Company's largest-ever solar investment announcement includes
four projects slated to generate approximately 550 megawatts of
renewable energy
ST.
LOUIS, June 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --
Today Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation
(NYSE: AEE), announced it intends to acquire or build approximately
550 megawatts (MW) of solar energy, continuing the company's
investment in renewable generation. Combined, the four projects
announced today are capable of producing enough energy to supply
more than 95,000 average-sized residential homes. These projects
are targeted to be ready to serve customers between next year and
2026.
"These projects support our ongoing generation transformation
toward more clean energy while maintaining the reliability,
resiliency and affordability our customers expect," said
Mark Birk, chairman and
president of Ameren Missouri. "In addition, we are taking advantage
of new federal incentives that will help us provide renewable
energy to our customers at a lower cost."
Projects in today's announcement, in order of targeted
in-service date, include:
- Cass County Solar, a 150-MW project based in Cass County, Illinois, with a targeted
in-service date of 2024 to be acquired by Ameren Missouri from
Savion.
- 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 targeted
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.
Terms of the agreements are confidential.
Reliable Generation Transition
Today's announcement is
the latest in a series fulfilling the company's long-term
generation transformation plan, which ensures reliability and
resiliency for customers for years to come.
"Continuing to diversify our generation portfolio – in this case
increasing the amount of solar generation – will pay off,
especially on those hot summer afternoons," said Ajay Arora, senior vice president and chief
renewable development officer at Ameren Missouri.
To support the reliable transition, Ameren Missouri is siting
new generation projects across Missouri and Illinois and is exploring future options in
surrounding states.
Impact Beyond Energy
The announced projects are
expected to take full advantage of available incentives, which
lower the overall costs to customers. The construction and ongoing
operations of all four facilities will also help boost local
economies.
"Bringing new jobs and opportunities to these communities is an
incredibly rewarding part of our work," Birk says. "It's part of
the multiplier effect projects of this scale will have. Solar
facilities do so much more than create energy. We've seen in other
communities across the state that by their presence alone, they
create interest and open career paths into entirely new
fields."
The projects announced today are part of the company's planned
addition of 2,800 MW in new renewable generation by 2030, which are
included in its comprehensive plan to safeguard long-term
energy reliability and resiliency for Missourians. The plan also
aligns with Ameren's companywide net-zero carbon emissions goal to
2045. This goal includes both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions,
including other greenhouse gas emissions of methane, nitrous oxide
and sulfur hexafluoride. Ameren is also targeting a 60% reduction
in carbon emissions by 2030 and an 85% carbon emissions reduction
by 2040, based on 2005 levels.
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 on Twitter 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 within Risk
Factors in Ameren's and Ameren Missouri's Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31,
2022, and elsewhere in this release and in our other filings
with the SEC, 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 the impact of a final ruling to be issued by
the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Missouri regarding its September 2019 remedy order for the Rush Island
Energy Center, the Missouri Public Service Commission ("MoPSC")
staff review of the planned Rush Island Energy Center retirement,
and Ameren Missouri's proposed customer energy-efficiency plan
under the Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act ("MEEIA") filed
with the MoPSC in March 2023;
- 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 return on equity, within
frameworks established by our regulators, while maintaining
affordability of our 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 plant-in-service
accounting;
- 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 combined cycle energy
centers, 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 ("CCNs") from the MoPSC or any other required approvals
for the addition of renewable resources;
- 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.
("MISO") or other regional transmission organizations ("RTOs") at
an acceptable cost for each facility;
- 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, if any, to the tax positions taken by the
Ameren Companies, 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, and 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 the 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 or our
suppliers, 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
credit metrics of the Ameren companies, 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, including within the MISO, 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, CO2,
NOx, 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 and Illinois and with the zero emission standard
in Illinois;
- 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 guidance;
- the effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers,
acquisitions, and divestitures;
- legal and administrative proceedings;
- pandemics or other health events, including the COVID-19
pandemic, and their impacts on our results of operations, financial
position, and liquidity; and
- the impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, related sanctions imposed by the U.S.
and other governments, and any broadening of the conflict,
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
us to predict all of such factors, nor can we 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