Utility Plans to Add More Renewable Energy, Retire Coal Units
October 03, 2014U.S. electric utility Ameren Missouri filed a 20-year plan that would retire 1,800 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired power plants and add 400 MW of wind power, 45 MW of solar, 28 MW of hydroelectric and 5 MW of landfill gas.
The utility's "Integrated Resource Plan," which it files every three years with state regulatory officials, examines electric customers' projected long-term energy needs and describes Ameren Missouri's preferred approach to meeting those needs.
The utility says its plan would allot it to achieve a 30% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2035, based on 2005 levels.
The plan includes construction in 2016 of a second solar energy center that would be the largest in Missouri. Earlier this year, Ameren Missouri broke ground on its first utility-scale solar energy center in O'Fallon, Mo., which is scheduled for completion later this year.
Major components of the plan include:
- Adding 400 MW of wind power, 45 MW of solar, 28 MW of hydroelectric and 5 MW of landfill gas.
- Retiring approximately 1,800 MW (one-third) of Ameren Missouri's current coal-fired generating capacity. This includes converting two units at Meramec Energy Center to natural gas in 2016 and retiring the remaining units at Meramec by the end of 2022 and the Sioux Energy Center by the end of 2033.
- Reducing emissions of Ameren Missouri's existing coal fleet by continuing to make investments in pollution-control equipment.
- Adding 600 MW of combined-cycle and natural gas generation in 2034.
