Energy

The rules will affect new residential construction projects funded by the federal Housing and Rural Development agency. Now, lawmakers are pushing the agency that oversees the nation’s two largest mortgage backers to adopt similar measures.

Ameren Missouri has plans for solar starting next year, wind in 2026 and battery storage in 2027, with various projects to add capacity in those categories lasting through the mid-2030s.

As Illinois considers ways to achieve its goal of relying entirely on clean energy by 2050, one technology that has courted controversy is carbon capture.

St. Louis-based gas utility Spire is expanding programs that help customers with past due bills and those with medical emergencies pay their bills. The company’s additional efforts to help some customers come as it raises rates about $3 a month for the average customer.

Farmers in the Midwest are gearing up for a fight over whether pipelines can cut through their land. Many look to the experience other farmers had with the Dakota Access Pipeline a few years ago.

The transmission line known as the Grain Belt Express would deliver wind energy from southwest Kansas to other parts of the country — the equivalent of 15 million barrels of oil annually. Some landowners oppose a private company using eminent domain to complete its project.

Spire officials say another rate hike is needed to cover the cost of employee salaries, after state regulators revised long-standing policies last year.

The coal ash basins at Labadie Energy Center contain 15 million cubic yards of waste, the largest volume of Ameren’s four coal-fired power plants in Missouri.

The new law promises significant changes for communities in the state, but it will take a few years before residents start to see them where they live.

Spire Missouri warns customers that there could be gas service outages in the St. Louis area this winter.