Ameren cancels plans to acquire 157MW wind farm in Missouri

Ameren Missouri has canceled the deal to acquire the Brickyard Hill wind farm from EDF Renewables, citing unacceptably high costs

Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren has announced the termination of its plans to acquire the 157MW Brickyard Hill wind farm in Atchison County, Missouri, from EDF Renewables.

Ameren Missouri chairman and president Michael Moehn said: Significant upgrades would have been required on the transmission system to accommodate this project, leading to unacceptably high costs. While were focused on incorporating more renewable energy, we also have to be good financial stewards for our customers, who trust us to provide safe, reliable energy while keeping rates stable and predictable.

While it is disappointing we will not be moving forward with this project, we remain focused on seeing our other, larger projects through to the finish line.

Ameren agreed to acquire the wind farm from EDF Renewables last October

In October 2018, Ameren Missouri had entered into an agreement with EDF Renewables to acquire the Brickyard Hill wind project. It was estimated that during the peak construction period, the wind farm would have created 280 jobs and when operational in 2020, it would generate enough energy to power 47,000 homes.

The company also reiterated that it remains committed to meeting its goal of owning at least 700MW in new wind generation by the end of next year.

One of the two Missouri-based projects under an agreement to build include the 400MW facility in Adair and Schuyler counties. The Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) had already approved a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN) for the wind farm. The second project is the 300MW facility in Atchison county, for which CCN approval form PSC is still pending.

The total investment for the two wind farms expected to be about $1.2bn (971m).

In addition to expanding wind generation, the company also plans to add 50MW solar by 2025 and plans to increase it to 100MW by 2027.

Ameren Missouri also plans to reduce its carbon dioxide levels by 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040 and 80% by 2050, based on 2005 levels. As part of this plan, the company aims to retire more than half of its coal-fired power plants in the next 20 years, started with the Meramec Energy Center in 2022.