---
title: "Missouri just approved 945 MW of grid. Ameren has already signed 2,800 MW of data centers"
description: "The Missouri PSC approved 945 megawatts of batteries and solar on October 21; Ameren's own plan commits 2.8 gigawatts of signed data center load, ramping from the second half of 2027. The $4 billion to $6 billion that closes the gap has no rate order yet, and 1.3 million ratepayers are waiting to see their share."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Power"
published: 2026-10-22T15:19:48.473Z
modified: 2026-10-22T15:19:48.473Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/missouri-just-approved-945-mw-of-grid-ameren-has-already-signed-2-800-mw-of-data-centers
language: en
keywords: "Utilities, Data Centers, Grid, Renewables, Regulation"
---

# Missouri just approved 945 MW of grid. Ameren has already signed 2,800 MW of data centers

> The Missouri PSC approved 945 megawatts of batteries and solar on October 21; Ameren's own plan commits 2.8 gigawatts of signed data center load, ramping from the second half of 2027. The $4 billion to $6 billion that closes the gap has no rate order yet, and 1.3 million ratepayers are waiting to see their share.

Missouri's regulator approved the first slab of [Ameren](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/ameren)'s data center grid on October 21, and the arithmetic around it still does not close [2][3]. The Missouri Public Service Commission [signed off on 545 megawatts of battery storage and 400 megawatts of solar](https://ameren.mediaroom.com/2026-10-21-Ameren-Missouri-takes-next-step-to-support-reliable-energy-for-customers) for Ameren Missouri, the utility serving about 1.3 million electric customers across 60 counties [2][3].

Ameren's own [twenty-year resource plan, filed September 28](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/ameren-missouri-updates-20-year-energy-roadmap-to-maintain-and-develop-cost-effective-energy-resourc-ce785addd98bf727), commits the company to serving 2.8 gigawatts of large-load demand by 2030 through signed electric service agreements [8]. The approved fleet is a third of that load, and most of it lands a year or more after the customers arrive.

## The gap in megawatts

The approved package: Castle Bluff, 95 megawatts of batteries in St [2]. Louis County; Huck Finn, 200 megawatts in Audrain County; Millcreek, 250 megawatts in Lincoln County; plus the Ringer (225 MW) and Tom Sawyer (175 MW) solar farms, acquired from Invenergy and EDF power solutions [2]. Batteries and Tom Sawyer target 2028, Ringer 2029, with [a new 161-kilovolt Quinn switching station](https://abc17news.com/news/audrain/2026/10/21/public-service-commission-approves-ameren-battery-storage-solar-project-in-audrain-county/) tying Millcreek to the grid [3].

[Bank of America, in a October 21 note](https://dailydigestinvest.com/ameren-s-data-center-demand-could-add-billions-to-capital-plan), puts the ramp earlier: signed load starting in the second half of 2027 [1]. [Ameren's preferred plan](https://theinference.org/article/ameren-wants-nine-gas-plants-coal-until-2042-and-13-more-a-month) fills the rest with 10.6 gigawatts of new gas, 2,400 megawatts of storage by 2030 and 1,200 megawatts of nuclear, while retiring all coal by 2042 [7][8].

*Chart: **Missouri approved 945 MW of batteries and solar, a third of the committed load** Bar chart of the five approved Ameren Missouri projects ranked by megawatts*

*Megawatts per project approved by the Missouri Public Service Commission on October 21, 2026, totaling 945 MW against 2,800 MW of committed large-load demand. Sources: Ameren Missouri news release; KMIZ; Ameren Missouri IRP release. [2][3]*

## Who pays for the other 1.9 gigawatts

[BofA](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/bank-of-america) estimates the buildout could add $4 billion to $6 billion to a five-year capital plan of about $20 billion [1]. Ameren points to state law and its Powering Missouri Growth Plan, which require large-load customers to cover the cost of the infrastructure built to serve them [8].

That is the promise; turning it into a rate order is the regulator's job, and Ameren already [filed a $343 million electric rate increase in June](https://www.utilitydive.com/news/ameren-missouri-files-20-year-plan-with-106-gw-gas-additions/831758/) that could lift residential bills about 10% [7]. The Missouri commission approved Wednesday's projects as a stipulation; it has not yet priced the data center buildout [2][3].

