(Missourinet) – Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley is blasting the Biden Administration over its recent announcement to designate a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor across the state. The corridor would parallel and possibly overlay parts of the Grain Belt Express, the power line that’s set to be built between Kansas and western Indiana. Hawley calls the move a “land grab” that will hurt Missouri farmers:
“The Department of Energy has come in and said, ‘Missouri is going to be a national transmission corridor for green energy.’ What does that mean? It just means that now the federal government’s coming in saying, ‘You know what, we might just take a bunch of your land and build the wires for green energy all over Missouri’s land, farmer’s land, rural folks who live out in the country, whether or not you consent to it.’”
Hawley says the energy department’s transmission corridor designation could undo already-approved agreements to compensate Missouri property owners for any land seized for the power line. The federal agency’s website says the designation will unlock “valuable federal financing and permitting tools” that would spur construction and limit harm to consumers.
