curiousKC | Any Questions About a Big Renewable Energy Project Coming to the Midwest?

Since 2010, the Grain Belt Express has sought permits and land access rights to construct an 800-mile, high-voltage transmission line across Kansas, Missouri and Illinois to transport renewable wind energy to these regions. 

The line would run from Dodge City, Kansas, through the northern regions of the Sunflower State, entering Missouri at St. Joseph and traversing through the north-central parts of the state before entering Illinois just south of Hannibal, Missouri. 

Invenergy, a privately owned company, is building and will own the project. It has achieved public utility status in Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. This will mean residents of these states can benefit from low-cost renewable energy, but it also means the company has the right to assemble property easements via eminent domain. 

The biggest complaints against the project come from landowners who do not want their land used by private companies, and a fear that locals would not benefit from the energy as it is transferred to big cities. 

Construction on the project has yet to begin as landowners and legislators in Missouri continue to oppose eminent domain.

If you’re an expert, advocate or invested citizen, now is your chance to have your voice heard. Submit your questions below for our team to sift through. Once we’ve read your queries, you can expect an in-depth report and answers to your questions. The deadline for submissions is April 8.

Send tips to Cami Koons, ckoons@flatlandkc.local, our rural affairs reporter in cooperation with Report for America. Koons is the lead reporter on our story.  

Cami Koons covers rural affairs for Kansas City PBS in cooperation with Report for America. The work of our Report for America corps members is made possible, in part, through the generous support of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.