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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Ameren Corporation (NYS:AEE) (St. Louis, Missouri), which operates electric utilities in Missouri and Illinois, has only recently started decarbonizing its electricity supply. But the company, which also operates a gas utility in Illinois and an electric transmission business, is taking big steps to become a net-zero emitter of greenhouse gases by 2045.
Ameren has an aggressive plan to shift from a coal-based generator of electricity to a cleaner and greener one, one that does include planned investments in new gas-fired generation.
"We made significant strides in executing our strategy during 2023 for the benefit of our customers, communities and shareholders," Martin Lyons Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ameren Corporation, said in an earnings statement February 22. "This included completing substantial energy infrastructure investments, updating Ameren Missouri's Integrated Resource Plan, which calls for a diverse mix of generation investments to most affordably and reliably meet customer needs, and receiving approval to build additional renewable generation and transmission resources."
"Our continued investments are driving safer, more reliable and resilient service for customers as we transition to a cleaner energy future," he continued. "We are confident our achievements this year will provide significant long-term value for our customers, communities, shareholders and the environment."
As recently as 2022, about 69% of Ameren's electricity was generated from coal. By 2030, that percentage is scheduled to fall to approximately 40%, then 12% in 2040 before being zeroed out in 2045. Over that same period, renewables are scheduled to rise from 6% of electricity generated in 2022 to 31% in 2030 and 44% by 2040.
Click on the image at right to see Ameren's planned shifting fuel mix from 2022-2045.
In late 2022, Ameren's Missouri electric utility retired the Meramec Energy Center, an 827-megawatt (MW), coal-fired power plant. By 2025, it will retire the Rush Island Energy Center, a 1,178-MW coal-burning power plant. To offset that lost generation, that unit added 700 MW of wind over the 2020-2021 period. By the time Rush Island is shuttered, it will have added 800 MW of solar generation. In the second half of this decade, plans are under way to add another 1,000 MW of wind, 1,000 MW of solar generation and 400 MW of energy storage.
Ameren detailed these planned investments on a quarterly earnings call last month. Invenergy (Chicago, Illinois) is building the 250-MW, $300 million Boomtown PV Solar Farm in southern Illinois, on behalf of Ameren. Likewise, in the near future, EDF Renewables (Paris, France) is scheduled to build the 200-MW, $220 million Huck Finn Solar PV project in Missouri while Invenergy is slated to build the 300-MW, $330-million Split Rail Solar Farm in east central Missouri. Three other solar projects with aggregate generating capacity of about 250 MW are on the drawing board as well.
On that earnings call, executives detailed Ameren's plan to transition to a cleaner energy portfolio. It expects to add about 2,800 MW of renewable generation by 2030, and another 1,900 MW by 2036. The company also plans to retire a variety of coal-fired assets over the next two decades: the Rush Island power plant will get shuttered this year while the Sioux station is scheduled to close in 2032. In 2036, two units at its coal-fired Labadie complex will close while the other two units will be shuttered in 2042.
Greening the electric portfolio is one reason why Ameren plans to increase its five-year capital program $2.2 billion, to approximately $21.9 billion, over the 2024-2028 period, company leaders told investors in an earnings call February 23.
Click on the image at right to see Ameren's five-year capital program, 2024-2028, by operating unit.
Company officials added Ameren had a "strong pipeline" of over $55 billion of regulated infrastructure projects over the 2024-2033 period. Those projects included:
Ameren earned $1.2 billion on revenue of $7.5 billion in 2023. By comparison, full-year 2022 earnings were about $1.1 billion on $8 billion of revenue.
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 over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Ameren has an aggressive plan to shift from a coal-based generator of electricity to a cleaner and greener one, one that does include planned investments in new gas-fired generation.
"We made significant strides in executing our strategy during 2023 for the benefit of our customers, communities and shareholders," Martin Lyons Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ameren Corporation, said in an earnings statement February 22. "This included completing substantial energy infrastructure investments, updating Ameren Missouri's Integrated Resource Plan, which calls for a diverse mix of generation investments to most affordably and reliably meet customer needs, and receiving approval to build additional renewable generation and transmission resources."
"Our continued investments are driving safer, more reliable and resilient service for customers as we transition to a cleaner energy future," he continued. "We are confident our achievements this year will provide significant long-term value for our customers, communities, shareholders and the environment."
As recently as 2022, about 69% of Ameren's electricity was generated from coal. By 2030, that percentage is scheduled to fall to approximately 40%, then 12% in 2040 before being zeroed out in 2045. Over that same period, renewables are scheduled to rise from 6% of electricity generated in 2022 to 31% in 2030 and 44% by 2040.
In late 2022, Ameren's Missouri electric utility retired the Meramec Energy Center, an 827-megawatt (MW), coal-fired power plant. By 2025, it will retire the Rush Island Energy Center, a 1,178-MW coal-burning power plant. To offset that lost generation, that unit added 700 MW of wind over the 2020-2021 period. By the time Rush Island is shuttered, it will have added 800 MW of solar generation. In the second half of this decade, plans are under way to add another 1,000 MW of wind, 1,000 MW of solar generation and 400 MW of energy storage.
Ameren detailed these planned investments on a quarterly earnings call last month. Invenergy (Chicago, Illinois) is building the 250-MW, $300 million Boomtown PV Solar Farm in southern Illinois, on behalf of Ameren. Likewise, in the near future, EDF Renewables (Paris, France) is scheduled to build the 200-MW, $220 million Huck Finn Solar PV project in Missouri while Invenergy is slated to build the 300-MW, $330-million Split Rail Solar Farm in east central Missouri. Three other solar projects with aggregate generating capacity of about 250 MW are on the drawing board as well.
On that earnings call, executives detailed Ameren's plan to transition to a cleaner energy portfolio. It expects to add about 2,800 MW of renewable generation by 2030, and another 1,900 MW by 2036. The company also plans to retire a variety of coal-fired assets over the next two decades: the Rush Island power plant will get shuttered this year while the Sioux station is scheduled to close in 2032. In 2036, two units at its coal-fired Labadie complex will close while the other two units will be shuttered in 2042.
Greening the electric portfolio is one reason why Ameren plans to increase its five-year capital program $2.2 billion, to approximately $21.9 billion, over the 2024-2028 period, company leaders told investors in an earnings call February 23.
Company officials added Ameren had a "strong pipeline" of over $55 billion of regulated infrastructure projects over the 2024-2033 period. Those projects included:
- Modernizing their electric and gas transmission and distribution grids
- Building renewable, simple-cycle and combined-cycle generation at Ameren Missouri
- Constructing regionally beneficial transmission projects in the Midcontinent Independent Service Operator (MISO) (Carmel, Indiana) footprint to support clean energy transition
- Electrifying transportation
Ameren earned $1.2 billion on revenue of $7.5 billion in 2023. By comparison, full-year 2022 earnings were about $1.1 billion on $8 billion of revenue.
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 over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
