TRANSMISSION’S MVP AWARD

Midwest ISO Says Brookings Line Set To Receive MVP Designation
Angela Beniwal, 10 March 2011 (North American Windpower)

"The Brookings County-Hampton transmission line, a section of the proposed CapX2020 project, could receive a multi-value project (MVP) designation by the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (Midwest ISO) as early as this summer, giving wind projects a much-needed boost.

"MVP projects must support public-policy requirements or address reliability and/or multiple economic issues in multiple transmission zones. An MVP designation means that the project would be able to take advantage of the cost-allocation method of payment, which was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in December 2010…[allowing] 100% of the cost of developing the transmission [to] be spread across the entire Midwest ISO footprint…"

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"The Brookings line is currently being evaluated by the Midwest ISO as a part of the organization's ongoing 2011 Candidate MVP Portfolio study…[A] June approval [is] probable…"

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"Areas of the Midwest are reaching a saturation point in terms of transmission capacity, but the proposed CapX2020 (short for “capacity expansion by 2020”) might be able to provide some relief. The goal of this project is to boost grid reliability and ease congestion.

"CapX2020, which is being developed by 11 transmission-owning utilities in Minnesota, including Xcel Energy, plans to add lines over the next 20 years. The project includes four segments, but it is the 240-mile, 345 kV line between Brookings County, S.D., and Hampton, Minn., that will benefit wind development the most because it includes 19 wind projects from 14 developers…"