Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of electric and natural gas utility Ameren, is set to acquire the 200MWac/270MWdc Huck Finn solar project in central Missouri, US.
The company has signed a build-transfer agreement with EDF Renewables, one of the largest renewable developers in North America, to acquire the project.
Planned to be built on the border of Missouri’s Audrain and Ralls counties, the solar project is expected to create more than 250 construction jobs, and generate more than $14m in revenue.
The acquisition is subject to closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
EDF Renewables origination and power marketing director Eric Spigelman said: “EDF Renewables is pleased to partner again with Ameren to help them execute on the transition to cleaner forms of generation.
“Ameren shares in our mission to deliver affordable, clean, reliable energy while at the same time growing the economy.”
The Huck Finn solar facility is expected to become operational in 2024, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals.
Once operational, the project is expected to have the capacity to generate 25 times more power than Missouri’s largest existing solar facility.
Also, it is expected to generate adequate clean energy to power 40,000 homes, eliminating more than 330,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions per annum.
The Huck Finn solar will be part of the 2.8GW of new clean energy capacity that Ameren Missouri is planning to achieve by the end of 2030.
It forms the ninth solar facility that the company announced or put in service since 2019, where the nine facilities combinedly represent more than 360MW of clean energy generation capacity.
Ameren Missouri chairman and president Mark Birk said: “Developing Huck Finn is good for all of our customers because it provides clean electricity, creates economic opportunity and injects millions of dollars into the community over the life of the project, which will have widespread additional benefits.
“We’re focused on the two items customers say are most important to them: reliability and affordability. The thoughtfully planned additions of renewable generation over time keeps the grid reliable and resilient while also managing costs.”
Earlier this year, Ameren Missouri signed an agreement with Invenergy to acquire a 150MW solar facility project in south-eastern Illinois, US.
