Washington County News: Public encouraged to comment on NIETC transmission line

Washington County citizens who are concerned about the potential of a new transmission line coming through the area are being encouraged to send comments to the Department of Energy about the proposed National Interested Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC). This new transmission corridor would generally overlap the route of the approved Grain Belt Express transmission line through Washington County, entering from the southwest corner and traveling northeast until it leaves the county into Marshall County. The potential use of eminent domain associated with the NIETC has caused great consternation in the area and residents have been looking for ways to push back against the project. The Department of Energy continues to accept comments regarding the NIETC proposal in Kansas.

During a recent discussion with the Washington County News, Sen. Marshall said the comment period is key if Kansans want to stop this effort from going forward and the Great Plains corridor proposal has already faced more opposition than any of the other proposals in the nation. State Representative Lisa Moser agreed and has encouraged citizens to send comments to the email address. If a Kansan would like to offer comments on the proposed transmission line to the Department of Energy, they can email their comments to [email protected]. Personal emails, rather than form letters, are encouraged. In particular, residents should state what concerns they have with, and challenges they see caused by, the NIETC.

U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Dr. Roger Marshall and U.S. Representative Tracey Mann recently introduced legislation to prevent the federal government from using taxpayer dollars to seize private property to be used for electric transmission lines. The potential use of eminent domain in the NIETC project has been the most controversial piece of this topic. The Biden Administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allows the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue permits for transmission lines in a corridor even when state regulators have denied an application. The proposed legislation would:
• Ban federal funds from being used to condemn private property to be used for electric transmission lines, and
• Prohibit FERC from using its authority to overrule a state regulator’s rejection of an electric transmission project.

Invenergy proposes width reduction of corridor Invenergy, the owner of the Grain Belt Express transmission line, which is separate from the NIETC, submitted supplemental comments to the Department of Energy (DOE), proposing a significant reduction in the corridor’s width – from 5 miles to 0.5 miles – a recommendation that would support just one transmission line in the corridor, which would be theirs.

A blog post on the Grain Belt Express website reviews their proposal for the width reduction: Invenergy calls for US Department of Energy to significantly narrow proposed Midwest-Plains NIETC corridor As America’s energy needs increase, one of the most critical challenges is ensuring more affordable and reliable transmission of electricity from areas of available supply to regions with high demand. Based on findings from the National Transmission Needs Study, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in May 2024 announced ten preliminary proposed National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) to serve this need.

The preliminary proposed Midwest-Plains corridor encompasses the existing route of Invenergy’s Grain Belt Express transmission project, which connects four states—Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana—across nearly 800 miles. Grain Belt Express will deliver approximately four nuclear power plants worth of new energy supply and benefits including energy ratepayer savings, grid reliability and resilience, local economic development, access to diversified and cleaner energy sources, and strengthened national security. Because of overlap between the preliminary proposed Midwest-Plains NIETC corridor and Invenergy’s Grain Belt Express transmission project, Invenergy is actively engaged with stakeholders at all levels and is intently listening to the opinions and concerns of those involved, most importantly the residents impacted by this project. That’s why today Invenergy submitted supplemental comments to DOE outlining the following:

• Invenergy proposes significantly narrowing the Midwest-Plains corridor from the initially proposed 5-mile width to 0.5 miles.

• This recommendation is based on requirements for supporting a single transmission project in the corridor, informed by Grain Belt Express development experience. Invenergy has no intention of developing future interregional transmission projects parallelling Grain Belt Express within the Midwest-Plains corridor and does not believe this would be feasible for other developers to attempt.
• A single project meeting the corridor’s transmission needs will minimize impacts from infrastructure development. Grain Belt Express is capable of this as the highest-capacity power line in the United States at 5,000 megawatts.
• The need for the Midwest-Plains corridor continues to be great—it would facilitate interregional transmission between major U.S. grid regions that serve approximately 40% of U.S. households and over 25% of U.S. Department of Defense installations. This includes the MISO region that serves large parts of Missouri and Illinois and has been declared a “high risk area” of the U.S. grid.
• The need for the corridor also continues to grow. New data from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) are forecasting energy deficiencies in extreme weather conditions for the SPP grid region that serves Kansas.
• Invenergy’s primary interest in securing NIETC designation for the Midwest-Plains corridor is for Grain Belt Express to be able to access additional federal financing options that support competitive rates for energy end users.
• Invenergy has demonstrated the ability to successfully work with landowners to acquire easements. Over 97% of parcels for the Grain Belt Express Phase 1 HVDC line are already acquired, the vast majority through voluntarily signed agreements. Grain Belt Express has secured all required state approvals and, so long as those approvals remain in place, will not seek federal siting authority (which does not automatically come with a NIETC designation). In the event the integrity of any existing state approvals are threatened, Grain Belt Express intends to pursue every available avenue at the state level to reinstate or secure approval prior to seeking federal siting authority.
• To help further address stakeholder concerns, Invenergy is also encouraging DOE to consider additional opportunities for stakeholder involvement and engagement.

Invenergy is excited and motivated to see Grain Belt Express come online and serve the American people in delivering reliable, affordable energy across the country. It is a solution to one of the top challenges worrying community, business, and economic development leaders across the Midwest: increasing energy bills. Invenergy is investing to help the region recapture the traditional energy cost advantage that powers prosperity.

Beyond delivering billions of dollars in energy cost savings, Grain Belt Express will generate billions more in economic activity regionally, create thousands of jobs and provide millions of dollars in new, local tax revenue for communities along the route. Reducing the approved width of the corridor will balance the needs of states to access additional power while also addressing the concerns and uncertainty stakeholders along the path of the project are expressing and ultimately build greater confidence and support for both Grain Belt Express and the NIETC program more broadly.