Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation has officially announced a significant change to its power generation strategy, a change which is designed to accelerate generation investments and support robust economic expansion, bolster reliability, as well as create jobs throughout Missouri.
According to certain reports, the stated change across Ameren Missouri’s Preferred Resource Plan in its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) should provide for 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of expected new energy demand by 2032. This it will through a balanced mix of generation resources, delivering reliable, affordable and cleaner energy for all customers.
Talk about this updated strategy on a slightly deeper level, it involves building 1,600 megawatts (MW) of natural gas generation resources by 2030, with a total planned installation of 6,100 MW by 2045. Furthermore, the plan will focus on extending investments in renewable generation resources across the region, which includes another 2,700 MW of wind and solar energy by 2030, with a total planned installation of 4,200 MW by 2045.
Next up, the revamped strategy will look to deploy a significant amount of battery storage across the Ameren Missouri service territory. The PRP calls for 1,000 MW to be installed by 2030 and a total of 1,800 MW by 2045.
On top of that, there is also a foundation in place to conceive 1,500 MW of new nuclear energy generation by 2045. In case you weren’t aware, nuclear operates regardless of weather and can provide a clean, steady supply of energy crucial for a sustainable future.
All in all, the new IRP reflects an overall increase of 1.8 GW of capacity between now and 2030 and a total of 2.3 GW of capacity by 2035.
From the standpoint of costs, when factoring in updated costs for all planned resources, the IRP represents an added investment opportunity of $5 billion by 2030, as well as a total of $7 billion by 2035.
“These agreements are an initial step,” said Mark Birk, chairman and president of Ameren Missouri. “Work remains with key stakeholders to secure these customers and provide benefits to our communities. Our customers depend on Ameren Missouri to continue investing in reliability, whether that’s through a balanced mix of energy resources or strengthening the grid by upgrading and maintaining aging infrastructure. Through these continued investments, we are ensuring that we have a reliable and resilient energy system to serve customers.”
Ameren Missouri also took this opportunity to file its updated Smart Energy Plan with the Missouri Public Service Commission. The $16.2 billion, five-year plan packs together continued investments in modern infrastructure to enhance grid reliability and resiliency.
You see, leveraging the said blueprint, Ameren Missouri will double down on its investments in modern energy delivery infrastructure. These efforts, on their part, support reliability for customers by upgrading aging equipment, increasing capacity and grid flexibility, and installing stronger poles to increase resiliency during severe storms. Not just that, they also focus on adding smart technology to reduce outages and respond faster when they do occur.
On an actionable note, Ameren Missouri’s Smart Energy Plan will facilitate the creation and improvement of over 134 substations to better serve communities across Missouri. Furthermore, the plan will scale up an estimated 250 miles of sub transmission lines so to enhance storm resiliency and provide more flexibility to reroute power during an outage.
Apart from that, the prepared blueprint will also include 1.3 million smart meters to automatically detect and report outages, while simultaneously providing customers detailed energy usage information and expanded rate options.
Founded in 1902, Ameren Missouri’s rise up the ranks stems from powering the quality of life for its approximately 1.3 million electric and 100,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. The scale of its operations can also be understood once you consider it covers approximately 60 counties and more than 500 communities.
“Smart switch technology has been a critical component of our efforts to provide the reliability our customers have come to expect,” said Tim Lafser, senior vice president of energy delivery for Ameren Missouri. “These devices rapidly detected outages and automatically restored power for more than 50,000 customers during major storms in 2024.
