Evergy announces plans to build natural gas plant south of Maryville, man voices concern

Evergy — a power provider in Kansas and Missouri — recently announced plans to build a 440 megawatt natural gas plant off U.S. Highway 71 south of Maryville, south of the existing Mullin Creek Substation.

Evergy Vice President of Development Jason Humphrey said the plant — which is called Mullin Creek #1 — is a simple-cycle peaking gas plant, meaning it uses natural gas to generate electricity. The project also includes two other plants set to operate in Kansas. All three plants are expected to begin operations in 2029 and 2030, according to Evergy.

This project is made possible by Missouri’s recent passage of Senate Bill 4, which repeals certain provisions regarding penalties and violations for federally mandated natural gas safety standards. Humphrey said the bill provides a competitive way for Evergy to cover certain costs.

“What Senate Bill 4 allows us to do is kind of help pay for those financing costs along the way,” Humphrey said. “Our shareholders and debt holders still provide the capital, but they start getting a return on those construction costs a little bit earlier in the project, and that helps lower the overall cost of the projects, as we don’t have as much financing cost, which at the end of the day, lowers the cost of the new facilities for the retail customers of the utility.”

While Humphrey said he is unable to say what the specific costs for the projects will be, it must be reasonable and prudent for it to be approved by the Missouri Public Service Commission. He said right now, the MO PSC is reviewing Evergy’s application to build the plants and ensure it receives a certificate of convenience and necessity.

Humphrey said Evergy anticipates the impact to customer bills to align with the general inflation in the economy.

“The rate of inflation in the economy (has) been quite high here the last couple years, but generally we estimate it’s kind of in that two-four percent range,” Humphrey said. “We would say, on an annual basis, that would be about the impact to a customer bill (with) these plants.”

Humphrey said many community members have questions about the project, with some people concerned about how it may impact taxes and the economy. He said others worry the power will be sent to other geographical areas. Humphrey said he is happy to say Evergy is planning to build the plants to support its retail customer base, as well as the growth of Missouri’s economy.

A virtual public hearing was held at noon April 1, where multiple community members could provide personal testimonies for MO PSC’s record.

One man, Josh Moutray, said he lives directly across from the proposed gas site at Mullin Creek #1. His family began looking for a place to build their home in 2007, ultimately deciding the location as perfect. Moutray said he received a phone call announcing the property went up for sale, and he and his wife bought it that night.

“The past 14 years, we have poured every ounce of spare energy into our property, making it beautiful,” Moutray said during the hearing. “We (have) visions of a barn in the southeast corner to host family gatherings, landscaping projects planned, additions to the house planned and specific trees picked out to go into specific spots. The construction of a home never ends.”

Moutray said he and his wife are also deeply involved in the Nodaway County community, further emphasizing the area as being their home.

Upon learning of Evergy’s plan for the natural gas plant near his home, Moutray said his and his family’s lives changed.

“From there, we began to research the health risks of living near a natural gas plant, and despite it being termed a clean energy source, it is not,” Moutray said. “It may be cleaner, but by no means is it clean. From methane exposure, carbon dioxide, oxides and nitrogen in the air, to the mercury in the water, we are in direct danger.”

Moutray said Evergy is changing the course of his family’s future, forcing them to choose between staying in their home and risking early mortality or packing up and starting over somewhere else.

Humphrey said he recognizes issues may come up from the MO PSC and others throughout the planning process, but Evergy’s main goal is enabling continued prosperity for its customers.

As for the environmental impacts, Humphrey said the power plants will burn natural gas, which has about half the carbon intensity as coal does.

Humphrey said Evergy is using the newest, most advanced and most efficient combustion turbines available on the market for Mullin Creek #1. Due to that efficiency, the plant will provide the most electricity for the least amount of gas it possibly can.

He also said it will have state-of-the-art environmental controls on the back end to address the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide emissions. While it won’t be carbon-free, Humphrey said it will have the lowest environmental impact in the grand scheme of natural gas plants.

“I just want to say we’re really excited to partner with Nodaway County, the Maryville community and Northwest Missouri State (University) in particular,” Humphrey said. “We’ve been the retail electric provider for a very long time in northwestern Missouri, and we’re really, really happy to be investing in both construction jobs and tax base, but also long-term jobs at this plant as we help kind of invest in the infrastructure for our northwest Missouri friends.”