Grain Belt Express

An energy connection for America’s heartland

Grain Belt Express will carry an abundant harvest of low-cost homegrown clean energy from the Great Plains to millions of Americans in the Midwest and other regions.

Grain Belt Express

Grain Belt Express is an approximately 800-mile high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric transmission line. When built, it will deliver up to 4,000 megawatts of low-cost, homegrown clean energy from western Kansas, tapping into one of America’s strongest renewable energy resources.

Grain Belt Express will play a major role in economic recovery in the Midwest by supporting thousands of jobs during construction, adding broadband infrastructure along the line to support rural high-speed internet access, investing tens of millions of dollars annually across local communities, and delivering billions of dollars in savings for energy customers.

Overview

1,600,000 homes powered annually

$2,000,000,000 in infrastructure investment

Challenge

The U.S. has some of the best renewable resources in the world, but they are often stranded in locations far from communities with significant demand for electricity.
As demand for clean energy grows, the U.S. electric transmission grid must expand to accommodate this growth and to ensure that the benefits that come along with new energy projects reach as many Americans as possible.

Solution

Similar to the trains that carry grain harvested in the Midwest to market, Grain Belt Express will move energy from where it is produced to markets that have a strong demand for low-cost, clean power.
The sustainable energy produced in western Kansas will be transported using HVDC technology. HVDC is the preferred technology for moving large amounts of power over long distances.

Benefits

Grain Belt Express is a tremendous economic development opportunity that will create thousands of jobs, reduce pollutants by millions of tons, and add low-cost power to utility portfolios, leading to consumer benefits.