The Buchanan County Commissioners may withdraw support for the Grain Belt Express power line project. Presiding Commissioner RT Turner says the county should be neutral. Turner estimates that 90 to 95 percent of Buchanan County landowners affected by the transmission line are opposed to the project.

He says the Missouri Public Service Commission is expected to decide soon whether to grant utility status to Clean Line Energy. Turner says if the county is going to change its position, it will be soon.

The Grain Belt Express would carry electricity from wind farms in Kansas to customers east of Missouri. Turner says no one should be surprised at projects like this after voters approved Proposition C in 2008. It requires that 15 percent of the electricity used in Missouri will come from renewable sources by 2021. Turner says it means transmission lines will be needed to move that power from where its generated to where the populations are.