  We consider random walks in a balanced random environment in $\mathbb{Z}^d$,
$d\geq 2$. We first prove an invariance principle (for $d\ge2$) and the
transience of the random walks when $d\ge 3$ (recurrence when $d=2$) in an
ergodic environment which is not uniformly elliptic but satisfies certain
moment condition. Then, using percolation arguments, we show that under mere
ellipticity, the above results hold for random walks in i.i.d. balanced
environments.
