Invenergy expands Grain Belt Express transmission line project to 5 GW

Invenergy Transmission, an affiliate of Chicago-based Invenergy LLC, will increase the overall power transmission capacity of the proposed Grain Belt Express Clean Line to enable the delivery of 5 GW of wind power.

The 25% expansion of the project’s original capacity of 4 GW will be carried out to meet strong demand for locally-sourced electricity, the project owner said on Monday as it announced certain enhancements to increase supplies to Missouri. The new plan brings the overall investment in the project up to USD 7 billion (EUR 6.9bn).

The 800-mile (1,287-km) high-voltage overhead power line is intended to carry out electricity from Kansas to states in the eastern US. Its route will stretch from Kansas across Missouri and Illinois to the Indiana border.

Under the revised proposal, the line’s mid-point delivery converter station will be upscaled to 2.5 GW from the current 500 MW, so as to achieve a fivefold increase in the delivery capacity to Missouri. The upgrade will not require changes in the HVDC portion of the line and will only involve the relocation of the line’s mid-point converter station and the construction of a new 40-mile transmission delivery line.

In 2020, Invenergy Transmission became the full and sole owner of Grain Belt after acquiring the project from Clean Line Energy Partners. The company said it intends to take a phased approach in the construction, starting with Kansas and Missouri.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.990)

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