Ameren Missouri plans open 4 solar farms capable of powering 95,000 homes

Ameren Missouri plans to open four solar farms by 2026 capable of powering a combined 95,000 homes, the company announced Tuesday.

Ameren, an investor-owned electric utility serving St. Louis and eastern Missouri, said in a release it would build or purchase the four solar farms, which would have a combined capacity of 550 megawatts.

Mark Birk, Ameren Missouri’s chairman and president, said the company was taking advantage of new federal incentives meant to encourage renewable development.

“These projects support our ongoing generation transformation toward more clean energy while maintaining the reliability, resiliency and affordability our customers expect,” Birk said.

The four solar farms are a leap forward in Ameren’s plan to add a combined 2,800 megawatts of wind and solar power by the end of 2030.

Ameren has signaled to Missouri regulators in its long-range plan that it intends to add significant amounts of renewable energy generators in the coming years. It also plans to add utility-scale battery storage in the 2030s.