Invenergy, regulators and farm group outline benefits and protections for Grain Belt Express at Kansas committee hearing

Invenergy executives told the Kansas House Energy and Water Committee on the record that the Grain Belt Express high‑voltage transmission project has current state approvals, that a Department of Energy corridor designation affecting Kansas has been withdrawn, and that the company has negotiated nearly all easements for Phase 1.

The Grain Belt Express project, described by Invenergy as a roughly 5‑gigawatt, 800‑mile high‑voltage direct‑current (HVDC) line connecting multiple regional grids, will move large quantities of power from western Kansas eastward, project officials said. Patrick Witty, Invenergy’s senior vice president for public affairs for transmission, told the committee: “Grain Belt Express has followed all existing laws in Kansas.” He also said, “NITC is no longer happening in Kansas. The Midwest Plains corridor is gone.”

Why it matters: supporters say the line will lower wholesale power costs, increase reliability and create construction and property‑payments in Kansas; critics and landowners have focused on notices, compensation and the possibility of federal siting authority. Committee members heard presentations from Invenergy, staff from the Kansas Corporation Commission and the Kansas Farm Bureau that addressed approvals, landowner protections, and regulatory conditions.

Invenergy’s presentation and claims

Patrick Witty and other Invenergy staff described the project’s scope, timeline and landowner terms. Invenergy said Phase 1 is targeting an early‑2026 construction start and a 2030 in‑service date, with phase‑two work to follow roughly 18 months later. Witty said the company acquired the project in 2020 and has completed about 98% of Phase 1 mainline land acquisition across Kansas and Missouri, with “over 96% of agreements having been entered into on a voluntary basis.” He said Invenergy has paid $12,000,000 in…