JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – One of the nation’s largest wind energy projects is
facing a new obstacle from Missouri legislation that could prevent the
high-voltage power line from being strung across the property of unwilling
landowners.
A Missouri House panel advanced legislation Wednesday that would prohibit the
use of eminent domain to acquire easements for the Grain Belt Express project.
The proposed 750-mile (1,255 kilometers) transmission line would carry wind
power from Kansas across Missouri and Illinois into Indiana, where it would hook
into a grid serving eastern states.
The $2.3 billion project has been repeatedly delayed by regulatory hurdles and
court battles.
But it won a significant victory in March when Missouri’s utility regulatory
commission deemed it a public utility, allowing it to pursue condemnation cases
against landowners who refuse to sell easements.
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