Grain Belt Express Files for Final State Approval in Illinois
July 2022Grain Belt Express Files for Final State Approval in Illinois
Updated economic impact figures, new estimates of energy cost savings, and final proposed routes are provided in Illinois Commerce Commission application.
SPRINGFIELD, IL (July 27, 2022) – Grain Belt Express, an Invenergy Transmission project, filed this week for approval to construct, operate and maintain the Grain Belt Express transmission line project and associated facilities in Illinois with the Illinois Commerce Commission. The filing is the final initial state siting permit approval needed for the project, which has already been approved by Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana.
The filing shows Illinois consumers will benefit from $3.7 billion in expected energy cost savings from Grain Belt Express. The project will deliver billions more in energy and capacity cost savings over 15 years for route state consumers.
“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 here in our home state of Illinois. This state-of-the-art transmission infrastructure project will save Illinois 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.
In addition to $3.7 billion in energy cost savings, the project will deliver additional economic benefits for Illinois including:
• $942 million in new economic activity during construction
• $565 million in wages during construction
• 5,000 jobs supported during construction – 1,667 jobs per year for 3 years
• $67.8 million in new local revenue for communities and landowners along the route
Earlier this month, Invenergy Transmission announced a series of planned project enhancements in response to strong regional demand for access to affordable, reliable power. 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. The increase in power delivery enables the project to provide greater energy cost savings to Illinois consumers. This recently announced expansion will not change the footprint or other details of the project for Illinois landowners.
The public and interested landowners can stay up to date on the project by visiting www.GrainBeltExpress.com and the filing with the Illinois Commerce Commission filing can be accessed at Docket No. 22-0499.
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]