Construction has officially begun on the massive Kelso 1 & 2 solar projects in Scott County, Missouri, a milestone development for Scottsdale, Arizona-based Arevon Energy, according to a May 1 announcement from the company. The $500 million effort marks Arevon’s first utility-scale renewable energy project in Missouri, and it promises to significantly bolster the state’s clean energy capacity.

The combined 430-megawatt project is being built by the renewable energy division of Primoris Services Corp., a Texas-based utility and infrastructure contractor. Once complete, Arevon will maintain ownership and manage the day-to-day operations of the facilities.

“Kelso Solar marks Arevon’s entrance into Missouri and when operational, will boost the state’s installed solar capacity by almost 50 percent. This major project furthers Arevon’s growing presence in the Midwest region of the United States, which is a priority market for our company’s development activities,” said Kevin Smith, CEO of Arevon.

The scale of the project positions it as a critical contributor to Missouri’s clean energy future. According to Arevon, the project will create more than 450 construction jobs at peak activity, with an emphasis on hiring from the surrounding community. The company has already signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Meta, which will use the solar-generated electricity to supply 100% renewable energy to its regional operations.

Arevon’s work in Missouri is part of a broader push across the Midwest. In addition to Kelso, the company is actively building four solar projects in Indiana that will deliver a combined capacity of 744 megawatts at a cost of more than $1.1 billion.

The first phase of the Kelso Solar Project is expected to come online by the fourth quarter of 2025, with the second phase projected to begin operations in the first quarter of 2026.

Nationwide, renewable energy generation has grown rapidly, tripling over the last decade, according to The Guardian. Much of this growth has occurred in Republican-led Southern states, challenging political assumptions about the adoption of clean energy. Still, uncertainty persists within the solar industry, as federal policy under the Trump administration previously emphasized fossil fuels over renewables and created instability around the availability of clean energy tax incentives.

Despite those challenges, Arevon's Missouri project highlights the momentum behind large-scale solar development in the U.S., driven by major corporate demand for clean energy and expanding investment in rural communities.

Originally reported by Julie Strupp in Construction Dive.