Interconnection MISO Planning Regions
Midcontinent ISO
Queue Intelligence
MISO's 15-state + Manitoba footprint, 7 planning regions, 10 Local Resource Zones, and 2024 capacity prices — the geography of the nation's largest ISO.
QueueAll projects §Regulatory & PolicyDPP process & rules Grid & CongestionSeam · constraints Planning Regions7 regions · LRZs $Costs & DeliverabilityNUC · ERIS · NRIS
MISO 15-State Footprint + Manitoba
MISO North
Minnesota
7,000 MW wind installed. 100% clean by 2040 mandate (HF7). Key substations: Arrowhead 345kV, Valley 345kV. Xcel Energy dominant utility. Gateway for MISO North wind to Chicago load.
MISO North
North Dakota
Wind capital — 5,800 MW installed, 15+ GW in queue. Bakken area also hosts natural gas. Prairie wind corridor exports to IL via MISO backbone. MDU and Xcel serve the state.
MISO North
South Dakota
1,200 MW wind. Small state load, large export potential to IL via MISO. Northwestern Energy and MDU territory. Eastern SD sees highest solar potential per MISO EEA studies.
MISO Central-West
Iowa
Nation's highest wind penetration (>60% of electricity from wind). 12,000 MW wind installed. Key trading hub for Midwest wind economics. MidAmerican Energy nearly 100% renewable. ITC Midwest transmission network.
MISO Central
Wisconsin
Coal/gas transitioning. 2,800 MW wind. Governor's 100% clean by 2050 goal. We Energies and Alliant serving major load. Key transit corridor for MISO North wind to Illinois load.
MISO Central
Illinois
CEJA mandates 100% clean by 2050. Major load center (Chicago). Nuclear stalwart (Clinton, Dresden, Quad Cities, Braidwood, Byron). 40 GW solar target. Largest single-state MISO queue volume.
MISO Indiana Hub
Indiana
Major coal retirement underway — NIPSCO 100% clean by 2028. Data center explosion (Meta, Google, AWS in Hendricks County). Fastest-growing MISO load zone. AES Indiana and NIPSCO territory.
MISO Michigan
Michigan
Nuclear (Fermi 2; Palisades restart proposed by Holtec). Wind in Thumb area. Strong offshore wind potential on Great Lakes (future). DTE Energy and Consumers Energy dual-IOU state. 60% clean by 2030 state target.
MISO Central-West
Missouri
Ameren Missouri 100% clean by 2050. Gateway area wind + solar. Bridge between MISO Central and MISO South regions. Kansas City area sees growing data center load. KCPL (Evergy) dual MISO/SPP utility.
MISO South
Arkansas
Entergy Arkansas territory. Growing solar — 1,500+ MW in queue. Net energy importer from MISO North. High summer peak loads. Limited intrastate transmission for renewable export.
MISO Southeast
Louisiana
Entergy Louisiana — high summer load, hurricane grid risk. 2,000+ MW solar in queue. Key LNG export hub adding industrial load. MISO South LRZ 9 most capacity-constrained (2023 price: $108/MW-day).
MISO Southeast
Mississippi
Entergy Mississippi. Limited renewables historically; growing utility solar. Net energy importer. Mississippi Power (Southern Company) in southern part of state. Small load base relative to queue backlog.
MISO Southeast
Alabama
Alabama Power (Southern Company). Primarily gas + nuclear (Farley Nuclear Plant). Modest renewable penetration to date. Potential for solar additions as costs decline. SoCo transmission network dominant.
MISO North
Manitoba, Canada
Manitoba Hydro — 5,600 MW hydro capacity. Key peaking resource for MISO North. Cross-border scheduling under bilateral agreement. Low-cost clean energy anchor for Minnesota load. Laforge-1 and Wuskwatim expansions adding capacity.
MISO Local Resource Zones (LRZs) — 2023 Capacity Prices
LRZStates / ProvinceApprox. Peak Load2023 PRA Price ($/MW-day)Notes
LRZ 1SD, ND, MT (part)3,200 MW$0Surplus — wind export zone
LRZ 2MN, ND (part)9,800 MW$0Surplus — Minnesota wind abundance
LRZ 3Illinois19,800 MW$28.92Chicago metro — nuclear + wind balanced
LRZ 4Indiana14,200 MW$31.44Data center load growth driving demand
LRZ 5Iowa6,800 MW$0Wind surplus — capacity exports to LRZ 3
LRZ 6Wisconsin + Manitoba9,200 MW$2.99Near surplus with Manitoba hydro imports
LRZ 7Michigan12,400 MW$29.94Nuclear + load balanced; Palisades restart watch
LRZ 8Missouri + Arkansas18,600 MW$27.54Mixed — some summer stress on Entergy SO
LRZ 9Louisiana + Mississippi19,800 MW$108.75South — structurally supply-constrained
LRZ 10TX panhandle (part)8,200 MW$0Limited applicability — gas-heavy, ERCOT adjacent
MISO-SPP JTIQ — 5 Approved Border Projects
Hartline-Lakefield 345kV
Route: SW Minnesota → NW Iowa
Voltage: 345kV AC
MW Unlocked: ~5,600 MW
$180M
Rock Falls 345kV Upgrades
Route: NW Iowa → NE Nebraska
Voltage: 345kV AC
MW Unlocked: ~4,200 MW
$155M
Sibley-Lakefield 345kV
Route: SW Minnesota → NW Iowa
Voltage: 345kV AC
MW Unlocked: ~7,000 MW
$215M
Pioneer Junction 345kV
Route: Kansas → SE Nebraska
Voltage: 345kV AC
MW Unlocked: ~5,000 MW
$195M
Windmill 345kV
Route: SE Nebraska → N Missouri
Voltage: 345kV AC
MW Unlocked: ~3,800 MW
$340M