New Transmission Lines Could Help Michigan Tap Renewable Energy

Amy Bandyk and Natalie Lyijynen
| Opinion Department Associate

This year will be a pivotal year for Michigan’s transformational energy infrastructure. Most Michiganders may not be aware, but billions of dollars in lower energy costs are at stake with the future of two new transmission lines soon to be proposed by ITC Electric Transmission.

The projects are part of Michigan, part of a 2,000-mile system of high-voltage overhead transmission lines that, if built, will crisscross the Midwest, connecting energy sources — mostly renewable energy facilities — with energy demands.

About 100 miles of the planned transmission expansion will come from two proposed lines, and the Michigan Public Service Commission is considering approval of those lines this year.

The transmission grid is like a congested highway system. Although it is essential to our daily lives, the process of building transmission lines is rare in this country. For example, Michigan has not built an interstate transmission line in about 50 years. Imagine the state of disarray our highways would be in if the interstate highway system had not been expanded and improved for half a century.

The stakes are high enough that a diverse coalition has formed behind the projects, including the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council, a trade group representing clean energy companies, and the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan, which represents utility customers.

The lines will serve utility customers in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region, the entity that operates the electric grid for most of central North America. MISO’s network includes the service areas of Michigan’s two major utilities, DTE and Consumers Energy, but those utilities do not own the transmission. Like other transmission lines in Michigan, the new lines will be owned by ITC Holdings Corp., through its subsidiaries ITC Transmission and Michigan Electric Transmission Company.

MISO planned the new lines in response to profound, ongoing changes in the region’s energy landscape, as energy sources increasingly shift from natural gas and coal to renewable energy and storage. MISO identified dozens of locations in the region where existing transmission lines are nearing overload, leading to less efficient power transmission and increasing the risk of insufficient power during severe weather.

Reducing grid congestion not only solves these problems, but also opens channels to introduce new sources of clean energy. Wind and solar facilities that otherwise could not connect to the grid can now be built.

The result would ultimately be lower electricity bills across the region for a number of reasons: wind and solar don’t burn fuel, so costs would come down with less reliance on natural gas and coal-fired power plants. In addition, a significant amount of electricity that is currently generated is simply lost because it has nowhere to go, but new transmission means fewer electrons are wasted.

The savings generated by these benefits far outweigh the more than $1 billion in construction costs for the lines themselves. Those costs are passed on to utility ratepayers, but the net cost to ratepayers would decline, according to MISO estimates, which put Michigan’s share of the savings from the new transmission lines at $3.4 billion over 20 years.

MISO said it expects this first phase of its far-reaching transmission plan, commonly known as Tranche 1, will facilitate the construction of 56 gigawatts of new wind and solar capacity. By comparison, the total capacity of all energy sources across MISO’s vast geographic area now stands at just over 63 gigawatts.

In Michigan, one transmission line would run from the existing Oneida substation about 13 miles west of Lansing and run north 40 miles to the existing Nelson Road substation in Gratiot County. A second new line would be built from the Indiana/Michigan border in Branch County 50 miles north to a new substation in northeastern Calhoun County. Those lines would be built by 2030 — if construction goes ahead on time.

The need for these lines to spur new energy development was made clear in a 2021 letter from the governors of Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin to MISO. Tranche 1 “is urgently needed to enable emission-free, low-cost electricity to flow through the region — all while maintaining the reliability of the system we rely on,” the letter said.

Transmission is one of the least-understood parts of our energy system, but also one of the most important. A preliminary design for MISO’s proposed Tranche 2 interregional projects was released March 15, and additional lines are planned for construction in the state in the future.

As these projects move forward, Michiganders should understand that how energy gets to their homes and businesses is just as important as where it comes from.

Amy Bandyk is the executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Michigan. Natalie Lyijynen is a sustainable business partner of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council.

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