Welcome to Grid Brief! Here’s what we’re looking at today: grid storage project announced for MISO, Three Mile Island protests, and NASCAR embraces electrification.

Grid Storage Coming to MISO

Ørsted and Mission Clean Energy are partnering to bring 1 GW of standalone battery storage online in central and northern regions of MISO, reports Brian Martucci of UtilityDive. Together, Ørsted and Mission Clean Energy will build four grid-connected battery installations with 200 to 300 MW of capacity which are expected to come online around 2030.

The announcement of this project comes as MISO plans for an anticipated capacity shortfall of 1 GW to 3.7 GW in its northern regions as soon as next summer. Systemwide, MISO could experience a capacity shortfall of up to 14.4 GW or a surplus of 4.6 GW by 2030, according to MISO’s projections.

With states like Minnesota and Michigan pursuing an emissions-free grid by 2040, the region is expecting to see coal plant closures rise and renewable energy projects increase which is driving the need for energy storage projects.

A paper from the Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that Illinois, which is partially serviced by MISO and PJM, could replace 11.6 GW of retiring coal generation by building new battery capacity and connecting 7.7 GW worth of projects in its interconnection queue.

Controversy Surrounds Potential Three Mile Island Restart

Activists gathered outside Three Mile Island in Middletown, Pennsylvania on Monday to protest the potential restart of TMI Unit 1, which closed in 2019. The protest culminated with Gene Stilp, a Democratic candidate for State House, trespassing onto Three Mile Island and calling the police on himself. The police never showed up.

A restart of TMI is inching more towards becoming a possibility after the Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office lent $1.5 billion to the restart of the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Michigan, which was undergoing decommissioning.

Despite the protest at Three Mile Island, several residents are in favor of the plant’s restart. Republican State Rep. Tom Mehaffie, whose district houses Three Mile Island, told ABC27 “We need baseload energy more than we’ve ever needed it before. We have a failing grid…I feel extremely safe here in Middletown, Pennsylvania. Being a resident, living right near it, I feel safe that if they restart it, I think it’s a great idea.”

The issue will likely be decided when Pennsylvania’s General Assembly reconvenes next month.

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Conversation Starters

• NASCAR dips its toes into electrification (Tech Brew)

  Last month NASCAR unveiled an electric prototype in a partnership with ABB. NASCAR and ABB hope to use this collaboration to educate people on the potential benefits of EVs and “ push the boundaries of electrification technology.”

• Delays hit 40% of Biden’s IRA projects (Financial Times)

  Nearly 40 percent of the biggest manufacturing investments announced in the first year of Joe Biden’s flagship industrial and climate policies have been delayed or paused. Of the projects worth $100 million, $84 billion has been delayed or paused indefinitely.

• Wright Electric to conduct battery research for the Air Force (electrive)

  Wright Electric has been awarded a contract by the US Air Force to investigate the possibility of using Wright’s rechargeable thermal batteries in unmanned multi-rotor aerial vehicles (UAV) where high power output is critical.

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