"We are actively looking at development projects outside of Illinois," says Rick Smith, manager generation development for Ameren Energy Resources Co., the power plant development arm of Ameren. Smith would not divulge exactly where Ameren is looking to expand nor would he give a possible time frame for any development announcements.

Ameren, like other power developers nationwide such as Calpine, Duke and Dynegy, has been building plants at a fast pace in order to meet demand following years of inactivity due to industry uncertainty caused by rapid deregulation of the electric utility business. In the past year, Ameren has developed projects in Gibson City, Pickneyville and Patoka.

The company has been focusing on so-called peaker power plants that provide power to the grid at times of peak demand when power prices can sometimes be many times those prevailing during times of normal demand. Earlier this month, Ameren brought 630 megawatts of peaker capacity on-line from 11 Illinois plants.