Yes, there are numerous cases of successful opposition to transmission line projects. Recently, opposition to the huge, 500 mile-long Rock Island Clean Line (RICL) that would have cut across Iowa into Illinois was successful in forcing RICL to withdraw its application to the Iowa Utilities Board, pending outcome of an Illinois Supreme Court decision on the line. A law suit brought by farm groups and Exelon reversed a finding that RICL was a “public utility” with consequent powers of eminent domain.
Other examples of successful opposition include the ‘Mark Twain’ line in Missouri, The ‘Misty’ line in Montana, the ‘SWEPCO’ line in Arkansas, and the three ‘clean lines’ in Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa. The strategies employed to stop these lines included political pressure, demonstration of lack of need, and permit rejection. (Rob Danielson, Arena, CHC slide show, December 15, 2016).