Your Daily Dose of Climate Hope: December 19, 2024
The Grain Belt Express!
The Energy Department's Loan Programs Office just announced a conditional commitment to help build the Grain Belt Express, a 2,500-megawatt high-voltage power line.
Tell Congress to sustain U.S. investment in high-voltage power lines!
Touch or scan the QR code below to take today’s action in the app and earn trees!
Or take action on the Internet – no app required!
Reasons For Hope
On November 25, 2024, the U.S. Energy Department's Loan Programs Office announced a conditional commitment to loan up to $4.9 billion to build the Grain Belt Express, a 2,500-megawatt high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power line planned to stretch 578 miles from west-central Kansas to east-central Missouri. This project will carry Kansas clean electrons to help lower costs for Missouri consumers, reduce emissions, and strengthen U.S. grid resilience and connectivity!
“Grain Belt Express Phase 1, a project covered by FAST-41, will unlock access to new domestic energy and transmit it to customers across the central United States.
The line’s use of HVDC transmission technology and interregional configuration will promote the reliability and resilience of electric delivery.
The states of Kansas and Missouri have approved Grain Belt Express Phase 1 based in part on the economic development benefits the project will bring to both states.”
-U.S. Department of Energy.
The Grain Belt Express is exactly the kind of project America needs to build a modern grid that can keep up with China’s, accelerate the clean energy transition, and stay resilient through extreme weather events. But as with other LPO loans, it’s up to Congress to determine whether vital funding like this will be sustained in upcoming budget cycles. And in an uncertain political environment, enlisting vocal Congressional champions to defend specific clean energy projects is likely to be increasingly important. Your voice can help show that American voters care about sustaining strategic cleantech investments.