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 the 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 fivemile area. Upon completion of the study, which is due no later than Jan. 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.
