The Energy Department on Wednesday announced it would not be moving forward with a $4.9 billion loan for the Grain Belt Express, a 578-mile electric transmission infrastructure project intended to move wind and solar power across the Midwest.
The department terminated a conditional loan commitment to the project that was made by the Biden administration last November. An agency press release says that "the conditions necessary to issue the guarantee are unlikely to be met and it is not critical for the federal government to have a role in supporting this project.”
"To ensure more responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources, DOE has terminated its conditional commitment,” the release says.
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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, had previously sent a letter reques the loan’s cancellation in June, pointing to some frustrations expressed by farmers over potentially losing land to the project, which would have run from Ford County, Kansas, to Callaway County, Missouri.
A spokesperson for Invenergy, the company behind the project, has not yet responded to a request for comment.
In a statement, Missouri Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins applauded the decision, saying it "demonstrates a long-overdue recognition of the voices of rural communities who have consistently and clearly expressed their deep concerns about the project’s impact on their land, livelihoods, and private property rights."
"The department’s action reflects a more just and thoughtful approach to energy infrastructure — one that does not sacrifice rural America in the name of progress, but instead seeks solutions that are sustainable, respectful, and do not impede on the private property rights of landowners," Hawkins said.
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