By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A Grain Belt Express spokesman accuses Attorney General Attorney, Andrew Bailey, of playing politics with his latest legal maneuver to cancel the green energy transmission line.
Bailey is demanding documents from Invenergy, the utility behind the project, claiming concerns have arisen about whether Invenergy misled the Missouri Public Service Commission. Bailey also is asking the PSC to reconsider its approval of Grain Belt.
“We should be building energy infrastructure in America, but the Missouri Attorney General is instead playing politics with U.S. power,” said project spokesperson, Martin Grego, in a written statement released by Grain Belt. “His last-ditch and obviously politically-driven attempt to delay construction of a critical American power project comes at a time when our country is facing a national energy emergency—declared by the Administration. Electricity demand is rising across the country, and we urgently need transmission infrastructure to deliver power. Projects like Grain Belt Express are the answer to providing all forms of affordable and reliable electricity to U.S. consumers.”
Grain Belt, in a statement sent to KFEQ/St. Joseph Post, said it is reviewing the Investigative Demand, and project development is continuing. While Grain Belt has pending eminent domain actions against around 50 landowners, the utility says it has reached 1,500 agreements with landowners totaling $86 million.
Utilities officials noted that Grain Belt Express has been approved by all four states, including Missouri. It claims the transmission line could save Missouri customers as much as $18 billion.
In a separate action, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley has written Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, asking him to cancel the $4.9 billion loan that Invenergy secured during the Biden Administration.
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