LINCOLN, Neb. (DTN) -- Charles Henke wanted to build a house on a picturesque hill on his farm in Salisbury, Missouri.
That dream dreamed up a decade ago is yet to be realized.
Like many farmers across Missouri, Illinois and Kansas, Henke, his wife, Robyn, and their four children are reconsidering their life plans -- including where they may yet build a house in Chariton County.
As is the case with farmers and other landowners in the path of a green energy transmission line project known as the Grain Belt Express, project planners came steamrolling through northern Missouri farms looking for land to gobble up.
Project developer Invenergy likely will build several transmission towers across tracts on Henke's farm -- in the process of completing the project covering an estimated 800 miles to deliver about 5,000 megawatts of power.
"I was wanting to build a house right where they wanted to put it," Henke told DTN.
"That's where I proposed to my wife. This is where we want to build our house -- we've been waiting 10 years to build a house."
Henke, who owns and operates a multi-generational premium livestock and row crop operation wasn't willing to lay down and let the company use eminent domain to build a renewable energy electric transmission line on his property.
He decided to do what landowners rarely do in these situations -- battle the company in court.
"I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy," Henke said.
"But at the end of the day if I don't, who will? It has nothing to do with electricity and anybody who thinks it does is foolish. It has to do with land acquisition and money -- that's it -- pure and simple. It has nothing to do with green energy. That's just the front. It's about taking land from private citizens."
Invenergy did not respond to DTN's request for comment.
The project's first phase is set to begin construction in 2025. Once completed the Grain Belt Express would transmit power produced at a windmill farm southeast of Dodge City, through Kansas, across the northern half of Missouri, across central Illinois and ending just across the border in southern Indiana.
Henke lost his court battle last year in trying to prevent the company from taking land and if not, at least securing just compensation.
Though he said he likely received more money from Invenergy than most farmers after the condemnation process played out, in the end it's not really about the money -- it's about maintaining the freedom to use land how you see fit. Landowners who took deals from the company typically made pennies on the dollar for each acre, Henke said.
The company struck deals with hundreds of farmers across Kansas, Missouri and Illinois, or acquired most of the needed 1,700 parcels through eminent domain.
RENDERS LAND USELESS
Once the transmission line is built each individual tower up to as high as 150 feet, will render chunks of land virtually useless and dangerous for families who live nearby, Henke said.
Henke doesn't want his family living near high-voltage towers for fear of causing health problems.
Farming around the towers comes with a whole set of challenges.
Tim Gach, president of the Buchanan County Farm Bureau in Missouri, lives just north of the proposed transmission line route near St. Joseph in the northwest part of the state.
Gach said there is a group of about 12 existing transmission towers built by another company on his farm. Based on his experiences, he said it is difficult and hazardous to maneuver machinery around the towers.
Each tower occupies about 1,600 square feet at ground level including a concrete base that requires care in using farm machinery.
"We found out something interesting there last year that under the right conditions you drive your combine underneath there and it shuts your data off in your combine," Gach told DTN.
"Our monitor goes off and you're kind of flying blind for a while and they're not near the voltage that these Grain Belt lines will be."
CHARITON COUNTY OPPOSITION
Chariton County has been at the center of a fight to stop the Grain Belt Express from being built.
At this point there's not much left for county officials to do.
However, Henke said he believes the upcoming presidential election could determine the future of the project.
"Who's gonna be our next president?," he said.
"I think Trump will have the power to stop it if he wants to. You shut off the money you shut off the power line. It's all about the money, it's all about the government money and if Kamala (Harris) gets in, it will be fast-tracked."
On Oct. 15, 2024, Missouri Court of Appeals Western District reversed action taken by the Chariton County Commissioners to prevent construction from happening.
In July 2012, commissioners at the time originally granted approval to build the transmission project "through, along, across, under and over the public roads and highways" in the county.
