Coal still the main fuel for power generation in Missouri

Although an increasing amount of money is being invested in generating “clean” energy from solar and wind power stations, the state of Missouri is still one of the biggest users of coal for power generation in the United States – in fact, it’s the fourth-biggest.

According to figures published by the US Energy Information Administration, a division of the federal government, more than 70 percent of the fuel used by Missouri’s power generation sector was coal in 2022 (see table below).

This percentage has gone down significantly in the past year, and in 2023, coal fueled 59 percent of Missouri’s electricity net generation, and 7 of the 10 largest power plants in the state are coal-fired.

Missouri ranks fourth, behind West Virginia, Wyoming, and Kentucky, for the highest share of in-state electricity net generation from coal.

However, coal’s share of the state’s net generation has declined from a peak of 81 percent in 2010, as almost 2,000 megawatts of coal-fired generating capacity in Missouri have been retired since 2011.

In 2023, Missouri’s one nuclear facility, the Callaway nuclear power plant located west of St Louis, accounted for 14 percent of in-state generation, slightly more than natural gas with 13 percent and wind with 10 percent. Hydropower accounted for about 2 percent of total in-state generation, while solar, petroleum, and biomass accounted for the rest.

On an annual basis, Missouri typically uses more electricity than it generates and imports power from other states via the regional grid.

Electric utilities provide almost all of the electricity generated in Missouri.

There are also about 40 electric cooperatives that serve customers in almost every county in the state. However, most of the state’s population is concentrated in urban areas – mainly St. Louis and Kansas City – and receives power from investor-owned utilities.

The residential sector uses the most electricity in the state, accounting for almost half of total power sales. About 4 out of 10 Missouri households rely on electricity as their primary energy source for home heating, and roughly 95 percent of households have electric air conditioning equipment.

Missouri’s average electricity price is below the national average and its residential sector price is among the lowest one-third of the states.

Missouri currently has over 1,000 public electric vehicle charging locations 79 The majority of these charging locations are in and around St Louis and Kansas City, although many charging locations can also be found along the major highways throughout the state.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources says it is looking to expand its charging station network through both public and private investments.

In the same year, 2023, renewable sources accounted for 14 percent of Missouri’s total in-state electricity net generation from both utility-scale (1 megawatt or larger capacity) and small-scale installations (less than 1 megawatt capacity).

The share of renewable electricity exceeded 10 percent of the state’s total net generation for the first time in 2021. Missouri’s primary renewable electricity sources are wind energy and hydropower.

Wind energy provided about three-fourths of the state’s total renewable generation and hydropower accounted for about one-seventh. Solar and biomass provided the remainder.