The top executive of a firm that wants to build a high-voltage power line through Missouri and Illinois says he’s confident the project will be approved.

Michael Skelly of Clean Line Energy Partners told Bloomberg News that changes in the way the nation handles electricity transmission are inevitable.

The federal government is preparing a final version of tough new emission guidelines to cut what it calls greenhouse gases, and the measures are expected to focus upon power from natural gas, wind and solar instead of coal.

Clean Line would use wind generators to produce electricity and transmit it along the 750-mile Grain Belt Express line from Kansas to Indiana. Randolph, Monroe and Ralls counties in Northeast Missouri and Pike and Scott counties in West-Central Illinois are included on the route.

Clean Line has touted the economic and environmental benefits of the project, but opponents are concerned about land values, the use of eminent domain and a lack of benefit to Missouri customers.

While the project has gotten federal approval, Missouri and Illinois regulators still have not given the green light.