Ameren Missouri has launched an effort to build a 5.7 MW solar power facility in O'Fallon, Mo., funded by private investors. The utility expects to have the project online by December.
The O'Fallon Renewable Energy Center will feature more than 19,000 photovoltaic panels and will be built adjacent to Ameren Missouri's Belleau substation on approximately 19 acres owned by the utility.
‘We are committed to renewable energy as one solution to meeting our customers' long-term energy needs,’ says Warner Baxter, president and CEO of Ameren Missouri.
In 2010, Ameren installed a 100 kW rooftop PV system at its St. Louis headquarters, primarily to acquire performance data.
‘Thanks to this research, we were able to verify the effectiveness of the technological and operational aspects of a solar project, which helped to make this new project possible,’ says Bill Barbieri, director of renewable strategy policy and generation for Ameren. ‘The O'Fallon solar farm will allow us to expand our expertise with a utility-scale facility.’
