By Blake Jackson
Earthjustice has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Clean Wisconsin and the Natural Resources Defense Council, alongside the Sierra Club, challenging federal approval of a plan that accelerates the grid connection of mostly fossil-fueled power projects across the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region.
The legal challenge targets the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of MISO’s Expedited Resource Addition Study (ERAS) process. This fast-tracks system allows qualifying projects to bypass long-standing interconnection queues and shift substantial grid upgrade costs onto residential customers.
Clean energy projects many of which have waited years for approval would continue to face delays while fossil fuel projects move ahead more quickly. MISO argues the expedited pathway is needed to meet rising electricity demand from artificial intelligence-driven data centers.
According to project filings so far, about three-quarters of the capacity seeking fast-track approval is gas-fired. If built, these projects would add at least 18 gigawatts of new gas generation across MISO territory, which spans from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan down through Louisiana and Mississippi.
Major proposals include a 1.2-gigawatt gas plant in Paris, Wisconsin already the subject of a separate Clean Wisconsin challenge and three 1.5-gigawatt gas units intended to power Meta’s Louisiana data centers.
Consumer advocates note that gas generation is significantly more expensive than clean energy resources already in MISO’s standard queue. Solar, for example, posted the lowest levelized cost of energy this year at $38-$79 per megawatt hour.
Clean Wisconsin, NRDC, and Sierra Club argue that FERC improperly approved a system that both increases costs for households and gives fossil fuel plants an unfair advantage over thousands of megawatts of ready clean energy projects. They also warn that the fast-track system could worsen delays across the remaining queue.
Another lawsuit filed today by the Sierra Club and clean energy industry groups challenges a similar policy in the Southwest Power Pool.
“Clean energy is facing unprecedented challenges, including cancellation of federal tax incentives and the ban on federal environmental permits," said Katie Nekola, General Counsel for Clean Wisconsin. "This is just another example of the unfair advantage given to polluting, last-century technology.”
“FERC is letting grid operators like MISO rewrite the rule book to the benefit of fossil fuel and data center companies, and at the expense of everyone else,” said Ada Statler, Senior Associate Attorney at Earthjustice.
Photo Credit: pexels-sharath-g
Categories: Wisconsin, Government & Policy