Ameren Missouri is pursuing multiple opportunities to expand renewable energy generation and has installed solar facilities in underutilized locations, including a parking garage, next to an airport runway, and in partnership with community-based organizations working in underserved neighborhoods.
Under the Neighborhood Solar program, Ameren Missouri has partnered with community organizations to build solar facilities. These sites, enabled by the Smart Energy Plan, provide clean energy to the grid while also serving as hubs of renewable workforce development and solar education across our service territory. Ameren Missouri owns, maintains and finances the sites. The program is no longer open to new sites.
Several Neighborhood Solar locations are now generating clean energy, including:
The largest Neighborhood Solar installation to date at 1.2 megawatts, the 3,500 solar modules will provide enough energy to power more than 130 homes for a year. This facility is located on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University, providing covered parking for the Show Me Center. Construction began in October 2021, and it went into service in July 2022.
Ameren Missouri's first site built under this program is located at the Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis headquarters and ReStore in South St. Louis. Three canopies provide shade and cover for the nonprofit’s operations. The site went into service in August 2021.
There are many ways Neighborhood Solar is benefiting communities in Ameren Missouri's service territory, from workforce development to grid resiliency to environmental benefits. By investing more than $14 million in renewable energy projects within neighborhoods where our customers live, work and play, Ameren Missouri is making renewable energy visible, accessible, and providing it as a local amenity, complete with shaded parking and LED lighting.
In addition, Ameren Missouri provided job and training opportunities to members of the local community where we were building. This provided valuable experience and equitable career access in the growing field of renewable energy installation.
Finally, Ameren Missouri's site selection supported environmental justice by adding clean energy to the grid in historically underserved areas or affected by the urban heat island effect. We understand the value of conscious investment during the clean energy transition that corrects historical environmental injustices.