The Missouri Supreme Court decided to uphold the decision of a lower court to affirm a certificate of need and necessity for the Grain Belt Express Project, which is a proposed transmission line stretching from the Indiana-Illinois border to southwest Kansas.
The decision effectively ends project opponents’ efforts to halt the transmission line’s construction by overturning its need and necessity certificate for the segment of the project that runs through Missouri from west to east.
The project, which is worth more than $2.3 billion, has run into frequent legal and regulatory hurdles.
The project is being purchased by Invenergy, which bought it from the original developers, Clean Line Energy Partners. The sale is still subject to Missouri and Kansas regulatory approvals.
Also, a court decision in Illinois is still blocking the 200-mile segment of the project in that state. Invenergy said the regulatory and legal issues are thus far not hindering the project’s construction timeline.
The Missouri Public Service Commission voted unanimously to grant Grain Belt Express a certificate of convenience and necessity in March 2019, after a five-year public review process.
The Kansas Corporation Commission unanimously approved Grain Belt Express’ Siting Certificate Extension on September 26, 2019.
