Reports indicate Invenergy has started a renewed push to finish construction of its 800-mile transmission line to carry wind-powered electricity from southwest Kansas through Missouri and Illinois to the Indiana border.
Word of the latest effort was reported by RTO Insider as it stated that Invenergy had provided an update on its efforts to renew construction of the more than $2 billion Grain Belt Express transmission line project.
The company had been silent in the months after it won an appeals court decision in Missouri where landowners challenged Invenergy Transmission LLC’s proposed acquisition of the Express line.
In the ruling, the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District turned down the appeal of landowners against Missouri Public Service Commission’s decision to approve the sale. The ruling allowed Invenergy to make the purchase from Clean Line Energy Partners.
A month after the ruling, Invenergy announced plans to increase local clean energy access and accelerate billions of dollars in economic investment in Kansas and Missouri. One analysis by PA Consulting Group estimated that the increased local delivery would allow Grain Belt to enable nearly $7 billion in electricity cost savings to consumers in the two states by 2045.