Grain Belt Express DOE Loan Canceled

LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- The Trump administration canceled a key loan guarantee for the Grain Belt Express project that was set to launch construction this year, transmitting power produced at a windmill farm southeast of Dodge City, Kansas, all the way into southern Indiana.

Farmers and other landowners across Missouri, Kansas and Illinois had been battling project developer Invenergy's acquisition of private lands to build an 800-mile line that would deliver about 5,000 megawatts of power.

The company had struck deals with hundreds of farmers across those states or acquired most of the needed 1,700 parcels through eminent domain.

The U.S. Department of Energy conditional loan guarantee granted by the Biden administration in November 2024 would have provided up to $4.9 billion in taxpayer funds.

"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 said in a news release on Wednesday.

"To ensure more responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources, DOE has terminated its conditional commitment. DOE is conducting a review of every applicant and borrower -- including the nearly $100 billion in closed loans and conditional commitments LPO made between Election Day 2024 to Inauguration Day 2025 -- to ensure every single taxpayer dollar is being used to advance the best interest of the American people."

The DOE's decision comes just 12 days after Grain Belt Express Vice President Jim Shield asked U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright to affirm the agency's commitment to the loan guarantee.

In a letter to Wright on July 11, 2025, Shield asked him to put "unfounded noise aside" about the future of the project and "affirm a commitment" to the project.

"Unfortunately, the Grain Belt Express has been the target of egregious politically motivated lawfare," Shield said in the letter.

"Sen. (Josh) Hawley (R-Mo.) and (Missouri Attorney General Andrew) Bailey have pursued an unwarranted and unhinged crusade against the Grain Belt Express through media attacks and letters to you seeking rescission of the Grain Belt Express' conditionally approved DOE loan guarantee, as well as AG Bailey's own separate consumer protection investigation and request to the Missouri Public Service Commission to reopen its Grain Belt approval."

Shield said both Hawley and Bailey were making "false accusations" in saying that the Grain Belt Express would cost America billions instead of saving billions. Shield said the statements were either "mistaken" or are "misleading at best."

Just ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Chariton County, Missouri, farmer Charles Henke shared with DTN his concerns about the project that would directly affect plans to build a house on property.

Henke lost a court battle in 2023 in trying to prevent the company from taking land and, if not, at least securing just compensation.

Though he said he likely received more money from Invenergy than most farmers after the condemnation process played out, "In the end, it's not really about the money -- it's about maintaining the freedom to use land how you see fit." Landowners who took deals from the company typically made pennies on the dollar for each acre, Henke said.

Once a transmission line is built, each individual tower up to as high as 150 feet will render chunks of land virtually useless and dangerous for families who live nearby, Henke told DTN.

Henke doesn't want his family living near high-voltage towers for fear of causing health problems.

Read more on DTN:

"Farmer's Field of Dreams a Nightmare," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com

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