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Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is the latest to join the development of North Plains Connector, a 420-mile, 3,000 megawatt high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission line.
PSE announced it has signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with North Plains Connector LLC, a wholly owned entity of Grid United, to participate in the development of the HVDC transmission line. Under the terms of the MOU, PSE would own 750 MW, the largest share of North Plains Connector among the participating utilities. Grid United will continue to fund the development of North Plains Connector, and PSE would invest when project regulatory approvals and permits are in place.
Once completed, the project will establish the first transmission link among the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), and the Southwest Power Pool (SPP). Grid United and ALLETE are jointly developing North Plains Connector.
Earlier this year, PSE joined a group of eight utilities as part of the North Plains Interregional Innovation (NPC II) consortium that supported the $700 million GRIP (Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships) grant conditionally awarded to the Montana Department of Commerce by the U.S. Department of Energy. Most of the Department of Energy’s GRIP grant will support the construction of North Plains Connector. In October, the project took entered the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process for federal permitting. The project is on track for an anticipated operational date of 2032, the companies said.
Grid United started preliminary work on the project in the summer of 2021, looking at constraints such as biological, land use, existing infrastructure, and archeological/cultural sites, according to documents it created for stakeholder meetings. In 2023, Grid United announced that it would team up with ALLETE.
In May, Portland General Electric (PGE) signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with Grid United and ALLETE in the development of the North Plains Connector. At the time of the announcement, PGE was expected to have 20% ownership share of the project. The electric transmission infrastructure would provide PGE with 600 MW of transfer capacity, access to energy resources, wholesale markets and eased congestion on the existing western transmission system.
Last month, Avista Corporation also signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with North Plains Connector LLC. The connector will provide Avista with 300 MW of transfer capacity.
