Business Case Justification for Multi-Value Projects in the MISO Midwest Region

The growth of renewable energy goals and mandates throughout the United States have led to challenges in determining least-cost methods and transmission plans to reliably support these policy objectives. These transmission plans must be rooted in the resolution of reliability constraints caused by the integration of such energy, but they also must provide additional value to all consumers, in terms of economic and public policy benefits. This paper will focus on the economic business case development of one such set of transmission lines, the MISO Multi Value Project (MVP) portfolio. Through the evaluation of six economic metrics, the value of this portfolio may be expanded beyond its reliability benefits to demonstrate a more complete picture of the value of the transmission. These metrics are rooted in the Value Based Planning process which includes production cost and generation expansion simulations, to quantify the dollar value the transmission plan and the renewable generation it supports, will deliver to consumers.