North Plains Connector Project gets $700M from DOE

The Department of Energy has announced $2.2 billion in funding for grid projects across the U.S. Montana and North Dakota are the lucky recipients of $700 million to support the North Plains Connector Project, a transmission line connecting several electric grids in Montana and North Dakota.

The North Dakota Monitor reports:

“North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum called the project “a critical link” between electricity markets and regions. The transmission line will run from Colstrip, Montana, to Center, North Dakota… “North Dakota welcomes this investment in transmission infrastructure to ensure a resilient and reliable power grid,” Burgum, a Republican, said in a statement. “Still, in order to meet growing consumer demand for electricity and support economic expansion, we need to add transmission capacity AND build upon our existing baseload generation – not try to shut it down.”

The line will be approximately 415 miles long and connect substations in Colstrip, Montana; St. Anthony, North Dakota; and Center, North Dakota.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte’s office estimates the project will cost $3.6 billion in total. The Energy Department’s grant represents about 20 percent of the entire cost.

The project “will link three regional control entities and, according to the DOE, create up to 3,800 megawatts of new capacity and increase “transfer capacity.” The project aims to better interconnect the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), and Southwest Power Pool (SPP).

The North Plains Connector Project is preparing a proposed route and to undergo regulatory filings under the National Environmental Policy Act in the fall of 2024. If permitting goes well (though it likely won’t, given the lengthy and litigious U.S. permitting process), the project could have construction underway in 2026 and be completed by 2031.

Strengthening the reliability and affordability of the electric grid is a noble goal, but enormous expenditures on high-voltage, long-distance transmission lines are only becoming necessary because grids are trying to balance intermittent wind and solar resources across larger distances. As Gov. Burgum said, increasing transmission capacity could help, but as wind and solar grow as a proportion of power generation, balancing so many grids will become harder and harder to do. Growing reliable baseload generation ought to be the priority.