Bill Targeting Wind Energy Line Stalls in Missouri Senate

Legislation that could thwart a large wind-energy power line has hit a roadblock in the Missouri Senate.

Senators were unable to come to a vote late Wednesday on a bill prohibiting the use of eminent domain to acquire easement rights for the Grain Belt Express power line. Democratic senators who support the project slowed debate on the bill.

The high-voltage power line is to carry wind energy from Kansas across Missouri and Illinois before hooking into a power grid in Indiana that serves eastern states.

Missouri utility regulators granted approval earlier this year, which could let developers pursue condemnation if landowners won’t sell easements.

The House has passed several bills that would bar eminent domain for the project. Those bills will die if senators don’t pass them by May 17.