Dive Brief:
- The Missouri Public Service Commission has rejected Clean Line Energy Partners' plan to construct a transmission system bringing wind energy from Kansas to the Show Me State, and then on to demand centers in the east.
- It is the second denial by the commission. In 2015, the PSC concluded Missouri consumers did not need the additional energy, though the company could have successfully constructed the line.
- A statement from Clean Line President Michael Skelly did not indicate if the company would appeal the decision. The company has already obtained regulatory approvals in Kansas, Illinois and Indiana.
Dive Insight:
Missouri is the final authorization needed for Clean Line to move ahead with the project, but the company has been stuck at the state's Public Service Commission for two years. According to the Associated Press, regulators denied the project this week because the company had failed to get pre-approval from counties that would be impacted.
Skelly, in a statement on Twitter, said the decision means "investors contemplating new infrastructure projects should not come to Missouri." He went on to say the company hopes Missouri will work to remove barriers to constructing critical infrastructure projects.
The 780-mile Grain Belt Express is designed to be a direct current line running from Kansas to Indiana to deliver renewable energy from western sources to eastern load centers. The project would cost an estimated $2 billion to construct, and would be privately financed.
Earlier this month, Clean Line urged regulators to approve the project, which it said "would be Missouri’s largest clean energy infrastructure project and would save Missouri municipal ratepayers more than $10 million annually."
