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2w ago

Energy Department Cancels Grain Belt Express $4.9 Billion Loan Guarantee

Citing financial risks, the administration has launched an audit of all pre-Inauguration Day loan commitments

FILE - A solar farm sits in Mona, Utah, on Aug. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
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Sen. Josh Hawley earlier this month. Photo: Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Overview

  • The Department of Energy under Secretary Chris Wright terminated its conditional $4.9 billion guarantee for Invenergy’s Grain Belt Express, calling the loan “rushed” and unlikely to meet financial requirements.
  • The 800-mile transmission line was designed to deliver up to 5,000 MW of wind and solar power from Kansas through Missouri and Illinois to Indiana, with developers forecasting 4,000 jobs and $52 billion in consumer savings over 15 years.
  • DOE announced a sweeping review of every closed loan and conditional commitment by its Loan Programs Office before President Trump’s inauguration to ensure prudent use of taxpayer funds.
  • Invenergy indicated it may seek private financing as it continues to face dozens of eminent domain lawsuits brought by landowners along the proposed route.
  • Senator Josh Hawley and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey have pledged ongoing legal challenges, condemning the project as a boondoggle and an elitist land grab.