ST. LOUIS — Ameren Corp. said Monday that its Ameren Missouri unit plans to acquire its largest-ever solar facility.
The subsidiary plans to buy a 200-megawatt solar installation in central Missouri, known as the Huck Finn Solar Project, expected to produce enough energy to power about 40,000 homes, according to a press release. The new facility is designed to generate more than 25 times the energy of Missouri's largest current solar facility, officials said.
The facility will be acquired after construction through an agreement with developer EDF Renewables North America, a San Diego-based unit of French utility EDF Group that develops and builds renewable energy facilities. The Huck Finn Solar Project will be built on the border of Audrain and Ralls counties in Missouri and will create over 250 construction jobs, officials said.
Terms of Ameren Missouri's deal with EDF weren't disclosed. Subject to regulatory approvals, the project could begin generating energy as soon as 2024, according to the release.
"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," Mark Birk, chairman and president of Ameren Missouri, said in a statement.
The new facility "is a step-change for solar generation in Missouri," officials said in the press release.
Last week, Ameren said it would accelerate its net-zero carbon emissions goal to 2045, moved up five years from an earlier goal of 2050. The company in 2020 pledged to spend about $7.5 billion to add 4,700 megawatts of renewable generation by 2040, including about $4.3 billion to add 2,800 megawatts of clean wind and solar generation by 2030.
“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.”
Read the full story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.
