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Ameren Missouri has filed a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity with the Missouri Public Service Commission to build a solar farm on the north side of its nuclear plant in Callaway County.
This story has been updated to reflect the correct power capacity of the Reform Renewal Energy Center, to clarify that Ameren may apply to add a battery system to the facility in the future, and to correct the expected project completion date.
CALLAWAY COUNTY — Ameren Missouri has filed a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity with the Missouri Public Service Commission to build a solar farm on the north side of its nuclear plant in Callaway County.
The plant will have a power capacity of 250 megawatts and will be located on land that Ameren Missouri owns around the nuclear plant. Storing an equal amount of energy will be possible if Ameren moves forward with a plan to put batteries at the Reform Renewal Energy Center, but that kind of addition is dependent on an another unique approval from the Public Service Commission. The energy stored in the batteries could be discharged when demand on the grid is higher.
“That land around it is really used as a buffer for the Callaway Nuclear Facility to make sure nothing encroaches on that facility for safety and reliability purposes, so we really get to utilize that land and put it to more use,” said Scott Wibbenmeyer, the senior director of renewable development and acquisitions for Ameren Missouri.
In addition to the plans it already has, Ameren Missouri has gained full support from Renew Missouri, an environmental advocacy agency.
“The more Ameren can add to their generation as far as solar, wind, energy efficiency, battery storage, we believe that’s a benefit not only for their customers, but also for their shareholders and also for the state,” Renew Missouri Executive Director James Owen said.
Despite the very positive messages from both Ameren Missouri and Renew Missouri, some people remain skeptical.
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One Facebook group titled “Callaway County, Missouri Commercial Solar Invasion” has been very outspoken about its views.
The group has included posts such as “AMEREN NEEDS TO WISE UP AND STOP DRINKING THE KOOLAID” and “Rural Americas are taking a stand against the big green scam! David Vs. Goliath.”
However, Owen said many of the gripes against solar are simply not true.
“We also hear things about how it’s got chemicals in it, (or) it’s got material in it that’s bad for the ground, it’s bad for the water — that’s just not accurate,” Owen said.
Owen added that people at Renew Missouri also hear feedback about how solar farms take up too much crop land.
“It’s really taking up just a small percentage, no more than 1-3%,” Owen said.
The cost of the project is undisclosed. The project is expected to break ground in 2027 and be complete by 2028, according to a news release from Ameren Missouri.
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