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DOE Cancels $4.9 Billion Loan Guarantee for Grain Belt Express

DOE cited unmet financial conditions in terminating its commitment, prompting Invenergy to pursue private funding alongside potential gas-fired or coal-powered tie-ins.

FILE - A solar farm sits in Mona, Utah, on Aug. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
Wind turbines at the Spearville Wind Farm, on Sept. 23, 2014, in Spearville, Kansas. Under the Grain Belt Express project, high-voltage transmission lines would carry Kansas wind power across Missouri to power grids in the East. The U.S. Department of Energy has canceled a conditional $4.9 billion loan for the 800- mile Grain Belt Express transmission line. (Mark Reinstein/Zuma Press/TNS)
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Sen. Josh Hawley earlier this month. Photo: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Overview

  • The Department of Energy terminated its conditional $4.9 billion loan guarantee for the Grain Belt Express, saying the project’s financial requirements were unlikely to be met.
  • DOE said the cancellation is part of a broader review of all pre-Inauguration Day Loan Programs Office commitments to ensure responsible stewardship of taxpayer funds.
  • The 800-mile transmission line was designed to carry up to 5,000 megawatts of wind and solar power from Kansas through Missouri and Illinois to Indiana.
  • Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Attorney General Andrew Bailey celebrated the move, highlighting more than 40 eminent domain lawsuits and threats to farmland and private property rights.
  • Invenergy plans to seek private financing and explore adding gas-fired or coal-powered connections to keep the project moving forward.