No more coal for Christmas
Many of us remember the tales about naughty children getting coal in their stockings for Christmas. For me this wasn’t necessarily an idle threat — my grandfather was a coal miner and delivered coal regularly to schools for their furnaces. But lately my thoughts around coal during Christmas time have been changing. Now, I’m more concerned about how we will replace coal on our energy grid.
Coal accounted for 66% of Ameren Missouri’s net electricity generation in 2022. Over the years, coal has become cleaner, as scrubbers and carbon-capture technology have improved. Recently, however, Ameren announced plans to shut down or reject license renewals for all coal plants in Missouri by 2045 and replace them with renewable energy (wind and solar) and natural gas, as well as looking for opportunities in other sources of energy.
I will save my concerns with that plan for another day, but today, I show you my Christmas Energy Wishlist: h More nuclear power for Missouri h More natural gas
Nuclear energy is clean (zero-emissions), powerful, and reliable. Federal legislation (the ADVANCE Act) is making some progress, but is currently held up in the U.S. House. The ADVANCE Act would lower regulatory costs and promote nuclear energy at old brownfield sites (former coal plants). New technology is also gaining traction — in particular, small modular reactors (SMRs).
SMRs are essentially a smaller, safer, and more versatile version of a traditional nuclear plant. They are brand new, cutting-edge nuclear technology, and are being rolled out by private developers across the United States — including a new group of SMRs near my hometown in East Tennessee. Missouri does not need to miss out. If our state wants to attract private nuclear developers to our state, it should seek to acquire early-site permits (like Tennessee did) from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Another path to increased nuclear construction would be allowing utilities to raise rates before construction is completed. In Missouri, we use nearly eight times more energy than we produce. Even with this lack of energy production, state utilities currently cannot raise rates to help pay for construction projects in progress; they must wait until the development is fully operational and in use (due to a state law passed in 1976). But power plants do not arise out of thin air; they are necessary infrastructure for increasing energy production. Requiring utilities to wait until construction is complete to raise rates makes it much more difficult to build out new infrastructure — especially considering the costs utilities already face due to regulatory burdens for building nuclear facilities. This requirement has effectively prevented the addition of a second nuclear reactor at the Callaway Plant, or the construction of new nuclear infrastructure altogether — both of which would benefit our state.
Natural gas can also replace coal production in Missouri. It is lowemission, quickly deployable, very cheap, and reliable. New combinedcycle power plants (which turn two different turbines with one fuel) have driven natural gas’s rise as the top electricity generator in the country (~40%). Rolling out natural gas plants to replace coal plants would be a solid option to maintain energy reliability while also lowering emissions. Thankfully, Ameren is planning on constructing a new natural gas facility by the end of 2032. Hopefully Ameren will prioritize more steady and consistent natural gas projects over less reliable solar and wind additions.
At a time when coal is being forced out, and electric vehicles and highpower data centers (both of which require intense energy overnight) are rising quickly, more reliable, and continuous electricity producers are needed in Missouri. Nuclear energy and natural gas are the best bets to replace coal and power Missouri into the future. But coal should remain the preferred choice for bad children’s stockings — I think refined uranium may be a bit harsh.
Avery Frank is a research assistant at the Show-Me Institute, which promotes market solutions for Missouri public policy.