## The near term is weather

BofA expects [third-quarter EPS of $2.30 against $2.31 consensus](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/ameren-likely-report-q3-eps-152408752.html), up from $2.17 a year earlier [1][4]. Q3 is the money quarter, about 40% of the year, but a soft print fits inside [reaffirmed 2026 guidance of $5.25 to $5.45](https://www.ainvest.com/news/ameren-heads-money-quarter-whisper-size-guidance-real-test-2610/) [5].

Results land November 5 after the close, with a call led by CEO Martin J [5]. Lyons Jr. and CFO Leonard P. Singh on November 6 [5]. The company carries about $37 billion of debt and spent $4.66 billion on capital over twelve months against $3.25 billion of operating cash flow, trading near $106, about 20 times this year's earnings [5].

*Chart: **Capex has outrun operating cash flow in ten of the last twelve quarters** Column chart of Ameren quarterly operating cash flow and capex, Q3 2023 through Q2 2026*

*Ameren quarterly operating cash flow against capital spending, from its SEC filings, in US dollars, quarters ended September 2023 through June 2026. Trailing twelve months: $4.66 billion of capex against $3.25 billion of operating cash flow. Source: Ameren, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 22 October 2026. [10]*

## What to watch on November 6

Whether management raises the capital plan and shows the large-load cost allocations, while holding guidance. The opposition is already organized: [Lincoln County residents fought the Millcreek battery site over farmland and fire risk](https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/ameren-battery-storage-plan-draws-rural-concerns/), and the Sierra Club calls the gas-heavy plan bad investment for families [7][9]. The batteries and solar were the easy part. The 2.8 gigawatts is now the company's own number, not a bank's; the rate order that decides who pays for the rest is the next beat [7][9]. Deep dive in below for how the resource plan got here.

## Takeaway

Missouri's PSC approved 945 MW of batteries and solar for Ameren, but the utility has 2.8 GW of signed data center load ramping from 2027; BofA sees a $4-6 billion buildout gap, and the rate order deciding who pays is the next beat, with Q3 results due November 5.

## Sources

1. [Daily Digest Invest, "Ameren's data center demand could add billions to capital plan" (BofA Securities note), 22 October 2026](https://dailydigestinvest.com/ameren-s-data-center-demand-could-add-billions-to-capital-plan)
2. [Ameren Missouri news release, "Ameren Missouri takes next step to support reliable energy for customers", 21 October 2026](https://ameren.mediaroom.com/2026-10-21-Ameren-Missouri-takes-next-step-to-support-reliable-energy-for-customers)
3. [KMIZ (ABC 17), "Public Service Commission approves Ameren battery storage, solar project in Audrain County", 21 October 2026](https://abc17news.com/news/audrain/2026/10/21/public-service-commission-approves-ameren-battery-storage-solar-project-in-audrain-county/)
4. [MT Newswires via Yahoo Finance, "Ameren Likely to Report Q3 EPS 'Modestly Below' Consensus, BofA Securities Says", 21 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/ameren-likely-report-q3-eps-152408752.html)
5. [AInvest, "Ameren Heads Into Its Money Quarter With a Whisper-Size Miss - Guidance Is the Real Test", 21 October 2026](https://www.ainvest.com/news/ameren-heads-money-quarter-whisper-size-guidance-real-test-2610/)
7. [Utility Dive, "Ameren Missouri files 20-year plan with 10.6 GW of gas additions", 30 September 2026](https://www.utilitydive.com/news/ameren-missouri-files-20-year-plan-with-106-gw-gas-additions/831758/)
8. [Ameren Missouri via PRNewswire (MarketScreener), "Ameren Missouri updates 20-year energy roadmap", 28 September 2026](https://www.marketscreener.com/news/ameren-missouri-updates-20-year-energy-roadmap-to-maintain-and-develop-cost-effective-energy-resourc-ce785addd98bf727)
9. [FOX 2 St. Louis (KTVI), "Ameren battery storage plan draws rural concerns", 7 August 2026](https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/ameren-battery-storage-plan-draws-rural-concerns/)
10. [Ameren, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 22 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001002910)


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Missouri just approved 945 MW of grid. Ameren has already signed 2,800 MW of data centers — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/missouri-just-approved-945-mw-of-grid-ameren-has-already-signed-2-800-mw-of-data-centers