Missouri is placing nuclear power at the center of a new strategy to reduce its reliance on electricity produced beyond its borders. The State Energy Plan released Sept. 30 says the state has shifted from a net electricity exporter to a net importer over the past decade, while nearly all fuel used by Missouri power plants comes from elsewhere.
The plan calls for more in-state generation, expanded transmission capacity and redevelopment of brownfields, former power-plant sites and other industrial locations.
State officials are linking that demand growth partly to artificial-intelligence data centers. Two large data-center projects in Montgomery County have drawn community opposition and concerns.
Nuclear power is presented in the plan as the only carbon-free baseload option that can provide dispatchable electricity while diversifying the state’s fuel mix. The plan also recommends reducing the capital cost and development risk of nuclear projects, while encouraging a diversified portfolio rather than dependence on a single fuel.
Ameren Missouri operates the state’s only commercial nuclear plant, in Callaway County.
The effort is moving into a policy phase. Mike Kehoe’s Advanced Nuclear Energy Task Force is responsible for implementing nuclear-related recommendations and bringing proposals to lawmakers. Other proposals would change financing and rate rules for nuclear construction, leaving lawmakers to determine how the multibillion-dollar projects would be funded and how costs would be allocated.