Ameren Spokesperson Gaslights Customers While Promoting Data Center
Ameren Missouri’s Economic Development Manager, James O’Mara, did an hour long webinar on Tuesday, August 25, for the data center development company Clayco CRG. O’Mara talked about the utility company’s footprint and operations in Missouri, and he spoke about the laws and regulations regarding how Ameren deals with bringing online a large load customer such as a data center. O’Mara was introduced by CRG’s president, Chris McKee, and the entire webinar was geared towards promoting the data center that Clayco CRG has proposed to build in Festus, Missouri. Unfortunately, this webinar has not yet been published.
Twice in the webinar, James O’Mara addressed the issue of proximity in regards to the transmission of electrical energy, and TWICE! James O’Mara claimed that proximity is not a factor in the transmission of electrical energy. Ameren’s spokesperson told us all that what we know to be true, is actually false. Don’t believe the Google search. Don’t listen to your uncle who spent a lifetime climbing electrical poles. According to the Book of James, proximity is not a factor in the transmission of electrical energy. The truth is that proximity is very much a factor because energy is lost the further it is transmitted.
The reason this is important, folks, is that Ameren is spending close to a billion dollars rebuilding a power plant at its Big Hollow Energy Center and adding electrical storage in order to support a data center proposed for Festus, Missouri. This is why James addressed proximity twice in the webinar. This is why James gaslighted Ameren’s own customers over known facts.
They have not even broken ground on the data center proposed for Festus, Missouri. In fact, the data center project faces several existential threats. There is a citizen funded lawsuit alleging that Sunshine Laws were broken last fall when the data center was first being discussed between Clayco CRG and local officials (they have receipts). Recall petitions against three city council members and the mayor have been certified by the county clerk and are now before a judge. Festus is the city that voted out half of its city council (all incumbents) last fall after they approved a data center. You may have heard. The ultimate termination date for the proposed data center is April, 2027, where the mayor and remaining council members, if not recalled, will be voted out.
Ameren (AEE) is behaving like a venture capital firm, and now, thanks to the Missouri legislature, they can used CWIP funding (Custruction Work in Progress) to get their own customers to pay for their speculative schemes. This is why Ameren spokesperson, James O’Mara, tried, twice, to say that the Big Hollow Energy Center is not connected to the proposed Festus hyperscale data center. The risk runs even deeper for Ameren’s investors when you understand that the size of the proposed Festus data center has been cut in half, while maintaining the same price tag, due to sky-rocketing micro-chip costs.