ISO New England releases regional 10-year power system plan
ISO New England released its 2021 Regional System Plan (RSP21) – a biennial report that lays the
foundation for power-system planning in New England over the next 10 years.
The plan examines expected changes to New England’s power system through 2030, outlining several key issues impacting the regional power system, including grid transformation, transmission development, energy adequacy and power system reliability, and extreme weather events.
“To assist the region as we move forward on the path to our decarbonized future, the ISO has been working to create the tools needed to manage the region’s clean energy transition successfully,” Robert Ethier, ISO New England’s vice president of system planning, said. “The 2021 Regional System Plan provides a comprehensive overview of the direction and reliability needs of our future power system. It is one of the many tools that will help inform how we advance as a region.”
Among the highlights, RSP21’s 10-year forecast of demand shows total net annual use of electric energy increasing 1.1 percent per year under typical weather conditions. It also forecasts the future impact of the New England states’ initiatives to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals through electrification of transportation and heating. These impacts could add 6,080 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of annual energy consumption, 675 megawatts (MW) of peak summer demand, and 2,422 MW of peak winter demand by 2030. It also found that, in the short term, sufficient resources are projected for New England to meet the resource adequacy planning criterion.
Also, it points out that the majority of projects listed in the ISO New England interconnection queue seeking to connect to the regional high-voltage power system are primarily renewable resources, particularly offshore wind, large-scale battery storage, and small-scale solar PV coupled with battery storage.
Further, the plan states that from 2002 through June 2021, 834 transmission project components to address reliability needs were put into service in the six New England states, representing an investment of $11.7 billion in new infrastructure. Another $1.1 billion is planned.
The Regional System Plan is developed every other year to meet requirements established by FERC, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, and the Northeast Power Coordinating Council, with the results updated as needed. The 2021 Regional System Plan is available on ISO New England’s website.
