The Ameren Ruling: Why Now Is A Good Time To Go Solar

In August of this year the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a 2019 ruling ordering Ameren Missouri to install sulfur dioxide pollution controls, commonly called “scrubbers”, at their Rush Island power plant. A lawsuit filed at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accused Ameren of violating the Clean Air Act when they made unpermitted upgrades to the Rush Island facility, which increased emissions at the plant. 

Currently, only one of Ameren’s coal burning plants has scrubbers. The Sioux Power Plant in West Alton was equipped with scrubbers in 2010, a project that cost ratepayers around $600 million and contributed heavily to rising rates the following year. In comparison, if Ameren had complied with the original 2019 ruling, the company argued that installing scrubbers at both the Rush Island and Labadie plants would cost over $2 billion. A cost that could significantly drive-up rates for their customers. 

Ameren, in their pledge to reduce carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050, has stated they plan to shut down the Rush Island plant by 2039. This recent ruling could change how they approach that goal. Spending hundreds of millions to a billion dollars to retrofit Rush Island with scrubbers may not be the most cost-effective route for Ameren, and they may instead start looking to accelerate their retirement plan for the plant and increase investments in renewable energy.

Either way this court ruling is going to be costly for Ameren, a cost that will translate to rate increases for households and businesses across Missouri. Hopefully Ameren decides to further invest in producing renewable energy. Further incentivizing customers to become fully or partially energy independent by continuing to offer rebates to customers who decide to produce their own power would be a step in the right direction. 

What can you do to protect yourself as a consumer? One step you can take to protect yourself from these rate hikes is going solar. By installing a solar system you are paying upfront for 25+ years of power that is generated by you, not a utility company that’s going to raise their prices when they lose a court case.