Farmers Push Back as U.S. Grain Belt Express Faces Political Heat

A major U.S. renewable energy project, set to be the second-longest transmission line in the country, is facing fierce opposition from farmers and political leaders in Missouri. The Grain Belt Express, an 800-mile transmission line backed by Invenergy and supported by a $4.9 billion loan guarantee from the Biden administration, aims to carry wind and solar energy from Kansas to cities across the Midwest and the East, connecting four regional grids, including the PJM Interconnection. While the White House previously celebrated Invenergy’s $1.7 billion investment in the line as a win for energy security and economic growth, critics argue the project disregards local rights. Missouri Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins voiced strong disapproval, citing Invenergy’s use of eminent domain petitions to seize private farmland. He called the project a corporate move to "profit off the backs of farmers and landowners." The controversy intensified after Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced that Energy Secretary Chris Wright, under Trump’s administration, pledged to halt what Hawley called the "Grain Belt Express green scam." In response, Invenergy sent a letter urging Wright to ignore the “unfounded noise” and support infrastructure essential to national energy goals. The Department of Energy and the White House have not commented publicly. With political tension escalating and a federal investigation now in play, the future of the decade-long project hangs in the balance, caught between clean energy ambitions and rural resistance.