Trump admin cancels $4.9 billion Grain Belt Express loan

KANSAS (KSNT) – President Donald Trump’s administration has canceled a $4.9 billion loan guarantee for the Grain Belt Express, a project intended to build a power transmission line connecting Kansas and Missouri.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced it was cancelling a loan guarantee for the first phase of the Grain Belt Express project on Wednesday, July 23. The loan guarantee was issued by the administration of former President Joe Biden in November 2024.

“After a thorough review of the project’s financials, DOE found that the conditions necessary to issue the guarantee are unlikely to be met and it is not critical for the federal government to have a role in supporting this project,” the DOE wrote in a press release. “To ensure more responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources, DOE has terminated its conditional commitment.”

The DOE said this is part of an ongoing review to go over loans under the Loans Program Office to “move forward with a lower risk tolerance in lending practices”.

The Grain Belt Express would, if completed, run a 578-mile-long 2,500-megawatt transmission line from Ford County, Kansas to Callaway County, Missouri. Parts of that project were already approved. The project is intended to connect three regional grids together: the Southwest Power Pool, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator and Associated Electric Cooperative Incorporated, according to the DOE.

The following actions were taken during the Biden administration in respect to the Grain Belt Express project, according to the KCC:

• 2011 – The Grain Belt Express project, designed to transport energy from Kansas wind and solar farms was approved based on benefits to the state and was granted a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity to build the line.
• 2013 – The route of the Kansas portion of the line was approved, beginning at a converter station in Ford County and continuing on to Missouri.
• 2019 – The Commission approved the acquisition of the project by Invenergy Transmission LLC from Grain Belt Express Clean Line LLC.
• 2023 – The KCC approved a request to allow the line to be built in two phases. Phase 1, which includes Kansas and Missouri, can begin once all regulatory and financing requirements have been met. The order issued did not remove or alter any of the protections for landowners.
• 2024 – The KCC gave conditional approval to a siting plan for two 345 kV transmission lines, known as the AC Collector System, designed to connect wind and solar farms to the Grain Belt Express.

For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.