The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a proposal by the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator or “MISO” in March that will require most wind farms that are MISO members to make themselves available for automatic dispatch by MISO in the “real-time” market.

This could mean an additional source of revenue for wind farms that sell into the real-time market. It could also mean penalties for such projects that are unable to dispatch as directed.
Whether or not a wind farm that has a long-term power purchase agreement with a utility in MISO will be subject to the economic benefits or penalties of participating in the real-time market will depend on the terms of the individual PPA. The same is true for wind farms that sell output through agents, known as market participants, in MISO: the terms of the agreement with the market participant will dictate the allocation of risk. Keep reading →