Invenergy’s 5GW Grain Belt power line wins last state approval
Invenergy’s 5GW Grain Belt power line wins last state approval | Windpower Monthly
Invenergy’s $7 billion Grain Belt Express transmission line has secured the last of its state approvals.
The 1,287km line will transport 5GW of wind energy from Kansas to Missouri and Illinois and will then connect to east coast transmission.
The transmission line has now acquired 95% of easements – the right of one landowner to use adjacent land for their benefit – for the first phase of the main line, between south-west Kansas and north-east Missouri.
The Missouri Public Service Commission approved the 5GW Grain Belt Express on 12 October after Invenergy agreed to bring more power to Missouri. There had been complaints that the line did not benefit Missouri enough although it crossed its territory.
Grain Belt Express will now transport 2.5GW of power to Missouri, whereas before it would have been 500MW.
Invenergy stated that Grain Belt Express will deliver more than $11 billion in energy cost savings to Kansas, Missouri and Illinois over 15 years and enhance reliability for millions of homes and businesses in the midwest and other regions.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: electricity
Electricity is a secondary energy source: it is generated through the conversion of primary energy sources such as natural gas, coal, solar, hydropower, and wind. Electricity’s versatility is not cost-free: a substantial amount of energy is lost in its generation and the cost of storage is high, compared with fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. The economics of battery technology hold the key to expanded use of renewable sources to generate electricity.