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KCC: regulatory process for ‘Grain Belt Express’ Transmission line planned to run through Kansas & Missouri continues

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - On the heels of an announcement to remove the Midwest Plains proposed transmission line from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) project, the Grain Belt Express transmission line previously approved by the Kansas Corporation Commission in 2011 will continue.

On Monday, Dec. 16, the DOE declared ten proposed NIETC projects had been cut down to only three. None of these three projects will run through Kansas.

However, the Kansas Corporation Commission revealed that even though the route of the Grain Belt Express project was within the borders of one of the proposed DOE corridors, its previously approved status has not changed. Without a Federal Corridor designation, the KCC says the state’s jurisdiction and the approval processes for the Grain Belt Express remain intact.

The KCC also says the DOE’s previous decision does not reverse the previously awarded $4.9 billion conditional loan guarantee for the Grain Belt Express project announced on Nov. 25.

Here is an outline of actions the KCC has taken regarding the line:

• 2011 – The Grain Belt Express project, designed to transport energy from Kansas wind and solar farms, was approved and a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) was granted.
• 2013 – The route of the Kansas portion of the line was approved, beginning at a converter station in Ford County and continuing to Missouri.
• 2019 – The Commission approved the acquisition of the project by Invenergy Transmission LLC from Grain Belt Express Clean Line LLC.
• 2023 – The KCC approved a request to allow the line to be built in two phases. Phase 1, which includes Kansas and Missouri, can begin once all regulatory and financing requirements have been obtained for that portion of the project.
  • The KCC states the order issued did not remove or alter any of the protections for landowners that were required by the Commission when it approved the acquisition of the project by Invenergy in 2019.
• 2024 – The KCC gave conditional approval to a siting plan for two 345 kV transmission lines, known as the AC Collector System, designed to connect wind and solar farms to the Grain Belt Express.

• 2011 – The Grain Belt Express project, designed to transport energy from Kansas wind and solar farms, was approved and a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) was granted.
• 2013 – The route of the Kansas portion of the line was approved, beginning at a converter station in Ford County and continuing to Missouri.
• 2019 – The Commission approved the acquisition of the project by Invenergy Transmission LLC from Grain Belt Express Clean Line LLC.
• 2023 – The KCC approved a request to allow the line to be built in two phases. Phase 1, which includes Kansas and Missouri, can begin once all regulatory and financing requirements have been obtained for that portion of the project.
  • The KCC states the order issued did not remove or alter any of the protections for landowners that were required by the Commission when it approved the acquisition of the project by Invenergy in 2019.

• The KCC states the order issued did not remove or alter any of the protections for landowners that were required by the Commission when it approved the acquisition of the project by Invenergy in 2019.

• The KCC states the order issued did not remove or alter any of the protections for landowners that were required by the Commission when it approved the acquisition of the project by Invenergy in 2019.
• 2024 – The KCC gave conditional approval to a siting plan for two 345 kV transmission lines, known as the AC Collector System, designed to connect wind and solar farms to the Grain Belt Express.

A final order of the siting plan for the AC Collector System is expected to be issued in 2025.

More details on the Grain Belt Express project can be found here.

Copyright 2024 WIBW. All rights reserved.

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