Missourians for a Balanced Energy Future

MBEF June Update

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Greetings MBEF Members,

Happy Summer to you all. There’s a lot going on in Missouri in terms of energy, infrastructure, and technology advancement. Also, the Missouri General Assembly concluded its legislative session with some mixed energy results, so let’s get to it:  

2026 Legislative Session Concludes

The Missouri General Assembly finished its business for the year last month. With regard to energy and infrastructure, success mostly came in what did not pass as opposed to what did.

Solar Legislation Stalls – there was much talk of a potential moratorium on building new and ongoing solar projects statewide along with a potential new tax structure. However, stakeholders and Senate leadership could not come to an agreement and the bill did not pass.

House General Laws Committee Rejects Electric Generation Choice Bill
The Missouri House General Laws committee rejected legislation changing the state’s electric regulatory framework to allow customers to choose who supplies their power. House Bill 2207, attempted to break up the state’s investor-owned electric companies and give customers the ability to decide where their power comes from. While it sounds good in theory, such a move would cause market instability and massive electric rate increases for consumers. “Energy reliability and cost certainty are critical to Missouri’s economic competitiveness,” testified Kara Corches, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “The proposed legislation would have moved us away from the stable, pro-growth energy framework that employers are looking for when deciding where to invest.” 

The Governor has until July 15 to act on bills. Most legislation, unless it contains a specific effective date or emergency clause, becomes effective on August 28, 2026. 

 

In other news:

Missouri’s Focus on Nuclear Energy

Governor Mike Kehoe recently launched Missouri’s Advanced Nuclear Energy Task Force through Executive Order 26-04. The 23-member task force brings together leaders from government, industry, higher education, and the energy sector to evaluate opportunities for advanced nuclear deployment in Missouri. The initiative follows Missouri’s first Nuclear Summit and is intended to support a broader statewide energy strategy focused on reliability, affordability, and economic competitiveness. State officials have emphasized that advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors (SMRs), could play an important role in meeting future energy demand while strengthening grid resilience.

Google’s $15 Billion Investment in Missouri – Jobs, Infrastructure, Technology

Missouri continues  to attract historic private-sector investment tied to growing electricity demand. In May 2026, Google announced a $15 billion investment in Montgomery County that includes construction of a major data center campus and supporting infrastructure. State leaders described the project as one of the largest private investments in Missouri history. The facility is expected to create thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions while significantly increasing regional electricity demand. Google has stated that it will fund 100% of the power and infrastructure costs associated with the project under Missouri’s recently enacted data center energy framework.

The rapid expansion of AI and hyperscale data centers is accelerating conversations around generation capacity, transmission upgrades, and long-term energy planning across Missouri. Industry stakeholders and policymakers increasingly recognize that Missouri must expand dispatchable generation resources while modernizing the grid to remain competitive for future economic development opportunities.

 

Stay tuned for more updates.

Sincerely,

Irl L. Scissors
Missourians for a Balanced Energy Future
www.moenergyfuture.org

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