Battle over 800-mile Grain Belt Express energy project intensifies in Missouri

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Tuesday slammed Invenergy’s multibillion-dollar Grain Belt Express project. 

The Grain Belt Express electric transmission line that the power generation company is planning to build is meant to supply 5,000 megawatts of additional U.S. energy delivery capacity. 

The transmission line will run through Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, totaling 800 miles, Invenergy said. 

During his appearance on “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Business, Bailey called the Grain Belt Express project a “rip-off for all Missourians” and that it has been “since day 1.” 

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

“None of the promises they made to regulators or the public here in the state of Missouri have been fulfilled, and they don’t have the electrons to push through the power lines,” Bailey said. “Moreover, to the extent we need these new transmission lines, why aren’t they being built over existing footprints rather than harming Missouri agriculture, which is the foundation of our economy here in the state of Missouri?” 

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The Missouri attorney general also said the company is “attempting to rebrand the project as somehow aligned with the president’s goal of unleashing energy” after it was “sold as a way to create renewable energy sources to fulfill the Green New Deal” when it was introduced years ago.

Bailey said the Grain Belt Express “made certain representations about the funding levels that they had already acquired, the number of jobs they would be able to provide and the ease of being able to get these projects to completion, and yet, they’ve had to file 40 lawsuits against family farmers in northern Missouri to take their property away from them,” something he said was a “sign of system failure.”

“And again, none of these promises has come through,” he added, suggesting state regulators should not have approved the transmission line based on what the project presented to them. 

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey called the Grain Belt Express project a “rip-off for all Missourians.” (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images/File)

A spokesperson for the Grain Belt Express pushed back on Bailey’s comments in a statement to FOX Business.

“It’s irresponsible for the AG to use untruths which undermine the President’s efforts to solve the energy emergency – especially when all four states, including Missouri, have approved Grain Belt Express based on their rigorous assessment of its substantial public benefits.”

“Developed by an American company, Grain Belt Express is the largest single private transmission investment in U.S. history,” the spokesperson continued. “The $11b project will deliver billions in energy cost savings and unleash 5,000 megawatts of desperately needed American energy. Without new transmission infrastructure, the U.S. will never achieve energy dominance.” 

Invenergy CEO Michael Polsky told “Mornings with Maria” host Maria Bartiromo this month that constructing the whole Grain Belt Express transmission line “will take about 36 months, three years” with plans to “be in operation sometime in late 2029.” The project will create more than 22,000 new jobs from the building of the line and its generation, according to Invenergy. 

Invenergy CEO Michael Polsky (Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Phase 1 construction on the transmission line focusing on the portion in Kansas and Missouri is expected to start next year. 

Invenergy announced on May 7 it had awarded a combined $1.7 billion to a pair of companies as part of its $11 billion project to construct the Grain Belt Express. 

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“This announcement shows once again how much Missouri can contribute to big infrastructure projects like this transmission line, which will help bring energy savings and reliability to 39 municipal utilities across the state,” Missouri Speaker of the House Jon Patterson said at the time. “It’s great to see Grain Belt Express continuing to invest in Missouri and support our workers, especially after their recent agreements with Hubbell Power Systems in Centralia and the Missouri Public Utility Alliance.” 

The two contract awards were also highlighted by the Trump administration and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, with the latter saying in posts on X that the project will “help meet demand” for more power and “increase reliability for millions of Americans.” 

Overall, Invenergy has estimated the Grain Belt Express will save Americans $52 billion in energy costs over a decade and a half.

When asked by Bartiromo earlier in the month why Invenergy was doing this now, Polsky said it’s “basically an energy emergency and electricity emergency” like President Donald Trump said in an executive order. 

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The U.S. is expected to see demand for electricity increase in the coming years, with McKinsey $ Co. projecting a more than 3% annual increase through 2040.