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It’s been a bumpy ride for the developers of the $11 billion Grain Belt Express transmission line to carry wind-powered electricity from southwest Kansas and across Missouri and Illinois to Indiana. But they made another development possible this month.
After losing a $5 billion Department of Energy loan last year, the firm behind the 800-mile line signed an agreement this past week with the Southwest Power Pool grid, the same one which controls electricity in Oklahoma and 13 other states.
The agreement defined technical terms for connecting the line to the SPP which also controls the regional grid in Kansas. It will allow the project to move the wind energy from Kansas through the two other states and to Indiana.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission accepted the agreement for filing, formally calling it Order in ER26-1106. Grain Belt Express is being developed by Chicago-based Invenergy.
The agreement was between Grain Belt Express LLC and ITC Great Plains, LLC and the SPP. The filing with FERC indicated there were no protests or “adverse comments” about the agreement.
“This action does not constitute approval of any service, rate, charge, classification, or any rule, regulation, contract, or practice affecting such rate or service provided for in the filed document(s); nor shall such action be deemed as recognition of any claimed contractual right or obligation affecting or relating to such service or rate; and such action is without prejudice to any findings or orders which have been or may hereafter be made
by the Commission in any proceeding now pending or hereafter instituted by or against the applicant(s),” stated the filing.
The agreement with the SPP covers the physical connection of the facilities and does not provide any transmission services. In other words, the Grain Belt Express will have to arrange the transmission services separately. The deal also ensures the interconnection meets the Southwest Power Pool’s technical standards.
Grain Belt Express won an Illinois Supreme Court victory in January when the court, in a 6-0 ruling, said the company had met its obligation under the state’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act to show it could finance the project “without significant adverse financial consequences for the utility or its customers.” The court also rejected a challenge by a state farmers’ organization and others.
In May of last year, Invenergy made almost $1.7 billion in contractor awards to engineering and infrastructure services companies Quanta Services and Kiewit Energy Group. But two months later, the U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday announced it has terminated its $4.9 billion conditional loan commitment for the 800-mile Grain Belt Express Phase 1 transmission project.
“After a thorough review of the project’s financials, DOE found that the conditions necessary to issue the guarantee are unlikely to be met and it is not critical for the federal government to have a role in supporting this project,” the agency said in a statement.
Despite the loss of the major loan, Invenergy said it still intended to begin construction in 2026 on the part of the line connecting Kansas and Missouri. Invenergy contends the transmission line will provide $52 billion in energy cost savings to Americans over 15 years.