Ameren pushes for nuclear plant bill at special session
Ameren officials are promoting the prospect of $250 million in federal subsidies as a reason lawmakers should endorse a proposal for a new nuclear power plant in Callaway County at a special session in September, the Columbia Daily Tribune reports. So far, the St. Louis-based utility and its supporters have been unable to persuade Gov. Jay Nixon to add support for the project to the agenda. Ameren and a coalition of other utilities want lawmakers to approve a bill allowing Ameren to recoup the cost of an early site permit from its customers. Ameren is asking to be able to collect $45 million, of which it has already spent $20 million to $25 million. If the bill can be passed soon, Ameren would be positioned well if federal lawmakers approve a proposed $250 million in subsidies to install one the country’s first small modular reactors, or SMRs.
