Ameren Advances Power-Generation Portfolio

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) (St. Louis, Missouri), which operates electric utilities in Missouri and Illinois, said recently it received approval to build a natural gas-fired peaking plant and acquired another solar plant.

The Missouri Public Service Commission has approved the construction of Ameren's approximately $900 million natural gas-fired Castle Bluff Energy Center in Saint Louis, Missouri, at the site of a former coal-fired plant, consisting of four 200-megawatt (MW) units to provide 800 MW of total generation. It will not serve as a source of baseload power but will "serve as a reliable backup source of energy in 2027," the company said in an October 31 press release, after beginning on-site construction in November. "By taking advantage of existing infrastructure and transmission line access on the site which the company already owns, Ameren Missouri will be able to reduce overall construction time."

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can learn more by viewing the project report. For more information on the project and the development of natural gas plant generation in the U.S., see October 9, 2024, article - Summer 2024 Brings Record Natural Gas-Fired Generation as Projects Line Up.

"When solar energy predictably rises and then falls every day, it is vital to have Castle Bluff as a backup and working as a partner to renewables," said Ajay Arora, senior vice president and chief development officer at Ameren Missouri.

Despite being an intermittent source of power generation, solar is a growing portion of Ameren's generation portfolio. The power company also announced it recently acquired its third utility-scale solar plant in 2024, each of which is expected to begin producing power by the end of the year: the 200-MW Huck Finn solar plant in Audrain and Ralls counties in Missouri. Earlier this year, Ameren acquired the Boomtown and Cass County solar plants in Illinois, with the three solar facilities having a combined capacity of 500 MW and representing a total acquisition cost of approximately $900 million.

Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Huck Finn, Boomtown and Cass County projects.

"As final testing wraps up on Huck Finn, Cass County and Boomtown, we are also working toward the successful construction of another 400 MW of solar generation across three additional projects," Arora said. "We expect these Missouri projects, located in Bowling Green, Vandalia and Warren County, will be ready to serve customers in late 2025 and in 2026."

Subscribers can read more information on the Bowling Green, Vandalia and Warren County projects.

Ameren's Missouri subsidiary is underway with its Integrated Resource Plan, last updated in September 2023, which includes expected investments of $6 billion in renewable and dispatchable generation by 2028, including today's announcement.

As part of its earnings statement in February, Ameren said it plans to spend $21.9 billion in capital spending over the 2024-2028 period and add about 2,800 MW of renewable energy generation by 2030, and another 1,900 MW by 2036. For more information, see March 18, 2024, article - Ameren Ups Five-Year Capex Plans as it Transitions Generation Portfolio.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).