In 2017, Ameren Missouri announced a forward-thinking plan to dramatically increase the amount of wind and solar generation to provide cost-effective and sustainable energy for its customers–all for the benefit of our customers and the communities we serve. Ameren Missouri's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), a 20-year outlook that supports cleaner energy in Missouri, was filed in September 2017 with the Missouri Public Service Commission, and is consistent with Missouri’s Renewable Energy Standard. This plan also includes investing in our existing generation fleet to ensure decades of additional safe, flexible and economical operation.
Specifics of our plan include:
- Adding at least 700 megawatts (MW) of wind generation by 2020. Talks are underway with large customers that could result in additional projects. The wind generation is expected to be located in Missouri and neighboring states, with a total investment of approximately $1 billion.
- Adding 50 MW of solar generation by 2025, and a total of 100 MW by 2027.
- Cutting carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050 from 2005 levels. Along the way we set a goal to reduce carbon emissions 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040 based on 2005 levels.
- Managing the largest, most comprehensive energy efficiency program in Missouri's history. The plan, among many other things, represents a carbon emissions reduction equivalent to taking 115,000 cars off the street.
- Addressing the need to transition to a smart energy grid that can support more renewable energy, universal and private solar, and our customers' desire for more tools and information to manage their energy use.
- Retiring a number of our coal-fired generating energy centers over the next couple of decades. This includes retiring the Meramec Energy Center by the end of 2022, at which time it will be approximately 70 years old.
Additional information is also available at AmerenMissouri.com/IRP. The IRP, which is filed every three years, examines electric customers’ projected long-term energy needs and describes Ameren Missouri's preferred approach to meeting those needs in a cost-effective fashion that maintains system reliability. We will continue to execute our 20-year plan and work with stakeholders, the industry and policy leaders in Missouri and Illinois, as well as Washington, D.C., to meet state and federal regulations.