AmerenUE To Purchase Wind Power For 1st Time

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Electric utility AmerenUE is purchasing wind power for the first time.

The utility, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Ameren Corp., said Thursday it has signed an agreement to buy 102 megawatts of wind power from phase II of Horizon Wind Energy's Pioneer Prairie Wind Farm in Iowa. Ameren says that's enough energy to power 26,000 households.

AmerenUE President and Chief Executive Warner Baxter calls the move "a significant first step" toward diversifying the utility's fuel mix and demonstrating its commitment to environmental stewardship.

The 15-year agreement begins Sept. 1. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Ameren serves about 2.4 million electrical customers and about 1 million natural gas customers in Missouri and Illinois.