Today's approval includes projects capable of powering
approximately 73,000 homes and an additional opportunity to deliver
more renewable energy to businesses
ST.
LOUIS, March 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --
Today Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation
(NYSE: AEE), received approval to build or acquire approximately
400 megawatts (MW) of solar energy. The first of the three solar
projects is scheduled to go into service in 2025, with two more set
to begin serving customers in 2026.
"Thoughtfully integrating these new, low-cost energy sources
with our existing generation fleet is one of the ways Ameren
Missouri is providing our customers with the reliable, resilient
and affordable energy they expect," said Mark Birk, chairman and president of Ameren
Missouri.
Projects in today's order by the Missouri Public Service
Commission, in order of targeted in-service dates, include:
- Vandalia Renewable Energy Center, a 50-MW project based in
Vandalia, Missouri, to be
self-developed by Ameren Missouri with a target in-service date of
2025.
- Split Rail Solar, a 300-MW project based in Warren County, Missouri, with a target
in-service date of 2026 to be acquired by Ameren Missouri from
Invenergy.
- Bowling Green Renewable Energy Center, a 50-MW project based in
Bowling Green, Missouri, to be
self-developed by Ameren Missouri with a target in-service
date of 2026.
Today's order also sets the terms upon which a fourth solar
facility, the 150-MW Cass County,
Illinois project, could be approved if it is fully
subscribed for under Ameren Missouri's Renewable Solutions
Program.
Terms of the agreements for all projects remain
confidential.
Meeting Customers' Reliability Needs
Investing in
solar energy is part of Ameren Missouri's strategy to affordably
meet the long-term reliability needs for Missourians. The strategy
also includes existing energy centers, as well as utilizing planned
investments in on-demand and baseload generation.
"We're able to take advantage of significant tax credits with
these renewable projects, reducing overall costs with those savings
going directly to our customers. That helps keep rates as
affordable as possible," said Ajay
Arora, senior vice president and chief renewable
development officer at Ameren Missouri.
New Opportunity for Businesses
Ameren Missouri's
Renewable Solutions Program is a subscription-based program that
allows businesses to replace up to 100% of their total energy use
with renewable resources like wind and solar.
"Renewable Solutions offers price certainty with no market
risk," said Greg Lovett,
manager, energy services at Ameren Missouri. "Subscribing to
Renewable Solutions is an easy way for organizations to meet their
sustainability goals. It's effortless renewable energy without any
maintenance or administrative work."
The Renewable Solutions program was launched with the commitment
of 10 organizations in 2023. Others interested in receiving
renewable energy credits to meet their individual renewable energy
goals can contact Ameren Missouri for more information.
Environmentally Responsible
The Renewable Solutions
program and Ameren Missouri's other investments in renewable energy
support Ameren's company-wide goal of net-zero carbon emissions by
2045. The goal is science-based and consistent with the objectives
of the Paris Agreement and limiting global temperature rise to 1.5
degrees Celsius. This goal encompasses both Scope 1 and Scope 2
emissions, including other greenhouse gas emissions of methane,
nitrous oxide and sulfur hexafluoride. This goal is dependent on a
variety of factors, including cost-effective advancements in
innovative clean energy technologies as well as constructive
federal and state energy and economic policies. Interim targets
include reducing carbon emissions 60% by 2030 and 85% by 2040, in
each case based on 2005 levels.
Additional details about the company's net-zero goal and Ameren
Missouri's least-cost approach to reliably meet customer energy
needs in an environmentally responsible manner are available at
AmerenMissouri.com/Reliable.
About Ameren Missouri
Ameren Missouri has been
providing electric and gas service for more than 100 years. Ameren
Missouri's mission is to power the quality of life for its 1.2
million electric and 135,000 natural gas customers in central and
eastern Missouri. The company's
service area covers 64 counties and more than 500 communities,
including the greater St. Louis
area. For more information, visit Ameren.com/Missouri or follow us at @AmerenMissouri or
Facebook.com/AmerenMissouri.
