St. Louis-based MC Industrial has been chosen to manage the design and construction of Ameren Missouri's multi-million-dollar project to build the state's largest investor-owned solar energy center. The facility will be located in O'Fallon, Mo.

MC Industrial has been named the EPC (Engineer Procure Construct) contractor, which means the company is responsible for all engineering, procurement and construction functions; including design, planning, programming, purchasing, communications, schedule and actual construction of the project. MC Industrial has hired Burns and McDonnell to assist with the engineering.

Construction is scheduled to begin in April following final design and permitting in late spring. The project is expected to deliver power to Ameren Missouri customers by December 2014.

The O'Fallon Renewable Energy Center will be capable of generating 5.7 MW, enough electricity to power 650 average-size homes in the St. Louis area. The facility will feature more than 19,000 solar panels and will be built adjacent to Ameren Missouri's Belleau substation in St. Charles County on approximately 19 acres already owned by the utility. The project is expected to generate 50 to 70 construction jobs.

MC Industrial is partnering with the Southwest Division of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. on this project. "We envision this project as a partnership between MC Industrial, Ameren Missouri and the St. Louis Area Building Trades," said MC Industrial Vice President of Operations Chad Cotter. "We are excited to have the opportunity to use our solar construction expertise locally to increase renewable power generation options in the St. Louis region," added Cotter.

Ameren Missouri's commitment to renewable energy is not new. It goes back more than a century. In 1913, the company's first hydroelectric energy center opened. In 2012, the company opened the Maryland Heights Renewable Energy Center, one of the largest plants in the nation turning "trash into energy." In addition, the utility has supported 1,800 residential and commercial solar installations with rebates and other incentives over the last three years.

"We are committed to renewable energy as one solution to meeting our customers' long-term energy needs," said Warner Baxter, president and CEO of Ameren Missouri.

In 2010, Ameren installed about 100 kilowatts of solar PV technologies on the roof of its St. Louis headquarters. This was done primarily to acquire performance data, and helped to educate customers who were considering solar installations.

"Thanks to this research, we were able to verify the effectiveness of the technological and operational aspects of a solar project which helped to make this new project possible," said Bill Barbieri, director of renewable strategy policy and generation for Ameren Missouri. "The O'Fallon solar farm will allow us to expand our expertise with a utility-scale facility."

"We are excited that Ameren Missouri has decided to locate its solar energy center in our community," O'Fallon Mayor Bill Hennessy said. "O'Fallon is proud of its reputation as a green community. The O'Fallon Renewable Energy Center will be an excellent complement to our city's environmental focus and will be a welcome boost to our economy with the construction jobs it will create."