Developer outlines 100‑megawatt battery storage proposal near Hazel Run substation

Representatives of New Leaf Energy told the St. Francois County Commission that they are proposing a 100‑megawatt battery storage facility adjacent to the Hazel Run substation northeast of Bonne Terre.

"This is a proposed project. It's a battery storage facility," attorney Mark Brady said as he introduced company representatives and laid out the project's purpose, siting rationale and schedule.

Brady and company representatives said the site was chosen because of capacity shortfalls in the area after thermal plant retirements and because the substation is being upgraded. They said the batteries would inject power adjacent to the substation and that the project was intended to help Ameren and the MISO wholesale market meet peak capacity and stabilize the grid.

The developer described typical equipment and scale: about a five‑acre fenced pad of containerized battery units — "what these batteries look like a 20 foot shipping container" — set on concrete footings with internal inverters…