Ameren solar panel project on track at Show Me Center

Ameren Missouri's solar panel installation at Cape Girardeau's Show Me Center's north and south parking lots is on track for completion in July and will supply enough energy for 130 homes in a year.

The project began Oct. 25 as part of Ameren's Neighborhood Solar Program. According to Ameren's website, the program was "introduced as part of Ameren Missouri's Smart Energy Plan to build small-scale solar owned and financed by Ameren Missouri at neighborhood nonprofits, schools and other community partners."

The solar panels are being installed on canopies not only providing energy, but shade and protection to vehicles parked at the location. The panels will not feature rain gutters, so precipitation is expected to come through the gaps of the modules, but snow guards will be included.

Solar panels can produce energy up to 25 years, and can be maintained to continue producing energy for an additional 10 years. Minimal clearance of the panels will be 13 feet, 6 inches and LED lighting will provide a light source to individuals who park vehicles in the parking lots.

Russ Burger, Ameren Southeast Division director, said there have been many benefits of the solar panel program at the Show Me Center.

AmerenMissouri workers continue to install the solar modules in the north and south parking lots of the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau. One of the final steps before the panels begin producing energy in July.Beau Nations

"We see the Neighborhood Solar Panel Program as a program beyond just energy. In the last few weeks we've seen on-site training, we've created construction jobs to the tune of about 60 and educational opportunities for Southeast Missouri State University," Burger said. "This program is part of the smart energy project that we kicked off in 2018 and we're in year four of the five year program. This is how we're able to do projects, invest money in communities and partner with communities."

The solar panel construction at the Show Me Center is Ameren's largest project taking place in Missouri along with another installation taking place in St. Louis at Habitat for Humanity.

Brad Deken, chairman of the department of engineering and technology at SEMO, explained how the university has incorporated managing the large scale solar project into the curriculum for students.

"We are training students for the workforce, both today and in the future and the construction management program is a prime example of that. When we can work with a group like Ameren and bring a real project that's happening live, it's such a benefit to our students," Deken said. "We had representatives here from Ameren before they broke ground, talking about how planning went together and everything it took to coordinate to make something happen here and they've had visits here throughout the semester so the students could see different aspects of the project."

Students within the construction management program are taking what they have learned from Ameren's concrete foundations, the industrial strength steel beams are installed on and have begun to construct their own, which will be installed at SEMO's River Campus.

Emerson Outman, an art and architectural design student at Southeast, said she has benefited from the university's partnership with Ameren.

"Being able to listen when they come in to talk with us about the process that is happening just outside is really neat," Outman said. "The fact that we are able to come and tour is also a good opportunity because it is a visual learning experience."

More information about the Ameren Neighborhood Solar Program and growing solar power across Missouri may be found at www.ameren.com.