Grain Belt Express, or GBE, is a renewable energy project owned by Chicago-based Invenergy Transmission LLC. It is a 780-mile line scheduled to originate in Kansas, run through Missouri and Illinois, and connect to the electric power grid in Indiana. From there, power will allegedly be transmitted to the Northeastern United States, even though Invenergy has no signed customers to date.
There’s a serious problem with how this project is being presented to the public. A great divide exists between the PR hype about the advanced technology needed to create a new energy future for America and the actual execution of Grain Belt Express as it pertains to construction. Specifically, renewable energy will be generated by wind and solar farms, but the power coming from these energy nodes will be transported using technology invented in the late nineteenth century. The towers —steel girders that support four to eight high-voltage power lines — are 160 feet tall and are anchored in concrete bases approximately forty to sixty feet wide.
The basic architectural design of the towers hasn’t changed in approximately 130 years. Invenergy, however, claims that Grain Belt Express will revolutionize the energy grid by ushering in a new, clean, green source of power that will extend into the twenty-second century. The “disconnect” is that the transmission of wind and solar power is (and will continue to be) accomplished using archaic technology.
The websites for Grain Belt Express and Invenergy describe both companies as innovators in renewable energy technology. They claim that the companies are involved in bringing new power “… in every aspect of project design, construction, and operations ….” And yet, the idea of transmitting electricity via direct current (DC) goes as far back as Thomas Edison’s idea on energy transmission. Furthermore, Grain Belt Express and Invenergy admit that America has an “aging energy infrastructure in the Midwest.” This is certainly true, but infrastructure is not just comprised of the lines; it primarily consists of the steel towers. There is nothing innovative about outdated towers used in centuries past. They represent old designs and old construction methods, and the nature of electricity, of course, hasn’t changed either. Invenergy has no new design, construction, or operation of its transmission infrastructure.
The towers have a lifespan of approximately forty to sixty years. During that time, they need constant maintenance because of high winds, tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires. The main reason towers need maintenance, however, is because the steel girders suffer stress fatigue and chemical erosion early in their lifespan. In other words, they crack, rust, and crumble. Even the nuts and bolts that hold different sections together begin to loosen, rust, and fall to the ground. Does this sound like cutting-edge technology to build a new American energy grid?
Additionally, lines and towers scar the landscape and threaten the environment. High-voltage lines cause many wildfires every year because of lightning strikes and arcing, which is when an electrical discharge moves from the lines to the ground. The towers can be seriously damaged and even fall over in high winds, and icing during blizzards put extreme stress on sagging lines. Add to this that the land is seriously compromised during the construction phase by oils, lubricants, and other chemicals that are contaminants to the soil, grasses, shrubbery, and trees within a mile of the project. These hazardous chemicals can remain in the soil for years, and they also pollute nearby aquifers and water tables. Also, gas and exhaust from machinery pose a threat to human health.
This method of construction does not represent twenty-first century technology. Towers using a design conceived in the nineteenth century cannot be equated with the innovations touted by Invenergy, which promises new infrastructure and advanced technology. Slick company PR about a new energy future is merely hype, unless it wants to go all in and actually create a new infrastructure as well.
There is indeed a way to transmit electricity with twenty-first century technology, and it’s called co-location. Lines are buried along highways and railroad lines, areas where eminent domain has already been invoked. While the process may be slightly more expensive than building steel towers, the savings accrued from less maintenance and repair are considerable. Co-location pays for itself in less than ten years. And depending on the terrain, co-location is often cheaper than building towers in the first place. It’s a win-win situation for energy needs, corporations, and landowners. I’ve written on co-location in great detail, and you can learn more about it at www.StopEminentDomainAbuse.org.
Invenergy is already using co-location in many areas in the United States and around the world. The question is why it is avoiding this advanced technology in the Midwest. The answer is that older construction methods are cheaper. Invenergy, like most merchant energy lines, eventually intends to sell the project to other companies, on whom the burden will fall to maintain the lines and towers.
If Invenergy and Grain Belt Express wished to honor their pledge to create a new energy future, they wouldn’t be using old technology when using co-location along existing rights-of-way could easily be accomplished. Twenty-first century power needs twenty-first century construction methods and infrastructure. It’s that simple.
— Tammy Hammond
Founder and CEO, Rosewood Services