Ameren plans for natural gas-fueled energy center in south St. Louis County - KTVI Fox 2 St. Louis
Ameren plans for natural gas-fueled energy center in south St. Louis County
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Ameren Missouri is planning to build a natural gas-fueled energy center in south St. Louis County on the grounds of a former coal-fired power plant.
Ameren announced plans for the Castle Bluff Energy Center earlier this week near the confluence of the Meramec and Mississippi rivers.
The company describes the plant as a backup source of energy that’s “designed to bolster grid reliability” and “deliver energy on the hottest summer days, the coldest winter days or when renewable energy is not generating as forecasted.”
Ameren says the energy center would create new jobs and sources of revenue for the St. Louis region while also dropping carbon dioxide emissions by 40% compared to its previous coal site, which closed near the end of 2022. The new energy center also aims to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 80% and sulfur dioxide emissions by 99%.
The Castle Bluff Energy Center needs approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission, but with it, construction could start as soon as 2025.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: coal
The use of coal, a staple of heating and electricity-generation for decades, is in decline in the United States — supplanted by newly abundant production of natural gas — but is still dominant in some parts of the world. While economical, coal use is particularly problematic as international attention focuses increasingly on climate change.