Ameren Missouri has announced that they will be starting construction on a 6 MW solar plant in Montgomery County, Maryland this summer after approval was given by the state regulators. The facility will occupy 91 acres of land near New Florence could be in operation by the end of the year, after approval from the Public Service Commission. The facility, which is the largest solar facility built in Ameren’s history and will include thousands of solar panels, is expected to generate 12,000-megawatt hours per year, the equivalent of the total energy needs of nearly 1,100 average residential homes, the utility said previously.
Also Read: US$250 million deal to complete Purple Line approved, Maryland
It added that the development comes as it counts almost 2,000 new customer subscriptions to its community solar program, which it says allows eligible customers to subscribe to blocks of a shared solar system at a locked-in generation charge. Ameren indicated it would move forward with the development in October. In September, it said it would look to operate with net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a more aggressive goal than previously outlined. The utility’s first community solar project was a 1 MW facility at St. Louis Lambert International Airport. Development there began in the fall of 2018 and was fully subscribed 55 days later. Construction was completed by Azimuth Energy in August 2019. The utility asked to expand its community solar program and filed an application for the Montgomery County facility last fall. By mid-October, the facility was 93% subscribed. Around 7,800 blocks of solar energy were available for customers. Each block is equal to 100 kWh of power.
“We’re excited to support thousands of Ameren Missouri customers in their desire to receive up to half of their energy from Missouri-based clean energy,” Matt Forck, Ameren Missouri Vice President of community, economic development, and energy solutions, said in a statement.
