Grain Belt Express transmission line gets final approval in Missouri
State regulators gave final approval Thursday to the owners of the Grain Belt Express transmission line to drop off thousands of megawatts of clean power in Missouri.
Image for illustration purposes.
USA, Missouri: State regulators gave final approval Thursday to the owners of the Grain Belt Express transmission line to drop off thousands of megawatts of clean power in Missouri.
The decision by the Missouri Public Service Commission was the final regulatory approval Chicago-based Invenergy needed to begin the first phase of the line, to be built in Kansas and Missouri. For years, the company has been working through regulatory approvals and acquiring land easements to build the 800-mile (1287 km) high-voltage transmission line, which will carry renewable energy from wind-swept western Kansas across Missouri and Illinois to the Indiana border.
Grain Belt was previously envisioned as a 4,000 MW line that would drop off a small portion of its power in Missouri. But with Thursday’s approval, Invenergy can construct a 5,000 MW line and drop half of its power in the state. The line’s total capacity is expected to equate to roughly four new nuclear power plants, the company says.
The company plans to construct the line in phases with Kansas and Missouri first. The line will result in $11 billion in savings over 15 years across those two states as well as Illinois.
The Grain Belt had to overcome strong political headwinds to reach this point. The project sparked opposition from farm groups and landowners because it will cut across private property. Invenergy must either sign voluntary deals with landowners or use its power of eminent domain to build on the property of landowners who don’t agree. In both cases, Invenergy will compensate property owners.
Republican legislators and agricultural groups tried repeatedly to essentially strip Grain Belt’s right of eminent domain, which would have killed the project. But last year, lawmakers passed compromise legislation requiring, in the event of future large transmission lines, greater compensation for landowners and setting a seven-year time limit for companies to build transmission lines after obtaining their easements.
Source: Missouri Independent
#Grain Belt Express transmission line#Invenergy#Missouri#transmission line#USA