Forward-looking Statements
Statements in this release
not based on historical facts are considered "forward-looking" and,
accordingly, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those discussed. Although
such forward-looking statements have been made in good faith and
are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that the
expected results will be achieved. These statements include
(without limitation) statements as to future expectations, beliefs,
plans, projections, strategies, targets, estimates, objectives,
events, conditions, and financial performance. In connection with
the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, we are providing this cautionary statement to
identify important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those anticipated. The following factors, in
addition to those discussed under Risk Factors in Ameren's and
Ameren Missouri's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2023, and elsewhere in
this release and in our other filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, could cause actual results to differ
materially from management expectations suggested in such
forward-looking statements:
- regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions, and any changes
in regulatory policies and ratemaking determinations, that may
change regulatory recovery mechanisms, such as those that may
result from Ameren Missouri's petition to the Missouri Public
Service Commission ("MoPSC") for a financing order to authorize the
issuance of securitized utility tariff bonds to finance the cost of
the planned retirement of the Rush Island Energy Center, and Ameren
Missouri's proposed customer energy-efficiency plan under the
Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act ("MEEIA") filed with the
MoPSC in January 2024;
- our ability to control costs and make substantial investments
in our businesses, including our ability to recover costs and
investments, and to earn our allowed returns on equity, within
frameworks established by our regulators, while maintaining
affordability of services for our customers;
- the effect on Ameren Missouri of any customer rate caps or
limitations on increasing the electric service revenue requirement
pursuant to Ameren Missouri's election to use the plant-in-service
accounting regulatory mechanism;
- Ameren Missouri's ability to construct and/or acquire wind,
solar, and other renewable energy generation facilities and battery
storage, as well as natural gas-fired energy centers, extend the
operating license for the Callaway Energy Center, retire
fossil fuel-fired energy centers, and implement new or existing
customer energy-efficiency programs, including any such
construction, acquisition, retirement, or implementation in
connection with its Smart Energy Plan, integrated resource plan, or
emissions reduction goals, and to recover its cost of investment, a
related return, and, in the case of customer energy-efficiency
programs, any lost margins in a timely manner, each of which is
affected by the ability to obtain all necessary regulatory and
project approvals, including certificates of convenience and
necessity from the MoPSC or any other required approvals for the
addition of renewable resources and natural gas-fired energy
centers;
- Ameren Missouri's ability to use or transfer federal production
and investment tax credits related to renewable energy projects;
the cost of wind, solar, and other renewable generation and storage
technologies; and our ability to obtain timely interconnection
agreements with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator,
Inc., a regional transmission organization ("MISO") or other
regional transmission organizations at an acceptable cost for each
facility;
- the outcome of competitive bids related to requests for
proposals associated with the MISO's long-range transmission
planning;
- the inability of our counterparties to meet their obligations
with respect to contracts, credit agreements, and financial
instruments, including as they relate to the construction and
acquisition of electric and natural gas utility infrastructure and
the ability of counterparties to complete projects, which is
dependent upon the availability of necessary materials and
equipment, including those obligations that are affected by supply
chain disruptions;
- advancements in energy technologies, including carbon capture,
utilization, and sequestration, hydrogen fuel for electric
production and energy storage, next generation nuclear, and
large-scale long-cycle battery energy storage, and the impact of
federal and state energy and economic policies with respect to
those technologies;
- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and
other governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, foreign
trade, and energy policies;
- the effects of changes in federal, state, or local tax laws or
rates, including the effects of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
("IRA") and the 15% minimum tax on adjusted financial statement
income, as well as additional regulations, interpretations,
amendments, or technical corrections to, or in connection with the
IRA, and challenges to the tax positions taken by us, if any, as
well as resulting effects on customer rates and the recoverability
of the minimum tax imposed under the IRA;
- the effects on energy prices and demand for our services
resulting from technological advances, including advances in
customer energy efficiency, electric vehicles, electrification of
various industries, energy storage, and private generation sources,
which generate electricity at the site of consumption and are
becoming more cost-competitive;
- the cost and availability of fuel, such as low-sulfur coal,
natural gas, and enriched uranium used to produce electricity; the
cost and availability of natural gas for distribution and purchased
power, including capacity, zero emission credits, renewable energy
credits, emission allowances; and the level and volatility of
future market prices for such commodities and credits;
- disruptions in the delivery of fuel, failure of our fuel
suppliers to provide adequate quantities or quality of fuel, or
