Missouri energy leaders are all in on nuclear power. A new state energy plan from Missouri's Department of Natural Resources prioritizes new nuclear plants, as well as energy independence and grid reliability.
Missouri uses eight times more energy than it produces, a statistic state energy leaders want to change by building more nuclear power plants, increasing transmission capacity and reusing closed power plants.
"In recent years, Missouri has become more dependent on electricity from outside our state borders. The State Energy Plan provides a roadmap for reversing that trend," Gov. Mike Kehoe said in the report.
With electricity demand expected to rise from the development of artificial intelligence data centers, Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Jake Buxton said nuclear power is best suited to provide the state around the clock electricity.
"Really, the only one that's on the table that doesn't have the emissions that has the ability to flip the switch on and provide that dispatchable power is nuclear," Buxton said.
Missouri lawmakers debated how to pay for new multibillion dollar nuclear power plants in the last legislative session. The discussion was partly fueled by the public's concerns about rising energy bills and the increasing cost of living.
"Anticipated increases in demand due to AI and other data center load could drive energy bills even higher. Continued reliance on importing electricity generated in other states exposes Missourians to these strings and risks further escalation of energy bills," the report said. "Although building new generation in Missouri carries costs, it can help limit the pace of future bill increases for Missouri customers."
Missouri's new state energy plan says replacing the electricity produced by power plants set to retire, in addition to meeting projected future energy demand, means the state would need to produce 2.6 times more energy than it does now.
Buxton and Department of Natural Resources energy leaders want lawmakers to designate "priority energy zones" across the state — areas such as brownfields, former power plants and industrial-ready sites to redevelop.
Buxton leads a nuclear power task force assembled by Kehoe that is expected to bring the new report's policy recommendations to lawmakers. Buxton said the plan reflects Kehoe's energy priorities.
"When you have a nuclear plant, it is producing energy 97% of the time that it's in operation, that's true dispatchable power," he said.
Ameren Missouri operates the state's only commercial nuclear power plant in Callaway County.
Ajay Arora, Ameren's chief generation development officer, said gas is the company's "anchor" generation resource for the future, but the utility aims to add additional nuclear power facilities in 2040.
"Over the last year, we have really focused on assessing the various technologies — whether it's large nuclear or small modular nuclear reactors — and also understanding policy aspects at the state in order to enable us to make that investment," Arora said.
Electricity demand is projected to spike in Missouri, due to current and future development of AI data centers. The state energy plan notes Missouri has moved from a "minor data center market to a rapidly expanding hub" — with construction concentrated in the Kansas City corridor and more planned along Interstate 70 and Interstate 44.
Two large data center projects are in development in Montgomery County, which have brought varying levels of community pushback and concerns.
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