Community Solar

Ameren Missouri building new facility to meet growing community solar demand

Ameren Missouri building new facility to meet growing community solar demand
Ameren Missouri is expanding its community solar program by building a third facility to meet increasing demand (courtesy: Ameren Missouri)

Ameren Missouri has announced plans to build a new facility alongside the existing Montgomery Community Solar Center in New Florence, about an hour west of St. Louis. The site, which will be part of Ameren Missouri’s Community Solar program, will meet the demand created by more than 4,700 customers from across the state who seek to expand their use of renewable energy.

“Customers continue to find the Community Solar program an easy way to grow their use of renewable energy, without having to install or maintain a single solar panel at their home,” said Greg Lovett, program manager for Community Solar at Ameren Missouri. “While we’re meeting the subscriber’s needs, all customers will benefit from the increase in renewable energy and reduced emissions.”

The proposed 7-MW New Florence Community Solar Center, which will be the third such facility Ameren Missouri has built since launching the program, is subject to approval by the Missouri Public Service Commission. If approved, construction could begin as early as spring of next year and could begin serving customers in 2026, per Ameren.

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The other community solar facilities have been operational for a few years; the first installation at St. Louis Lambert International Airport went online in 2019 and the Montgomery facility started serving customers in 2022.

This latest project is part of Ameren Missouri’s planned addition of 2,800 MW in new renewable generation by 2030. Wednesday’s announcement comes on the heels of Ameren Missouri receiving approval for its largest ever solar investment, which allows it to build or acquire solar projects capable of powering approximately 73,000 homes, with facilities scheduled to go into service in 2025 and 2026.

Through Ameren’s Community Solar program, customers can choose as much as 100% of their energy usage to be sourced from one of the company’s dedicated Community Solar facilities.

The proposed New Florence Community Solar Center is already more than 80% subscribed. Customers can take part in the program by joining the waitlist for this and future facilities.

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