Ameren climate progress report highlights EV investments and voltage optimisation

While all companies around the world commit to reducing carbon in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, electric utilities are one of three key sectors to watch. Ameren Corporation, with operations in both Illinois and Missouri, highlighted in a new report — Committed to Clean: Transformational Changes Toward Net-Zero — how it foresees modernising and building out its T&D infrastructure to reduce carbon and support a decarbonised transportation sector.

In addition to the obvious investments such as putting $7.5 billion toward building new renewable energy capacity over the next two decades, investing in transmission, and adding 800MW of battery storage in Missouri by 2038, the company explained how it is working to build EV charging infrastructure and reduce voltage.

The Integrated Grid

Ameren has been working closely with EPRI and mentioned in the progress report that they see the grid of the future evolving “what EPRI calls the ‘integrated grid.’” From the report:

The integrated grid will incorporate increasing levels of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) (such as community and private solar panels), improved customer energy management tools (such as smart home devices) and EV infrastructure, all working together in a coordinated fashion to continuously and reliably maintain the balance between energy supply and demand.

EV Programmes

Ameren said its electrification strategy includes efforts to implement policies and programmes as well as making infrastructure investments to promote and enable EV adoption, including charging opportunities for multifamily dwellings, lower-income areas, public transportation and fleet electrification.

Also, Ameren has committed that 35% of its overall vehicle fleet, including light-duty, medium-duty and heavy duty trucks, forklifts, ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) and UTVs (utility task vehicles) will be electrified by 2030. And 100% of its light-duty fleet vehicle purchases by 2030 will be electric.

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Ameren Illinois’ EV Charging Program Tariff has special rate and line extension provisions to encourage EV adoption and promote grid efficiency for home, multifamily, school and transit bus, and corridor charging.

Ameren Missouri’s Charge Ahead programme incentivises the installation of more than 1,800 local charging stations at over 500 locations across the state through 2024, the report said. The programme also provides incentives for the development of 14 fast-charging EV locations along highway corridors. Those locations are part of the National Electric Highway Coalition, a collaboration among electric companies who are committed to working together to build a vast network of charging stations by the end of 2023.

Streetlights and Microgrids

The company also said it plans to invest in advanced street lighting to save customers more than $6M a year from savings from LED lights. It’s also using The Technology Applications Center (TAC) microgrid in Champaign, Illinois, to gain insights about the integration and operation of distributed energy resources (solar, wind and gas-fired generation with energy storage) on the electric distribution system.

Voltage Optimisation

Ameren said its Voltage optimisation (VO) plan includes the use of automation to lower voltage levels, which reduce end-use customer energy consumption and utility distribution losses. Ameren Illinois’ seven-year VO Plan hopes to achieve 422 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of total energy savings on approximately 1,050 distribution circuits that would yield a savings of 1.5% by 2025, which exceeds the cumulative savings goal of 1.0% established in the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA).

“Climate change is a critical issue for our customers, our communities, our nation and our planet, and we are committed to doing our part. That’s why we have taken an even more aggressive approach to address climate impacts,” said Marty Lyons, president and chief executive officer of Ameren Corporation.

“In 2022 we accelerated our goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by five years, from 2050 to 2045 – all while safeguarding energy affordability, reliability and resiliency for our customers,” Lyons added.

This was originally published on Power-Grid.