In March 2014, the commission rescinded the approval after the county decided it was premature. County residents expressed concerns about how the high-voltage lines would affect livelihoods, health, economy, future land use and aesthetics in the county.
In 2016, Grain Belt applied with the Missouri Public Service Commission for a certificate of convenience and necessity for the project. That was approved by the state in 2019.
Between June 2021 and April 2022, Invenergy negotiated with Chariton County to have the project approved and it was denied. Grain Belt then filed a petition against the county in May 2022. By that time the company already had approvals from the state and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
That petition argued the county could not use a section of county law to deny approval.
That section states, "No person or persons, association, companies or corporations shall erect poles for the suspension of electric light, or power wires, or lay and maintain pipes, conductors, mains and conduits for any purpose whatever, through, on, under or across the public roads or highways of any county of this state, without first having obtained the assent of the county commission of such county therefor; and no poles shall be erected or such pipes, conductors, mains and conduits be laid or maintained, except under such reasonable rules and regulations as may be prescribed and promulgated by the county highway engineer, with the approval of the county commission."
The state appeals court essentially ruled the county could not use the county law to stop a project that already had federal and state approvals.
LAND VALUES ACTION
The state of Missouri in 2022 passed House Bill 2005 to guarantee that landowners who have their land seized for future projects must be compensated at 150% of market value. The bill also requires that a certain amount of power from a transmission line is given to the state.
The law came too late for farmers like Henke who already either took deals from the company for land acquisition or lost property through eminent domain.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, has been fighting the project for some time.
In a Nov. 15, 2023, letter to Grain Belt's CEO Michael Polsky, Hawley said the company's efforts have hurt Missouri farmers.
"They have lost the use of arable land, seen their property values decline, and been forced to operate under a cloud of uncertainty as your company vacillates over the full scope of the project," Hawley wrote.
"Given this track record, it is far from clear why any Missouri farmers should assume that your company is operating in good faith."
In December 2023, Hawley introduced in the U.S. Senate the "Just Compensation Act of 2023." The measure would prohibit the federal government from delegating eminent domain power to private companies.
Also, it mirrors the law passed in Missouri by requiring the federal government to provide landowners with compensation at 150% of market value for land when using eminent domain.
In June 2024, Hawley asked U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to rescind the DOE's designation of the "National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor." That designation allows the federal government to expedite projects that expand the power grid, including the Grain Belt Express.
"Constituents in my state have rightfully complained that the proposal lacks essential information needed to adequately provide comments on the plan," Hawley said in a letter to Granholm.
"The maps provided are simply not specific enough. Landowners should be notified if the proposed route is going to touch their land. Instead, they are left to guess whether or not their land could be taken by the federal government."
The company that owns the Grain Belt Express project has been offering landowners about 110% of their land value -- a value determined by the company -- to acquire needed property. In addition, Invenergy offered tens of thousands of dollars per tower to landowners.
"They will try to work with a farmer," Gach said, "in particular about where they place those (towers). It is more of the precedent that it sets that there's no going back on this Grain Belt Express. It's going to happen."
Gach said in Kansas, for example, farmers are being advised not to challenge the company in court because chances of winning are slim.
Henke learned that firsthand.
Farmers and other landowners should think twice about taking what companies offer them to take their land, he said.
"I will tell everybody that goes through court you will get a lot more money if you go through eminent domain," Henke said.
"I've learned so much in the last 10, 12 years about how politics work and how the real world works, and it is corrupt and it's horrible. It's been time away from my job, you know doing what I do and time away from the farm and stress -- I mean lots of stress. I mean there's times you just get so upset."
If the Grain Belt Express project is built, Henke said he will have no choice but to move away from any towers.
"We didn't have a Plan B," he said.
"I'll build another location, pretty much move everything from where we're at -- we get away from the power line. When you farm it's not really easy to do. I'm talking about moving about a mile just over the hill to where I don't see it (tower)."
Todd Neeley can be reached at todd.neeley@dtn.com
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