Kansas, in the heart of America’s robust wind belt, has approved a new direct current transmission corridor to help speed the transition to cleaner energy. 

In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Andrew French, the chairman of the Kansas Corporation Commission.

“Kansas actually approved a permit for the Grain Belt Express DC line to extend all the way across our state and all the way to Indiana,” said French.

It comes at a time of increased demand for energy - particularly non-carbon emitting sources. French acknowledges that navigating the regulatory and permitting process is difficult.

“Right now, you’re looking at a few years to get new generation online and it’s a tough spot. You’ve got a lot of customers that want power.”

“This is a complex industry even for developers that are very sophisticated. As they’re developing a wind farm, a solar farm, some other generation source, it’s really hard for them to anticipate how much it’s going to cost for them to interconnect,” the Kansas regulator said. 

He’s also optimistic about the future.

“There are a lot of things moving in the direction of a successful energy transition. There are also a lot of things standing in the way or complications. There is of course, public sentiment that doesn’t understand some of the reasons why we may have need to build new infrastructure and transition to different resources.”

Andrew J. French was appointed to the KCC in 2020. He has served as Chairperson since 2021.

French currently serves as the Kansas representative to the Southwest Power Pool and regularly participates in various SPP stakeholder groups. He is also one of 10 state utility regulators selected to serve on the Joint Federal-State Task Force on Electric Transmission formed in 2021.

Before his appointment to the KCC, French practiced law with a focus on energy policy and the regulation of utility rates and services. 

French has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Kansas and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Kansas School of Law.