Ameren Illinois has completed the East St. Louis Energy Center II, featuring more than 3,000 solar panels and battery storage. The new facility opened in November 2024, joining Energy Center I, which went online in December 2022 just north of East St. Louis High School.
The project is part of the utility’s ongoing $86 million investment in the city over the past eight years. Ameren Illinois continues to modernize the local electric grid with new smart switches and stronger infrastructure.
In the Lansdowne neighborhood, power poles and lines are being relocated from an easement to a nearby roadway for better access and easier maintenance. Like the solar facilities, the upgraded lines will add capacity to the grid — similar to expanding a two-lane highway to four lanes.
Smart switches, known as IntelliRupters, are also being installed. These devices work with other outage-detection technology to isolate problems, restore service more quickly and reduce the number of affected customers.
“The IntelliRupters allow us to reroute power when there is a problem and minimize how many customers are affected by the power outage. It is virtually instantaneous,” said Ty Lindhorst, director of Electric Operations for Ameren Illinois, serving St. Clair County.
“This upgrade is part of our overall statewide plan to build a more flexible, reliable and resilient grid capable of supporting the delivery of cleaner, greener energy from sources like wind and solar.”
Ameren Illinois delivers electricity to 1.2 million customers and natural gas to more than 800,000 customers across central and southern Illinois, serving 1,200 communities and covering about 43,700 square miles.