Grain Belt Express Announces Expansion, Increases Energy Savings and Local Delivery
July 2022Grain Belt Express Announces Expansion, Increases Energy Savings and Local Delivery
Responding to Regional Market Demand and State Leaders’ Calls,
Project Changes Will Deliver More Power and Energy Savings to Missouri, Benefitting Consumers Throughout Midwest
SAINT LOUIS, MO (July 11, 2022) – Invenergy Transmission, the company developing the Grain Belt Express transmission line project, announced a series of planned project enhancements today in response to strong regional demand for access to affordable, reliable power and state officials’ calls for more power from the line to be delivered locally. These changes include a 25 percent expansion of the total line capacity, from the original design of 4,000 megawatts increasing to 5,000 megawatts, as well as a five-fold increase in the line’s mid-point delivery capacity, enabling 50 percent of power to be delivered via the project’s Missouri converter station to be sized at 2,500 megawatts.
The project expansion and additional local delivery will mean $7.5 billion of energy and capacity cost savings over 15 years for consumers in Missouri and Illinois, states that are part of regional grids directly served by the project. Consumers in Kansas will see an additional $1 billion of savings due the interconnected nature of the transmission grid. Savings are according to an analysis by PA Consulting Group (“PA”), a leading global firm of energy and utility industry experts.
“As families and businesses face rising costs and power grid operators sound the alarm about regional reliability challenges, Invenergy Transmission is proud to be delivering solutions. By increasing total power delivery for the Grain Belt Express and ensuring an equal share is available locally, this state-of-the-art transmission infrastructure project will save families and businesses billions of dollars in electric costs each year, protect our communities by improving reliability, and power prosperity across the Midwest well into the future,” said Shashank Sane, executive vice president and head of transmission at Invenergy.
To meet the increased demand for local power delivery, enhancements to the Grain Belt Express project outlined today by Invenergy Transmission will:
- Increase overall investment in the project to approximately $7 billion
- Increase the overall transmission capacity of the line by 25 percent to 5,000 megawatts.
Once built, the project will provide the equivalent of roughly four new nuclear power
plants in capacity to meet regional energy supply and reliability needs.
- Increase by fivefold the delivery capacity to Missouri, with an increase in the sizing of the
line’s mid-point delivery converter station from 500 megawatts to 2,500 megawatts.
- Increase delivery capacity to MISO—maintaining the ability to deliver to 39 communities across Missouri—and establish a new Missouri interconnection, enhancing savings and
reliability for consumers in rural areas, small towns and cities throughout Missouri,
Illinois, and other states.
- Pursue a Phase I & II approach to the project that will enable construction to proceed sooner on Phase I, from Kansas to the Missouri interconnection point, delivering project benefits to energy consumers sooner.
Increasing power delivery to Missouri will require limited changes to the Grain Belt Express transmission line project, also announced today. These include relocation of the line’s mid-point converter station from Ralls County to Monroe County, Missouri, as well as the addition of a new, approximately 40-mile transmission delivery line, known as the Grain Belt Express Tiger Connector. These changes are necessary to reach the existing McCredie substation, where Missouri’s power grid is robust enough to handle large injections of power.
Grain Belt Express intends to seek all required regulatory approvals related to facility changes announced today. For the HVDC portion of the line, no changes to the route, right-of-way, or facility design are anticipated related to today’s announcement, and project development along the HVDC route will continue consistent with existing state regulatory approvals, as appropriate. Later in July, Grain Belt Express will hold public open house meetings to introduce the Tiger Connector route alternatives and to engage landowners and seek their input. Grain Belt Express is committed to building transmission infrastructure the right way–treating landowners with respect and fairness.
The changes announced today will bring the economic and energy benefits of Grain Belt Express to homes and businesses throughout Missouri, Illinois, and across the Midwest and meet critical needs for energy savings, reliability, and supply diversity.
About Invenergy Transmission
Invenergy Transmission is an affiliate of Invenergy. Invenergy and its affiliated companies develop, own, and operate large-scale renewable and other clean energy generation and storage facilities in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Invenergy’s home office is located in Chicago, and it has regional development offices in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Spain, Japan, Poland, and Scotland.
Invenergy and its affiliated companies have successfully developed more than 30,000 megawatts of projects that are in operation, construction, or contracted, including wind, solar, transmission infrastructure and natural gas power generation and advanced energy storage projects. Learn about Invenergy at Invenergy.com.
About Grain Belt Express
Grain Belt Express is a $7 billion electric transmission infrastructure project connecting four states—Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana—across 800 miles. An Invenergy Transmission project, Grain Belt Express will carry more affordable, reliable power to millions of homes and businesses across the Midwest and other regions, delivering 100% domestic, clean electricity while powering economic opportunity and energy security.
Contact Invenergy Transmission: Dia Kuykendall, [email protected]