Company wants OK for 62-mile transmission line route in western Kansas

DODGE CITY, Kan. (KSNW) — A company that wants to transmit solar and wind energy from Kansas to other places in the Midwest is asking Kansas regulators for permission regarding the route of 62 miles of transmission lines in western Kansas.

Grain Belt LLC wants to site two 345-kilovolt transmission lines. One line will run from Meade to Dodge City, and the other will run from Bucklin to Dodge City. The counties affected are Ford, Meade, and Gray. Click here for the map .

The Kansas Corporation Commission already approved the Alternating Current (AC) Collector System in 2011 as part of the Grain Belt Express project . In 2013, the route of the Grain Belt Express line was approved.

This new request is for approval to determine the route of the AC Collector System. The KCC will issue its decision by Sept. 30.

First, the KCC wants public feedback. It is holding an open house and public hearing on Wednesday, July 10, at Dodge City High School, 2201 Ross Boulevard. Attendees should use the activity parking entrance.

The open house will begin at 3 p.m. with KCC and Invenergy staff available to answer landowner questions. The public hearing will begin at 6 p.m. People will have the opportunity to make comments before the Commission pertaining to the requested route of the lines.

To read the documents already filed in the case, click here .

For those unable to attend the July 10 hearing in Dodge City, a virtual option through Zoom is available to allow remote participants to comment and ask questions during the hearing. Zoom participants must register on the KCC’s website by noon on July 9. The hearings will also be broadcast live on the KCC’s YouTube channel . You do not have to register to watch the YouTube channel.

The KCC is accepting written comments through 5 p.m. on July 15. Comments may be submitted on the KCC’s website , by mail to the KCC Office at 1500 SW Arrowhead Rd, Topeka, KS 66604-4027 or by calling the KCC’s Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at 785-271-3140 or 800-662-0027 .

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