Missourians can look up how their electric utility’s energy plans measure up against its climate promises.
The Sierra Club’s annual "Dirty Truth" analysis examined plans to retire coal plants, avoid new gas plants and expand clean energy. The group said utilities serving Missouri are falling short.
Jenn DeRose, organizing strategist for the Beyond Coal campaign for the Missouri chapter of the Sierra Club, said the report looks at what companies actually plan to do.
"Missouri utilities are really failing their customers," DeRose contended. "They're saying one thing when it comes to their climate goals and then doing another when it comes to their actual resource generation plans, and that's really what the Dirty Truth is all about."
The report evaluated coal retirement plans through 2030 and gas and clean-energy plans through 2035. Customers can enter their ZIP code on the Sierra Club’s website to check their utility’s grade.
Ameren Missouri's new long-range energy plan is drawing criticism from DeRose. Released Sept. 28, it was not included in the report’s grades, but she said the utility’s most recent choices deepen her concerns.
"Ameren is adding so much new gas and is extending the life of both of its aging coal plants, one of which is the deadliest coal plant in the country," DeRose pointed out.
Ameren’s plan calls for additional solar, wind, battery storage, and nuclear power alongside new gas generation. The company noted that provisions in state law and its growth plan require large electricity users to cover the infrastructure costs of serving them, helping protect existing customers.
Missouri News Service originally published this story.
