Ameren Missouri officials plan to increase the amount of electricity the utility can generate by 2030 to meet what they anticipate will be a growing demand from new companies moving into the state.
The St. Louis-based utility announced the plan late last week. It involves updating the state’s utility grid and increasing the use of natural gas. Officials estimate the plan will cost more than $16 billion over the next five years.
“We're seeing a lot more interest in customers looking to relocate or locate to Missouri,” said Ameren’s Director of Development Ajay Arora. “In order to boost economic development in Missouri, we invest in generation as well as transmission infrastructure to enhance the reliability so that customers get reliable around-the-clock power.”
Ameren’s proposal calls for a mix of natural gas, wind and solar energy. The company announced it will build more natural gas plants, but Arora couldn’t say where they would be built or how many are planned. It also calls for building more battery storage and updating power lines.
With natural gas, “not only the emissions are much lower up front, but they're being designed to incorporate these other technologies to capture carbon or eliminate carbon in the fuel itself,” said Arora.
Arora also said the utility wanted to expand its use of nuclear energy in the coming decades. Ameren operates the only nuclear power plant in Missouri. The Callaway Energy Center in Fulton generates around 10 % of the state’s electricity, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Jenn DeRose, senior campaign organizer for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, said she was disappointed the plan called for so much natural gas, a fossil fuel some scientists say contributes to climate change as much as coal.
She also wants the company to be more straightforward about its projections for future energy demands.
“Ameren and state regulators must be transparent about the specific projects that are allegedly driving demand, because ratepayers deserve to know whether or not this is real or speculative,” DeRose said. “So scrutiny from regulators is especially important to prevent a plan that is certain to cause massive energy inflation for customers.”
In a statement, Ameren officials said the company was “committed to doing what we can to keep rates as low as possible by investing wisely and controlling costs. The plan announced….is the least-cost option.”
Customers have recently lambasted Ameren Missouri as the company proposes a 15% rate increase to Missouri regulators.
“I am concerned about what this would mean for rate payers down the line,” DeRose said. “I'm very concerned about boondoggles.”
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