Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources is seeking a contractor to prepare the Comprehensive State Energy Plan.
According to a DNR news release, the contractor would “perform quantitative modeling and analysis of Missouri’s current and projected energy resource needs” to create the energy plan. Because putting together an energy plan is such a large feat, contractors — which are often energy consulting firms — partner with state departments to quantify the state’s energy use, needs and demands, and to find solutions to them.
“Essentially, the goal is to look at where we are right now, a snapshot of where we are in the state of Missouri in our energy use, our energy ability going forward, (and) what projected increase and growth is,” DNR Director Kurt Schaefer said.
The department is open to requests for a contractor until 3 p.m. Oct. 28.
A variety of stakeholders, including governmental, industry and community entities, are also involved in the state’s energy plan. The department initiated the Missouri State Energy Planning (MoSEP) process in late 2020, according to the MoSEP summary and action report.
The report provided insight into the state’s energy profile and needs at the time. Coal remained a primary energy source in Missouri in 2020, and the transportation sector was responsible for 30 percent of the state’s energy consumption, according to the report.
In 2023, Missouri was ranked fourth in the country in per capita residential energy consumption, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. While coal remains a dominant power source for the state, Missouri’s energy needs are also powered by a mix of sources, including fossil fuels, renewable energy and nuclear.
The department’s release added there’s been a “significant shift” to natural gas due to Missouri’s “rapidly escalating energy demand.”
Schaefer said this shift is influenced by federal regulations on air emissions and pollutants. Because of these regulations, which continue to restrict the amount of air pollutants being emitted, the state is required to ensure that power sources, which are issued permits by DNR, follow federal guidelines.
Schaefer said this is the reason coal plants, nationally and locally, are closing. This type of analysis is something that could be considered and evaluated in the coming energy plan, he added.
Due to the high energy demand, Missouri is already working toward solutions for consumers. While data centers in the state have increased the need for energy, Schaefer said it’s not the core reason for the state’s energy surge.
In September, Ameren announced plans to build a 250 megawatt solar facility in Mid-Missouri, next to the Callaway Plant. The facility, which is anticipated to be operable by the end of 2028, is expected to generate 530,000 megawatt-hours in its first year, according to Ameren’s application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity.
In its application for the facility, dubbed the Reform Solar Project, Ameren said the project is part of the company’s “transition” to “greater reliance on least-cost renewable energy resources to fulfill its customers’ energy needs.”
State legislators have also been investigating ways to make nuclear energy easier to carry out in Missouri. Since the summer, the House of Representatives Utilities Committee has held a series of hearings with testimony from experts in the nuclear and energy fields. So far, the committee has brought local and national industry leaders to give insights on how nuclear can help power Missouri’s energy grid, ways the state can pursue financing options and how the local labor force can play a part in making nuclear energy.
Back in July, the Missouri Nuclear Summit brought state leaders, energy officials and nuclear experts to discuss advancing nuclear energy in the state, including Emily Wilbur, director of the Division of Energy under DNR.