The plant located in Callaway County is just 10 miles southeast of Fulton.

With representatives from Ameren UE and the U.S. Nuclear regulatory commission in Fulton, some Missouri citizens held a conference nearby to express their distaste for nuclear power.

"If we invest in efficiency and we invest in renewable energy, we don't need nuclear plants," explained Mark Haim of Missourians for Safe Energy.

While those who support expanding the Callaway plant convened at Champ Auditorium, the opposition spoke its mind around the corner.

"We don't need any new reactors, nuclear power," Haim said. "It's a dead-end technology, a failed technology. One that has failed the test of the marketplace."

But Ameren UE says that while nuclear power isn't flawless, it is the right decision.

"It's got a proven track record," President and CEO of Ameren UE Thomas Voss said. "It's not the perfect solution, but it's certainly the best solution."

Voss says nuclear power creates no emmissions, is economically responsible, and has an outstanding safety record. Ameren UE awaits approval from the U.S. Government before beginning construction on the new wing of the Callaway plant.

The proposed new addition will require two new water cooling towers, standing 550 feet tall. They have the potential to cool 585,000 gallons of water a minute.

Ameren UE expects to get the green-light by 2012 and hopes construction will be completed by 2020.

While the opposition says nuclear power isn't worth the cost and possible dangers, Ameren UE officials say they're confident the proposed expansion will mean good things for Missouri's energy future.

The proposed addition to the Callaway plant will more than double its current power output.

Reported by Noel Feldman