What growing market is that?  You mean the same old MJMEUC option for "up to 250 MW" of transmission capacity on GBE?  What does that have to do with "clean energy?"  It's just transmission capacity.  GBE does not sell energy.  It only sells transmission.  It sells the highway, not the car.

A recent article in RTO Insider from a reporter who attended the tale stated,

Invenergy is making a revitalized push for the approximately 800-mile HVDC transmission line that would carry 4,000 MW of wind energy from western Kansas through Missouri and Illinois to the Indiana border, Luckey told the Missouri Energy Initiative’s Midwest Energy Policy Series on energy infrastructure and economic development.

Push?  Push who?  Push regulators to ignore the fact that Invenergy is now planning to build a project that is not the one permitted?  Push landowners to sell easements for a project that is likely to lose its eminent domain authority?  Push utilities to commit to the project?  Oh...  now we're getting somewhere! 

WHERE'S THE CUSTOMERS, INVENERGY?

None of the other pushes make sense in the context of this event.  GBE still has no customers for its 4,000 MW transmission line, aside from "up to 250 MW" optioned to MJMEUC.  And since Invenergy's lobbyist is reported to have claimed...

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Invenergy will ... begin the first phase of project construction before Illinois regulatory approval, which Luckey said the company will pursue next year.

“Engineering design and environmental field studies are ongoing so that we can hopefully begin site work in mid-2022 and bring the project online by the end of 2024,” Luckey said.

... you gotta wonder where the money is coming from for all this project construction.  Invenergy doesn't have enough customers to finance a 1-mile distribution line, nevermind a 700-mile DC transmission line.  Where's the customers?  Maybe this is more like Invenergy's renewed push to GET SOME CUSTOMERS!?!

Incumbent utilities are the folks we’re talking to about taking service on the project, but they have to carefully weigh their options; [for example,] does it make more sense for their ratepayers or for reliability for them to have locally sourced projects versus taking power off Grain Belt?” Luckey said. She said Invenergy is engaged in Missouri utilities’ integrated resources planning processes that they go through and  “talking to them about how we think the project could fit into their plans for decarbonization.”

Let me help you with your question, Nicole.  GBE makes no sense for incumbent utilities.  It never has.  Locally sourced projects owned by the incumbent utilities make profits for the utility.  GBE takes profits away from incumbent utilities.  I mean, 10 years now GBE has been looking for customers and coming up empty.  You'd think maybe there would be a clue or two lying around for Sherlock Polsky to discover?  Is he really that naive?  Imagine that... a super rich and successful energy company owner who got fleeced to buy a useless project by ol' Skelly's blarney!

So, what IS Invenergy planning to do with GBE?

According to a market analysis done by PA Consulting Group for Invenergy, the $2.3 billion project will enable up to $7 billion in electricity cost savings for the SPP and MISO regions of Kansas and Missouri between 2024 and 2045. The average residential customer would save $50/year, which accounts for the full cost to build the project.

Wait a tick... this project is NOT cost allocated to residential customers in Kansas or Missouri.  The official GBE "plan" was to sell service to voluntary customers at negotiated rates, it wasn't to stick electric ratepayers in Kansas and Missouri with the cost of a transmission project that does nothing more than export electricity out of the region. (And guess what happens when massive amounts of electricity get exported out of a region?  The electricity that remains gets more expensive!  Simple supply/demand economics.)  GBE will not save any money for electric customers in Kansas and Missouri because they won't be customers of the project.  And let's not ignore the fact that GBE is still proposed as a DC line.  A DC transmission line can only connect with the existing AC transmission system at hugely expensive converter stations that GBE will have to install.  GBE is only planning one so far, in eastern Missouri.  Tell me why a Kansas utility would buy service on GBE so that it could ship energy produced in Kansas over to eastern Missouri, and then back to Kansas to be used by Kansans?  GBE is not for Kansans! There's a lot of things here that JUST DON'T MAKE SENSE!  What is Invenergy really planning to build?

And, hey, Missouri, don't forget this guy!

Missouri Rep. Travis Fitzwater (R) mentioned Grain Belt during a legislative panel and said “getting renewable energy across the state would be fascinating” but that the previous Clean Line project iteration was only going to deliver “a small percentage of the power” to the state.

He's not your friend.  He's also not Invenergy's customer.  He just wants you to be, apparently.  Isn't that fascinating?  You know what's really fascinating?  Elections. 

I'm also pretty fascinated by Invenergy's lobbyist's concern for landowners and local county officials. 

“There are definitely operational and reliability benefits associated with DC lines, which use a narrower right of way and fewer conductors than comparable AC lines, making more efficient use of transmission corridors and minimizing visual and land-use impacts that I know is a priority to landowners, local county officials and to elected officials in those areas."

Well, that ought to do it, right?  Not.

But this... THIS... probably deserves the 2020 LACK OF SELF-AWARENESS AWARD.

“We obviously cannot force our project on anyone."

She said that.  Yes, she did.  Of course, she was talking about CUSTOMERS, not LANDOWNERS.  GBE fully intends to force its project on landowners.  If it could find a way to force it on customers as well, it would.

This seems more like GBE's last push to find some customers.  Where's the customers, Invenergy?