Missouri Appellate Court Supports Wind Renewable Transmission Project

Serving private clients in Missouri and beyond, attorney Douglas Healy also holds responsibilities as general counsel with the Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission. Attorney Douglas Healy drew on past experience as advisor with the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) in a recent case on behalf of Invenergy.

The Chicago-headquartered company has invested in the Grain Belt Express Clean Line, a proposed power-line project that will connect western Kansas wind energy producers with electricity consumers and utilities across the Midwest. The project involves building transmission capacity necessary to convey power from the wind turbines to utilities’ energy facilities.

The project received a go-ahead from the PSC in early 2019, both for consumer electricity cost savings expected and the public benefits of switching to renewable energy sources where feasible. Appealing the ruling and opposing the use of eminent domain in running transmission lines through farmland was the Missouri Landowners Alliance.

The Missouri Court of Appeals Eastern District decision reinforced the PSC’s ruling and the use of a “certificate of convenience and necessity” in granting eminent domain rights to project developers.