09/26/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/26/2024 10:10
TOPEKA - The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) has given approval with conditions 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. One line is planned to run 46 miles through parts of Ford, Meade, and Gray Counties (the "Meade-Dodge City Line") and the other approximately 16 miles through parts of Ford County (the "Bucklin-Dodge City Line").
Conditions imposed by today's order require Grain Belt to file a routing analysis comparing the company's originally proposed route of the Meade-Dodge City line to an alternate route, referred to as Boyd Alternative 2. The two routes only differ within one specifically-defined five-mile area. Upon completion of the study, which is due no later than January 15, 2025, the Commission will schedule a second public hearing and comment period to give affected landowners an opportunity to comment on both routes under consideration. The first public hearing on the company's originally proposed route was held on July 10.
Other conditions contained in today's order include the following:
The AC Collector System was approved by the Commission in 2011 as part of the Grain Belt Express project. The route of the Grain Belt Express line was approved in 2013. An application requesting approval to determine the route of the AC Collector System was filed on May 31 of this year.
Today's order and maps showing the route of the lines, plus the area of further study, can be viewed here.