The Missouri Department of Natural Resources released its 2026 State Energy Plan on September 30, setting four priorities of energy independence, nuclear enablement, economic growth and reliability. Over the past decade, Missouri has shifted from a net exporter of electricity to a net importer, and in 2025 it relied on other states for more than 15% of its electricity, according to the department.
Missouri Plan Proposes Nuclear Loans and Conditional Cost Recovery
The plan recommends policies that lower the capital cost and development risk of nuclear power while keeping a diversified resource mix. Its nuclear recommendations include authorizing the Environmental Improvement and Energy Resources Authority (EIERA) to make loans for nuclear energy and evaluating a Missouri Nuclear Power Authority to coordinate finance and development. The state would also convert its Renewable Energy Standard into an Advanced Energy Standard that enables nuclear.
The plan proposes ratepayer protections that would let the Missouri Public Service Commission approve limited, conditional cost recovery, along with a competitive grant program for the nuclear workforce. The financing focus follows a summer in which four advanced test reactors reached criticality under a federal pilot.
Ameren Missouri Plans 1,200 MW of New Nuclear by 2040
Ameren Missouri's updated 20-year resource plan, announced by the company on September 28, includes 1,200 MW of new nuclear by 2040. The utility has not chosen a site or design, and both advanced large reactors and small modular reactors remain under consideration, a choice tied to the grid reliability case for small modular reactors. Ameren also expects to seek an extension to run its Callaway Energy Center beyond 2044. The plan adds gas, solar, wind and 2,400 MW of battery storage by 2030, and the company says it has signed agreements for 2.8 GW of large-load demand by 2030.
Missouri's Advanced Nuclear Energy Task Force, created by Gov. Mike Kehoe's Executive Order 26-04 in January to help carry out the plan's nuclear recommendations, met October 1. Its reports are due annually on December 1, ahead of each legislative session, and any build will still face the supply constraints on a U.S. nuclear buildout.
