MBEF STATEMENT ON AMEREN ANNOUNCEMENT

Irl Scissors, Executive Director of Missourians for a Balanced Energy Future (MBEF), regarding Ameren’s announcement Thursday morning that it is suspending efforts to build a second nuclear plant in Missouri:

Missouri should be advancing an agenda for a balanced energy future, but our state has blown its best opportunity to create a long-term, reliable, affordable, balanced energy portfolio.

There is no question that Missouri lost today.

We lost a $6 billion investment in our state that would have created the largest construction project in Missouri history. We lost the creation of 3,000 good-paying jobs in a time of record unemployment. We lost millions of dollars that would have gone to local governments for public safety and education. And equally important, we lost the prospect of expanding reliable nuclear power in Missouri to meet our growing future baseload energy needs.