Candace BarnetteThe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the cancellation of a conditional loan agreement for the Grain Belt Express Phase One project.
The project, which was slated for a $4.9 billion loan, would create a high-voltage power line from Kansas to Missouri. The Loan Programs Office (LPO) withdrew the guarantee after determining that the project was unlikely to meet the financial requirements needed to secure the loan.
The LPO originally issued the conditional loan agreement in November 2024. The intent was to bolster grid reliability and efficiency, and connect American-produced energy to underserved regions, according to project officials. After reviewing the project financials, the DOE found it was unlikely to meet the conditions of the loan agreement. Officials also indicated that the project did not align with current federal priorities, given its focus on connecting renewable wind and solar power sources to the grid.
The Grain Belt Express is an $11 billion high-voltage direct current transmission line spanning 800 miles across four states: Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. The project is designed to carry 5,000 megawatts of electricity from wind and solar resources in Kansas to population centers in the Midwest and beyond. Invenergy Transmission LLC owns the project through its subsidiary, Grain Belt Express LLC.
Despite the federal loan cancellation, Invenergy has indicated the project will move forward using private financing. In May, the company awarded $1.7 billion in construction contracts to Quanta Services and Kiewit Energy Group. While the loss of the federal loans could make financing more expensive and challenging to secure, project officials are pushing forward and have power delivery contracts with 39 municipal utilities in Missouri.
The transmission line will be built in two phases, each delivering 2,500 megawatts of capacity. Phase one will connect Kansas energy resources to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator and Associated Electric Cooperative Incorporated grid regions. Phase two will extend delivery to the PJM Interconnection grid region, which serves parts of the eastern U.S.
Construction on Phase one, originally slated to begin in 2025, is now expected to begin in 2026 with operations starting in late 2029. The project has secured supply chain agreements with Siemens Energy for the high-voltage direct current technology and Prysmian North America for transmission conductor cables. Grain Belt Express has obtained all necessary state regulatory approvals and acquired 95% of the easements needed for the Phase one route between southwest Kansas and northeast Missouri.
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