Huck Finn Solar Project is 25 times larger than any current
solar site in Missouri
ST.
LOUIS, June 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Ameren
Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE), takes
another important step toward bringing more renewable energy to
customers by announcing the planned acquisition of the company's
largest-ever solar facility, a 200 megawatt (MW) solar installation
in central Missouri that is
expected to create more than 250 construction jobs.
The facility will be acquired pursuant to a build-transfer
agreement with EDF Renewables, a company with a longstanding track
record of developing and building renewable energy facilities.
Known as the Huck Finn Solar Project, it is planned to be
constructed on the border of Missouri's Audrain and Ralls counties. Huck Finn is expected to
produce enough energy to power approximately 40,000 homes. With
timely regulatory approvals, the project could begin generating
clean energy as soon as 2024.
"Developing Huck Finn is good for all of our customers because
it provides clean electricity, creates economic opportunity and
injects millions of dollars into the community over the life of the
project, which will have widespread additional benefits," said
Mark Birk, chairman and
president of Ameren Missouri.
The facility is a step-change for solar generation in
Missouri, and its announcement
comes just days after Ameren Missouri updated its comprehensive
plan to safeguard long-term energy reliability and resiliency for
Missourians, a plan that also accelerates Ameren's companywide
net-zero carbon emissions goal to 2045, five years sooner than
previously planned.
"We're focused on the two items customers say are most important
to them: reliability and affordability," Birk said. "The
thoughtfully planned additions of renewable generation over time
keeps the grid reliable and resilient while also managing
costs."
Huck Finn is designed to generate more than 25 times the amount
of energy of Missouri's largest
existing solar facility. It is the latest project to be part of
Ameren Missouri's planned addition of 2,800 MW in new, clean
renewable generation by 2030 and the ninth solar facility that the
company has announced or put in service since 2019. Together, these
nine facilities represent more than 360 MW of clean energy
generation capacity. In that time, Ameren Missouri has installed
solar generation in underutilized locations including a parking
garage, next to an airport runway and in partnership with
community-based organizations working in underserved
neighborhoods.
"Our customers will benefit from technological improvements that
make solar generation an adaptable resource where we can get more
energy from previously unused locations, including parking lots and
garage rooftops," said Ajay
Arora, chief renewable development officer at Ameren
Missouri. "In the coming months, we anticipate taking more steps to
demonstrate Ameren Missouri's commitment to clean energy
generation."
Terms of the agreement between Ameren Missouri and EDF are
confidential.
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, Ameren and Ameren
Missouri 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 and Ameren
Missouri's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2021, and their other
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, could cause actual results to
differ materially from management expectations suggested in such
"forward-looking" statements. All "forward-looking" statements
included in this report are based upon information presently
available, and Ameren and Ameren Missouri, except to the extent
required by the federal securities laws, undertake no obligation to
update or revise publicly any "forward-looking" statements to
reflect new information or current events.
- 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 Court for the
Eastern District of Missouri
regarding its September 2019 remedy
order for the Rush Island Energy Center, and the Missouri Public
Service Commission ("MoPSC") staff review of the planned Rush
Island Energy Center retirement;
- the effect on Ameren Missouri's investment plan and earnings if
an extension to use plant-in-service accounting ("PISA") is not sought by Ameren Missouri or
approved by the MoPSC;
- the effect on Ameren Missouri of any customer rate caps
pursuant to Ameren Missouri's election to use the PISA, including an extension of use beyond
2023 if requested by Ameren Missouri and approved by the MoPSC
under current Missouri law, or
beyond 2028 if requested and approved by the MoPSC if Missouri Senate Bill 745 is enacted;
- 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,
regulations, interpretations, or rates, and challenges to the tax
positions taken by the Ameren Companies, if any, as well as
resulting effects on customer rates;
- 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 effectiveness of Ameren Missouri's customer
energy-efficiency programs and the related revenues and performance
incentives earned under its Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment
Act programs;
- 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 our services for our customers;
- 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 purchased power, zero emission credits,
renewable energy credits, emission allowances, and natural gas for
distribution; and the level and volatility of future market prices
for such commodities and credits;
- the cost and availability of transmission capacity for the
energy generated by Ameren Missouri's energy centers or required to
satisfy Ameren Missouri's energy sales;
- 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 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;
- business and economic conditions, which have been affected by,
and will be affected by the length and severity of, the COVID-19
pandemic, including the impact of such conditions on interest rates
and inflation;
- disruptions of the capital 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;
- the actions of credit rating agencies and the effects of such
actions, including any impacts on our credit ratings that may
result from the economic conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic;
- 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
disruptions in the global supply chain caused by the COVID-19
pandemic;
- 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 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 and
CO2, 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;
- Ameren Missouri's ability to construct and/or acquire wind,
solar, and other renewable energy generation facilities, retire
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, related return, and,
in the case of customer energy-efficiency programs, any lost
margins in a timely manner, 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;
- the availability of federal production and investment tax
credits related to renewable energy and Ameren Missouri's ability
to use such credits; 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. or other regional transmission organizations
at an acceptable cost for each facility;
- cost-effective advancements in clean energy technologies, and
the impact of constructive federal and state energy and economic
policies with respect to those technologies;
- 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, 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; and
- acts of sabotage, war, terrorism, or other intentionally
disruptive acts.
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,
Ameren and Ameren Missouri 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