Grain Belt Express LLC, a 780-mile high-voltage superhighway for renewable energy, has received a $4.9 billion conditional loan guarantee from the Biden administration.
The Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office’s loan guarantee is contingent on the completion of an environmental review among other technical, environmental, and financial conditions.
According to E&E News by Politico, the project developer, Invenergy, sought the loan guarantee nearly two years ago to help with financing the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line.
The money will support the first phase of the 2,500 MW project spanning 578 miles from southwestern Kansas to central Missouri. A second phase of the project would run to southwestern Indiana. There, it would have the ability to deliver wind and solar energy generated by Kansas to PJM Interconnection, the country’s largest power market.
The project is supported by green groups, municipal utilities in Missouri, and large energy consumers like the Electricity Consumers Resource Council (ELCON).
“We are pleased to see LPO’s evaluation validate the findings of the Kansas and Missouri Public Utility Commissions, both of which have long-affirmed our project is key to improving grid affordability and reliability across the Heartland,” said Shashank Sane, executive vice president of transmission at Invenergy.
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