The +/-600-kV, approximately 800-mile, HVDC Grain Belt Express transmission line project has major regulatory approvals in Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana, Beth Conley, Invenergy’s vice president of communications, told T&D World's sister publication, TransmissionHub, on Dec. 18, adding that Grain Belt Express will likely seek approval in Illinois in 2021.
“Grain Belt Express is in full development with ongoing easement acquisition and engineering activities,” Conley said. “Grain Belt has announced a plan to increase the project’s delivery capacity to [Missouri] and [Kansas] to up to 2,500 MW.”
Invenergy, in its Aug. 25 statement, said that as the new owner of Grain Belt, Invenergy Transmission plans to increase the project’s delivery capacity to Kansas and Missouri to up to 2,500 MW of the line’s 4,000-MW capacity. The company noted that previously, 500 MW of the transmission line’s capacity was slated for delivery to Missouri.
Conley said that the HVDC converter station locations approved in Kansas and Missouri — and planned in Illinois — are the:
- Windward converter station in Ford County, Kan.
- Midpoint converter station in Ralls County, Mo.
- Delivery converter station in Clark County, Ill., with a two-mile AC connector line crossing into Sullivan County, Ind.
According to the project’s website, about 380 miles of the line are in Kansas; about 200 miles are in Missouri; and about 200 miles are in Illinois. The website noted that the project is designed to carry clean energy from the Great Plains to the Midwest and other regions.
Conley noted that Invenergy is the sole owner of the project, which is a $2bn infrastructure investment.
