More than a dozen people spoke against a proposed natural gas plant at a virtual hearing before Missouri’s Public Service Commission on Thursday night.
Ameren Missouri is asking for permission to build the gas plant and battery storage facility on the site of the former Rush Island coal plant in Jefferson County. It would be a simple cycle gas plant with a peak capacity of 800 megawatts of energy and an additional 400 megawatts of battery storage.
The virtual session was the only public hearing on the proposal plant. Staff for Missouri’s Office of Public Counsel asked to have two hearings, with one in person, but the commission denied the request.
“They're selling this to us and they're doing this almost under the cover of darkness, by the light of the moon,” said Larry Sutton, adding, “This just doesn't seem right.”
Attendees outlined specific concerns about the plant, including its potential to pollute the surrounding environment, its cost and its potential to power artificial intelligence data centers.
“What is clear is that even as energy production becomes more efficient, Ameren and the PSC will continue to raise rates and build facilities primarily meant to benefit big tech, with little or no regard to environmental protection values or price increases to customers,” said Jennie Loomis.
The cost of the Big Hollow project is not listed in the public application for approval. However, in an application for permission to build a similar 800 megawatt natural gas plant that has now been approved, the utility estimated that project would cost $900 million.
In its June application to the state, Ameren cited new large energy users like data centers as the first reason for needing the Big Hollow power plant.
“The company needs additional capacity to serve new large load customers,” attorneys for Ameren wrote in its filing.
Ameren has defined large load customers as those needing more than 100 megawatts of energy in other filings. They include artificial intelligence data centers, which could use significantly more energy than that.
“A critical component of serving new large load customers is to build the generation needed to serve them in a timely manner, like the Big Hollow Projects, for which we need the Commission's approval,” wrote Ajay Arora, a senior vice president at Ameren Missouri.
Multiple speakers were opposed to potential use of the plant to power data centers. A new state law, SB4, required utilities to write new rates or tariffs for large energy users like data centers to protect other customers from having their costs go up. Ameren’s proposal is currently under consideration in another case before the commission.
Some speakers urged the commissioners to hold up on the Big Hollow project until those new tariffs were in place.
“Approving the Big Hollow Creek facility today, before the tariff and its cost allocation safeguards are finalized, would amount to pre-approval of these private interconnection agreements and the infrastructure built to serve them,” said Änna Farrar.
In the application for the plant, Ameren’s lawyers also said the power plant is needed to meet replacement requirements laid out in a new Missouri law, SB4. Additionally, they say it would provide flexibility in case extra energy is needed for various reasons, including if a planned replacement is delayed for the retiring Sioux coal plant in St. Charles or if environmental regulations require an earlier retirement of the Labadie coal plant in Franklin County.
Multiple public commenters took issue with the plans to build new fossil fuel generation. Natural gas plants emit less carbon dioxide than coal plants, but they still emit strong planet-warming gases like methane, contributing to climate change.
“I was very happy to see Ameren close the Rush Island coal plant, as it was polluting our air,” said Cindy Gross. “However, I am very unhappy to hear that they want to replace it with another fossil fuel, methane gas. Methane emissions trap considerably more heat than carbon dioxide, and we need to be drawing down sources of methane, not expanding its use.”
The Rush Island plant violated the Clean Air Act for years.
“How can residents be assured that Ameren isn't just going to build another toxic plant using our money, that they're supposed to be reinvesting back to the people for the damage they've already caused?” asked Rebecca Redd.
Multiple people said they were surprised by the hearing and felt that its details were not sufficiently communicated to the public. Others said the lack of information made them feel that the decision was already made.
“I think what's going to happen is nobody's going to care what the consumer is saying, nobody's going to care what I'm saying,” said Craig DeSiato. “They're just going to move forward and do what they want. I mean, I was blindsided by this.”
The Public Service Commission will consider Ameren’s application through March. It is accepting written comments from the public at pscinfo@psc.mo.gov or at the PSC’s website. The case number is EA-2025-0238.
Correction: The Castle Bluff natural gas plant has been approved.