lack of adequate inventories of fuel, including nuclear fuel
assemblies from primarily one Nuclear Regulatory
Commission-licensed supplier of Ameren Missouri's Callaway
Energy Center assemblies;
- the cost and availability of transmission capacity for the
energy generated by Ameren Missouri's energy centers or required to
satisfy our energy sales;
- the effectiveness of our risk management strategies and our use
of financial and derivative instruments;
- the ability to obtain sufficient insurance or, in the absence
of insurance, the ability to timely recover uninsured losses from
our customers;
- the impact of cyberattacks and data security risks on us,
our suppliers, or other entities on the grid, which could, among
other things, result in the loss of operational control of energy
centers and electric and natural gas transmission and distribution
systems and/or the loss of data, such as customer, employee,
financial, and operating system information;
- acts of sabotage, which have increased in frequency and
severity within the utility industry, war, terrorism, or other
intentionally disruptive acts;
- business, economic, and capital market conditions, including
the impact of such conditions on interest rates, inflation, and
investments;
- the impact of inflation or a recession on our customers and the
related impact on our results of operations, financial position,
and liquidity;
- disruptions of the capital and credit markets, deterioration in
our credit metrics, or other events that may have an adverse effect
on the cost or availability of capital, including short-term credit
and liquidity, and our ability to access the capital and credit
markets on reasonable terms when needed;
- the actions of credit rating agencies and the effects of such
actions;
- the impact of weather conditions and other natural phenomena on
us and our customers, including the impact of system outages and
the level of wind and solar resources;
- the construction, installation, performance, and cost recovery
of generation, transmission, and distribution assets;
- the ability to maintain system reliability during the
transition to clean energy generation by Ameren Missouri and the
electric utility industry as well as Ameren Missouri's ability to
meet generation capacity obligations;
- the effects of failures of electric generation, electric and
natural gas transmission or distribution, or natural gas storage
facilities systems and equipment, which could result in
unanticipated liabilities or unplanned outages;
- the operation of Ameren Missouri's Callaway Energy Center,
including planned and unplanned outages, as well as the ability to
recover costs associated with such outages and the impact of such
outages on off-system sales and purchased power, among other
things;
- Ameren Missouri's ability to recover the remaining investment
and decommissioning costs associated with the retirement of an
energy center, as well as the ability to earn a return on that
remaining investment and those decommissioning costs;
- the impact of current environmental laws and new, more
stringent, or changing requirements, including those related to the
New Source Review provisions of the Clean Air Act, carbon dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, and other emissions and discharges, Illinois emission standards, cooling water
intake structures, coal combustion residuals, energy efficiency,
and wildlife protection, that could limit or terminate the
operation of certain of Ameren Missouri's energy centers, increase
our operating costs or investment requirements, result in an
impairment of our assets, cause us to sell our assets, reduce our
customers' demand for electricity or natural gas, or otherwise have
a negative financial effect;
- the impact of complying with renewable energy standards in
Missouri;
- the effectiveness of Ameren Missouri's customer
energy-efficiency programs and the related revenues and performance
incentives earned under its MEEIA programs;
- labor disputes, work force reductions, changes in future wage
and employee benefits costs, including those resulting from changes
in discount rates, mortality tables, returns on benefit plan
assets, and other assumptions;
- the impact of negative opinions of us or our utility services
that our customers, investors, legislators, regulators, creditors,
or other stakeholders may have or develop, which could result from
a variety of factors, including failures in system reliability,
failure to implement our investment plans or to protect sensitive
customer information, increases in rates, negative media coverage,
or concerns about environmental, social and governance
practices;
- the impact of adopting new accounting and reporting
guidance;
- the effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers,
acquisitions, and divestitures;
- legal and administrative proceedings;
- pandemics or other significant global health events, and their
impacts on our results of operations, financial position, and
liquidity; and
- the impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war, related
sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other governments, and any
broadening of these or other global conflicts, including potential
impacts on the cost and availability of fuel, natural gas, enriched
uranium, and other commodities, materials, and services, the
inability of our counterparties to perform their obligations,
disruptions in the capital and credit markets, and other impacts on
business, economic, and geopolitical conditions, including
inflation.
New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for
management to predict all of such factors, nor can it assess the
impact of each such factor on the business or the extent to which
any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained or implied in any
forward-looking statement. Given these uncertainties, undue
reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements.
Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, we
undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any
forward-looking statements to reflect new information or future
events.
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SOURCE Ameren Missouri