CO2 emissions from the Western U.S. power sector could drop by 73% from 2005 levels if 12 transmission projects in the development pipeline are finished by 2030, according to a new PNNL study.

Advanced transmission technologies can help utilities meet the rising levels of demand that are stressing the grid, according to a report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research.

MISO’s quarterly public meetup with its board of directors put on display the unrelenting rift between the RTO’s planners and the Independent Market Monitor over MISO’s $21 billion in long-range transmission planning.

The effort seeks to increase public participation in grid planning and provide technical assistance for planners to help them incorporate energy equity into their processes.

The PJM PC voted to defer action on three proposals to rework the RTO’s process for transferring capacity interconnection rights from a deactivating generator to a new resource.

MISO said its second, mostly 765-kV long-range transmission plan will provide the Midwest region with at least a 1.9:1 benefit-cost ratio, a metric that was greeted with skepticism by Independent Market Monitor David Patton.

ICF International forecasts that demand could increase by 9% by 2028, while peak demand could increase by 5% over the same period, according to a report it published.

MISO and its transmission owners defended their practice of allowing TOs to self-fund network upgrades necessary to bring generation online before developers get the chance to finance them.