MISO Needs 500% More Storage by 2035. Are they Ready?

MISO needs 500% more battery storage by 2035 - and right now it’s far off track.

This is the final post in our weeklong look at the future of battery storage:
🔹 Monday: What’s already working (Australia) →https://lnkd.in/eTb9sanP
🔹 Wednesday: What’s being built (New York) →https://lnkd.in/eiJkW-bf
🔹 Friday: What’s still missing (The Midwest)

Let’s talk about what’s missing.

According to a new report by American Clean Power Association (ACP) and Aurora Energy Research, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) currently has just 126.5 megawatts of battery storage online, with ~980 MW expected by next spring.

But to keep the grid stable and costs under control, MISO will need:
- 6,500 MW by 2030
- 10,000–11,000 MW by 2035.

Why so much?

Because the grid is under pressure:
- Electricity demand is growing fast
- Coal plants are retiring
- Extreme weather events are more frequent and more damaging

Storage isn’t just backup power.

It’s a smarter, faster, more flexible grid tool.

It fills gaps when solar and wind dip.
It flattens peaks to prevent blackouts and price spikes.
And it saves money.

Aurora’s modeling shows storage could:
- Cut power system costs by $4.5 billion by 2035
- Save up to $25 billion by 2045
- Reduce the need to overbuild generation just for peak events

But hitting those targets won’t happen by accident.

MISO will need faster permitting, market reform, and fair compensation for the full value batteries provide, including: peak shaving, renewable integration, and grid reliability.

MISO powers over 45 million people across 15 states (plus Manitoba).
Australia showed us what fast-response storage can deliver.
New York showed how to build a policy that works.

Now the Midwest faces the big question:
Is MISO moving fast enough to prepare for what’s coming?

Read the full report →https://lnkd.in/efAq8nAv