Ameren Missouri plans third in-state wind generation facility

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May 10, 2019, 13:02 ET

ST. LOUIS, May 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE), announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire, after construction, a third wind generation facility in Missouri. The facility, developed by Tradewind Energy, an Enel Green Power company, will be located in Atchison County.

In the past eight months, Ameren Missouri has entered into commitments to acquire up to 857 megawatts (MW) of clean, renewable wind energy representing an investment of approximately $1.4 billion. Today's agreement is an important step in implementing Ameren Missouri's Integrated Resource Plan, a 20-year outlook that supports cleaner energy in the state.

"Adding home-grown renewable energy in Missouri benefits our state by integrating more renewable resources onto the grid and boosting local economies. We anticipate that over 300 high-quality jobs will be created while the project is being built," said Michael Moehn, chairman and president of Ameren Missouri.

When operational in 2020, the 300 MW wind facility will power 90,000 homes. It will be located near the town of Tarkio and is scheduled to join two other planned Ameren Missouri-owned wind generation facilities; one will be in Atchison County near the town of Rock Port, and the other, the state's largest, will stretch across Adair and Schuyler Counties.

"This third facility is planned to be the most advanced in the state by harnessing more wind with fewer turbines. In taking advantage of this new technology, we're taking another step in transitioning our generation fleet to cleaner resources and achieving our goal of reducing carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050," said Ajay Arora, vice president of power operations and energy management.

Before construction of the third facility, Ameren Missouri must obtain the Missouri Public Service Commission's review and approval. All three planned facilities remain subject to a number of conditions including obtaining timely and acceptable transmission interconnection agreements from the applicable regional transmission organizations.

"We're bringing benefits to our customers for years to come by expanding renewable energy and modernizing the grid, all as part of the Smart Energy Plan," Moehn said.

Ameren Missouri has been providing electric and gas service for more than 100 years, and the company's electric rates are among the lowest in the nation. Ameren Missouri's mission is to power the quality of life for its 1.2 million electric and 127,000 natural gas customers in central and eastern Missouri. The company's service area covers 64 counties and more than 500 communities, including the greater St. Louis area. For more information, visit Ameren.com/Missouri or follow us on Twitter at @AmerenMissouri or Facebook.com/AmerenMissouri.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements in this release not based on historical facts are considered "forward-looking" and, accordingly, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed. Although such forward-looking statements have been made in good faith and are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that the expected results will be achieved. These statements include (without limitation) statements as to future expectations, beliefs, plans, strategies, objectives, events, conditions, and financial performance. In connection with the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, we are providing this cautionary statement to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. The following factors, in addition to those discussed under Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and elsewhere in this release and in our other filings with the SEC, could cause actual results to differ materially from management expectations suggested in such forward-looking statements:

regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions, and any changes in regulatory policies and ratemaking determinations, such as an appeal filed by the Missouri Office of Public Counsel in January 2019 in Ameren Missouri's renewable energy standard rate adjustment mechanism case, and future regulatory, judicial, or legislative actions that change regulatory recovery mechanisms;
the effects of changes in federal, state, or local laws and other governmental actions, including monetary, fiscal, and energy policies;
the effects of changes in federal, state, or local tax laws, regulations, interpretations, or rates, amendments or technical corrections to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), and challenges to the tax positions we have taken;
the effects on demand for our services resulting from technological advances, including advances in customer energy efficiency, energy storage, and private generation sources, which generate electricity at the site of consumption and are becoming more cost-competitive;
the effectiveness of Ameren Missouri's customer energy-efficiency programs and the related revenues and performance incentives earned under its Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act programs;
the cost and availability of fuel, such as ultra-low-sulfur coal, natural gas, and enriched uranium used to produce electricity; the cost and availability of purchased power and renewable energy credits; and the level and volatility of future market prices for such commodities and credits, including our ability to recover the costs for such commodities and credits and our customers' tolerance for any related price increases;
the effectiveness of our risk management strategies and our use of financial and derivative instruments;
the impact of cyberattacks on us or our suppliers, which could, among other things, result in the loss of operational control of energy centers and electric transmission and distribution systems and/or the loss of data, such as customer, employee, financial, and operating system information;
business and economic conditions, including their impact on interest rates, collection of our receivable balances, and demand for our products;
disruptions of the capital markets, deterioration in our credit metrics, including as a result of the implementation of the TCJA, or other events that may have an adverse effect on the cost or availability of capital, including short-term credit and liquidity;
the actions of credit rating agencies and the effects of such actions;
the inability of our counterparties to meet their obligations with respect to contracts, credit agreements, and financial instruments;
the construction, installation, performance, and cost recovery of generation, transmission, and distribution assets;
the impact of current environmental laws and new, more stringent, or changing requirements, including those related to carbon dioxide and the proposed repeal and replacement of the Clean Power Plan and potential adoption and implementation of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, other emissions and discharges, cooling water intake structures, coal combustion residuals, and energy efficiency, that could limit or terminate the operation of certain of Ameren Missouri's energy centers, increase our operating costs or investment requirements, result in an impairment of our assets, cause us to sell our assets, reduce our customers' demand for electricity, or otherwise have a negative financial effect;
the impact of complying with renewable energy requirements in Missouri;
Ameren Missouri's ability to acquire wind and other renewable generation facilities and recover its cost of investment and related return in a timely manner, which is affected by the ability to obtain all necessary project approvals; the availability of federal production and investment tax credits related to renewable energy and Ameren Missouri's ability to use such credits; the cost of wind and solar generation technologies; and Ameren Missouri's ability to obtain timely interconnection agreements with Midcontinent Independent System Operator or other regional transmission organizations, including the costs of such interconnections;
the impact of negative opinions of us or our utility services that our customers, legislators, or regulators may have or develop, which could result from a variety of factors, including failures in system reliability, failure to implement our investment plans or to protect sensitive customer information, increases in rates, or negative media coverage;
the effects of strategic initiatives, including mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures;
legal and administrative proceedings; and
acts of sabotage, war, terrorism, or other intentionally disruptive acts.

New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all of such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each such factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in any forward-looking statement. Given these uncertainties, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or future events.

SOURCE Ameren Missouri