Boston, August 5, 2020 – London Economics International (“LEI”) will oversee the open solicitation for the proposed SOO Green HVDC Link, which officially launches on Monday, August 10, 2020.
The SOO Green HVDC Link will be capable of transmitting up to 2,100 MW between Mason City, Iowa in MISO and Plano, Illinois in PJM. The approximately 350 mile transmission line will be buried underground within an existing railroad corridor. SOO Green HVDC Link ProjectCo LLC (“SOO Green”), the developer of the SOO Green HVDC Link, expects the $2.5 billion interregional transmission project to be operational in late 2024.
LEI was selected to design and manage the open solicitation, in the role of an Independent Evaluator (“IE”). SOO Green’s open solicitation involves an innovative three-phase process to competitively allocate transmission capacity over the SOO Green HVDC Link and to facilitate long-term commercial arrangements between shippers, who are acquiring transmission capacity rights, and buyers and suppliers of power in PJM and MISO. The open solicitation begins with an anchor shipper transmission capacity rights allocation phase, followed by an innovative voluntary matching phase to support the commercial interests of potential shippers, and finally an auction process to award the remaining transmission capacity rights.
“The open solicitation process leverages years of industry experience with auction mechanisms and competitive procurements, as well as innovative approaches for resolving uncertainty and risk for those seeking to acquire transmission capacity rights”, noted Julia Frayer, Managing Director at LEI, who is leading the IE team. Through the matching phase, the design of this open solicitation is solving a common problem for shippers with respect to sourcing of power and identification of end-users. The matching phase will support prospective shippers’ ability to plan for the effective use of the transmission capacity rights and thereby reduce a major market risk in today’s deregulated power markets.
For more information about the project and open solicitation process, please visit the SOO Green HVDC Link open solicitation website at www.soogreenhvdclink-os.com. Interested parties can register for the open solicitation through the website to gain access to additional information and participate in the open solicitation.
# # #
London Economics International LLC is a global economic, financial, and strategic advisory professional services firm specializing in energy and infrastructure, with extensive experience designing and managing competitive procurements, including open solicitations and open seasons for merchant transmission projects. Julia Frayer is a Managing Director with LEI, specializing in economic analysis and evaluation of infrastructure assets as well as market design and expert economic advisory in deregulated power markets. For further information on LEI or LEI’s transmission advisory practice area, please contact Julia Frayer at (617) 933-7200 or visit www.londoneconomics.com.