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- G7 Nations Ponder 2035 Coal Phaseout // MISO’s Eye-Watering Auction Results
G7 Nations Ponder 2035 Coal Phaseout // MISO’s Eye-Watering Auction Results
Welcome to Grid Brief! Here’s what we’re looking at today: the G7 meets on coal power phaseout, MISO’s capacity auction sees huge price increase, and more.
G7 Nations Ponder 2035 Coal Phaseout
G7 leaders are meeting in Italy to discuss a potential coal power phaseout by 2035.
“Diplomatic negotiators for the G7 nations - Italy, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Japan - discussed the issue until late on Sunday, with one country still opposing the move, said the source, who asked not to be named,” reports Reuters.
So what will replace coal? According to the sources, much of the talk is about scaling up renewable energy and battery storage. But the Italian government is also pushing for bio-fuels and nuclear to feature in the agreement.
"A contribution from nuclear energy in our energy mix would help Italy a lot in meeting the net zero target by 2050," Italian Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said on Sunday.
MISO’s Eye-Watering Auction Results
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator released its seasonal capacity auction results last week and the prices were painful.
Summer and spring capacity prices just about tripled respectively to $30/MW-day and $34.10/MW-day across the MISO footprint. Baseload power retirements were the main culprit in the price increases.
“However, prices for MISO zone 5 — served by Ameren Missouri and Columbia, Missouri’s municipal utility — jumped to $719.81/MW-day for the upcoming fall and spring seasons from $15/MW-day and $10/MW-day, respectively, in the previous auction,” reports Utility Dive. “The increase in pricing to the ‘cost of new entry’ was triggered by power plant retirements and planned power plant maintenance that led to expected supply shortfalls, according to MISO.”
The drop in surplus capacity was stark. Overall, summer capacity fell just shy of a third—from 6,482 MW to 4,624 MW—thanks to retirements and a decrease in offers form MISO’s neighbors.
“This year’s results amplify the need and urgency for MISO’s efforts around resource availability and market redefinition as outlined in the Reliability Imperative,” Clair Moeller, MISO’s president and chief operating officer, said.
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