Evergy announces plan for natural gas power plant near Maryville

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Evergy announced plans Tuesday to construct a 440 MW natural gas power plant just south of Maryville.

According to filings with the Missouri Public Service Commission, Evergy plans for the simple-cycle natural gas plant to begin construction in the fourth quarter of 2026 or first quarter of 2027, and for it to be operational by Jan. 1, 2030. The Nodaway County plant is the third of three natural gas plants announced by the utility company since last year, joining two others in Kansas.

“These natural gas plants are not only an investment in the future of Missouri, but also a significant investment in the community,” said David Campbell, Evergy president and CEO, in a news release.

In a phone call with The Forum on Tuesday, Jason Humphrey, vice president of development at Evergy, said the proposed plant would be built about eight miles south of Maryville at the existing Mullin Creek substation, which is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 71 and 340th Street. The plant would sit on a little less than 100 acres. A plan announced by a Spanish energy company in 2022 to build a solar farm near that location never materialized.

Humphrey said the site in Nodaway County was selected because it was in a “perfect triangle” needed for a new natural gas plant.

“The first thing that we’ve got is good land and a willing landowner,” he said. “… The second thing we need is electrical infrastructure. Because we are siting this plant right next door to a high-voltage substation, we can take the energy from the plant and get it right on the superhighway of the electrical grid.”

The third leg of the triangle is access to natural gas infrastructure.

“And there are actually two high-pressure interstate pipelines within that 20-to-25-mile circle that we draw around a project so that we can get the high-pressure natural gas that a site like this would need,” Humphrey said.

The power produced at the plant would stay in Evergy’s Missouri West region.

Natural gas was selected because it’s a power type that is more reliable when needed as opposed to “intermittent resources like wind and solar, where they’re great at energy production, but I don’t know that the capacity is gonna be there when I need it,” Humphrey said. “And so with natural gas, we have something that’s modern, clean and efficient.

“The type of unit we’re building here is what’s called an advanced class turbine. These are the largest, most efficient machines that humanity knows how to build right now.”

In a statement, Evergy said the natural gas plant will include state-of-the-art emission controls that will minimize the plant’s impact on the environment. Natural gas plants emit up to 60 percent less carbon dioxide than other firm-dispatchable plants. Plants like the one proposed in Nodaway County run at the times of highest need with some of the most efficient technology available, according to Evergy.

During construction, Evergy estimates more than 200 construction jobs would be created with a mix of local and non-local workers that would ultimately be up to the selected construction contractor. Once the plant is up and running, the company estimates the creation of a minimum of five to 10 “permanent skilled craft jobs.”

“This investment represents Evergy’s commitment to diverse energy sources that create a balance of affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy,” Campbell said in the news release. “We are pleased to make this investment to serve our region for decades to come.”

In the news release, the company specifically pointed to Senate Bill 4 as a factor in deciding to build the plant. The legislation was quickly passed by the Missouri House of Representatives earlier this month after passage by the Senate in February. The energy omnibus bill includes a wide range of changes that affect utilities, including a change that would allow utilities to charge customers for new natural gas power plants before they are constructed and in operation.

Currently, utilities must construct a new plant first, and then ask the Public Service Commission for permission to raise rates afterward.

“Missouri recently passed Senate Bill 4, which includes provisions that make investment in Missouri’s energy infrastructure competitive with other states and enables projects like new power plants,” Campbell said in the news release about the proposed Nodaway County power plant.

The plant would be expected to serve customers for 40 years.