The first of a series of required public meetings for the Grain Belt Express transmission line will be held tonight in Pittsfield.
Invenergy plans to run the transmission line of clean energy from the Great Plains to the East by passing through portions of Pike, Scott, Greene, and Macoupin counties on its way east to the Indiana border.
Current Pike-Scott Farm Bureau Director Blake Roderick told Quincy’s WGEM that he’s concerned the transmission line will disrupt the general flow of farming in the area. The company promises $1.2 billion in economic activity for Illinois, 2,200 construction jobs and $33 million in payments to local governments, all at no cost to Illinois residents.
Roderick encourages any farmers along the proposed easement of the line to attend the public meetings that are required by the permitting process by the Illinois Commerce Commission.
The first meeting will be held tonight from 5-7PM at the Pike County Senior Citizen Center located at 220 West Adams Street in Pittsfield.