Note: This posting is a copy/paste of an email report to the NEST Energy Committee, where the formatting characteristics of the original email change when copy/pasting from Microsoft Outlook using the WordPress editor.

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Hello Energy,

Sharing my “highlights” from the Thursday June 27 IMEA Board Meeting:

1. Next 10 Member contract renewals
2. 150MW utility scale solar project
3. Compensation for Member generation
4. Legal report on US EPA Final Rule on CO2 Emissions
5. Prairie State CCS
6. Some additional noteworthy items

The link to this meeting’s presentation slides pdf is:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AKbt_DLMrj_aQw0wMDvX-KSIbshwwO9Z/view

There are no recordings offered by IMEA of IMEA board meetings, unlike our Naperville city council and many other public bodies.  The meeting minutes will become available after approved at the next IMEA board meeting.

Slides, agendas, minutes, etc.  from this meeting and previous board meeting are posted in the CLEAN google drive.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jWacdmtQ4yPRzkbUAjKWz4RVuwDzUEDM

This meeting’s slides and agenda files begin with the file prefix 2024-06-27_

The above link to the CLEAN IMEA Board Meetings google drive is also posted in the CLEAN Sources and Resource webpage:
https://cleanenergynaperville.org/sources-and-resources

1. Next 10 Member contract renewals (slides 67 – 76)

• The IMEA board adopted resolutions #24-06-913 through #24-06-922 to formally accept and approve the next 10 Members who have approved their new Power Sales Contracts via local ordinances:  Breese, Rock Falls, Farmer City, Sullivan, Waterloo, Highland, Bethany, Chatham, Metropolis, and Freeburg
• During the President and CEO report (earlier in the meeting), it was reported that several more Members have plans to approve in their upcoming city council meetings
• The first 10 Members accepted and approved at the previous April 27th board meeting were:  Princeton, Casey, Marshall, Altamont, Bushnell, Flora, Greenup, Roodhouse, Rantoul, and Oglesby

2. 150MW utility scale solar project (slides 81 – 97)

• The board approved IMEA proceeding with negotiations towards a final power purchase agreement with the proposed developer of a 150MW utility scale solar project in the Ameren IL region
• IMEA expects to bring the finalized PPA back to the board for approval at the Aug meeting.
• IMEA signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement, so the project and developer were not publicly revealed
• Expected Commercial Operation Date (COD) is Dec 31, 2026
• IMEA originally planned 100MW, but apparently needed to take the entire project’s 150MW or lose the project to a data center that the developer said was willing to take the entire 150MW
• Solar was chosen over wind because solar best fits the IMEA deficit need for capacity and energy during summer months
• Slides 82 – 85 provide graphs on the IMEA generation deficit with this project. Note that the curves above the red zero line represent the deficits IMEA is filling, and the curves below the red zero line represent surplus.
• Any excess generation is expected to be manageable between 2027 and 2030. 2030 is when the Lee-DeKalb Wind PPA ends
• The expected capacity factor for this solar project is 23% – 25%. When using 25%, the expected annual output is 328,500 MWh

3. Compensation for Member generation (slides 37 – 46)

• IMEA is reviewing a transition to higher compensation levels for Member generation
• 19 of 32 IMEA Members have Member generation contracts with IMEA
• Existing compensation may be insufficient to upkeep the facilities in the future
• IMEA approach intends to balance Members’ ownership costs and value these resources provide to the overall IMEA portfolio
• Considering gradually increasing the production component and gradually create a floor as in the new 2035 Capacity Purchase Agreement
• IMEA staff will work with the IMEA Generation Committee and expect to bring final recommendations to the full board in October

4. Legal report on US EPA Final Rule on CO2 Emissions (slide 51)

• Copy/pasting from the slide:
  • Federal EPA says that Carbon Capture and Storage/Sequestration (CCS) technology is considered Best System of Emissions Reduction (BSER)
    • Under the new rules, all baseload coal plants will need to dramatically cut carbon emissions or retire early
    • Coal plants planning on retiring by 2039 must be equipped with 40% natural gas co-firing capability by 2030
    • Existing baseload coal plants will need to reduce carbon emissions by 90% by January 1, 2032
• Legal challenges have been filed by 27 state Attorney Generals and other groups
• Both IMEA and Prairie State have submitted impact declarations

5. Prairie State CCS (slide 34)

• Copy/pasting from the slide:
  • PSGC staff continues to work towards due diligence to explore all options on potential Carbon Capture opportunity
    • Given the recent EPA regulations, owners continue to evaluate options (due diligence)
    • No progress has been made
    • No commitment from PSGC or the owners

6. Some additional noteworthy items

• Average cost for FY 2023/2024 increased 2.5% to $82.56/MWh, primarily due to transmission cost increases (slide 6: Member Sales Report)
• 20 of 32 members have now executed new contract agreements, and several more have plans at their upcoming city council meetings (slide 9: President and CEO Report)
• IMUA has submitted a pre-application to receive federal grant funding for the Emergency Equipment Share project. IMEA may be needed to approve cost share (slide 17: Legislative and Regulatory Report)
• Summer Readiness PJM Comments: Concerned that new generation is not coming online fast enough to replace retiring resources (slide 19: Operations)
• MISO OMS Survey, released on June 20, projects growing capacity deficits (slides 24 – 25: Operations)
• Wind performance is decreasing (slides 26 – 27: Operations)
  [Note: It may be first time I have seen IMEA publicly reveal MWh for Green River and Lee Dekalb]
• Trimble County stacks replacement project is currently in the front-end engineering phase. Detail scope and construction timeline will not be known until the fall. Construction to begin in spring 2025 (slide 33: Trimble County)
• Prairie State tube leaks in both units 1 and 2 (slide 34: Prairie State)
• IMEA received official notice from Winnetka regarding its plans to replace Unit 4. Winnetka has also requested a waiver of IMEA’s 1-year replacement policy (slide 35: Local Transmission & Generation)
• Staff is making progress on the PPA with SolAmerica for Highland, Carmi and Metropolis, but major sticking points remain (slide 47: Solar Project Update)
• Marshall and Princeton projects with Altofer are expected to be completed by end of year, while Oglesby is expected to be Spring 2025 (slide 48: Solar Project Update)
• ComEd Formula Transmission Rate update was filed on April 24. The first year impact on IMEA is expected to be a temporary one-year decrease due to the 2022 roll up credit. IMEA’s PJM peak also decreased to 504 MW. (slides 61 – 63: Legal Report)
• Resolution #24-02-896 was amended to correctly reflect the April 30, 2025 end date for the contract renewal period (slide 80: Resolution #24-02-896 to Correct Scrivener’s Error)

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And finally, here’s my encouragement to you to attend IMEA board meetings. Webinar means not having to devote a whole day commuting to and from Springfield.

• The next scheduled full IMEA Board Meeting is Aug 29, 2024 at 10:00AM, preceded by an Exec Board Meeting on Aug 28, 2024 at 2:00PM.
• The webinar registration info is posted within the IMEA meeting agenda document file, typically posted at the end of the preceding week.
  https://www.imea.org/IMEA%20Board%20Meeting%20Schedule.asp

Thanks.

Greg

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