Chambana Sun

Rep. Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville) is not a fan of the Grain Belt Express project and the power it gives Invenergy to invoke eminent domain.

“And this is just one of the implications of the new green deal that hit Illinois,” Halbrook posted on his Facebook site. “It is going to cost our property owners tons of cash just to try to avoid this situation and I don’t know where this is ultimately going to land.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Senate Bill 2408 in September 2021. The bill, according to a report in the Missouri Times, allows Invenergy to invoke eminent domain for the Grain Belt Express project.

The project, according to the Grain Belt Express website “will be a renewable energy and reliability backbone for the United States, and an economic engine for the Midwest.”  The project, according to its website, “will span approximately 800 miles from Southwestern Kansas to Indiana, and create one of America’s strongest renewable energy resources and be built at no cost to consumers.”

Grain Belt Express promises to deliver “thousands of jobs, billions of dollars in energy savings, and tens of millions of dollars for local communities and landowners.”

According to Invenergy, to complete the project, the right of eminent domain may be granted to obtain the land rights necessary to build the project.

According to its website, Grain Belt Express is “committed to reaching voluntarily negotiated agreements with landowners and compensating landowners fairly.”

Even under eminent domain, an easement grants rights within a certain parcel of land, but landowners still maintain ownership of their land and receive payment for the easement, the website said.