Southeast Missouri State University, Ameren celebrate 1 year since solar panel project
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – Southeast Missouri State University and Ameren Missouri are celebrating a year of since the completion of Ameren Missouri’s Neighborhood Solar Project in the parking lot of the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.
A 3,500-panel solar array at the Show Me Center began sending clean energy to the homes and businesses in the community in July 2022. In the past 12 months, enough energy has been produced to power more than 130 homes, according to Ameren.
“Since construction began, I’ve heard more good things about this project than any other we’ve done in the past decade,” said Russ Burger, southeast division director at Ameren Missouri in a news release. “It’s got people talking, and that’s great to hear. Seeing these panels every day reinforces how Ameren Missouri is expanding renewable energy generation while maintaining the reliability, resiliency and affordability our customers expect.”
Ameren Missouri built, owns and maintains the solar installation. It is part of the Neighborhood Solar Program.
The projects create local jobs and provide training opportunities for the installation and maintenance of solar panels. The company partnered with Southeast Missouri State University to make use of the open land in the Show Me Center parking lot.
“We have a role to play in the future of this region – and that extends beyond our responsibility to our students,” said Dr. Carlos Vargas, president at Southeast in a news release. “This project has been a win-win for us, sparking interest in energy-related careers, providing sheltered parking for Show Me Center guests as well as contributing to clean energy generation for many years to come.”
The Neighborhood Solar Program is one part of Ameren Missouri’s Smart Energy Plan. In the past year, several projects in the region have upgraded aging infrastructure and modernized the energy grid in order to enhance how customers receive and consume electricity for generations to come.
Those projects include new smart technology in Gordonville, which will find and fix outages faster for nearly 500 residents in Cape Girardeau County. The smart technology upgrades deliver up to a 40% improvement in reliability on circuits that use smart equipment switches, according to Ameren.
Thanks to the Smart Energy Plan, grid modernization projects and economic development programs continue to support customer reliability and boost vitality in the communities Ameren Missouri serves, providing Missourians with a smarter, stronger and cleaner energy future.
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