Gov. Edwards, Entergy Executives Break Ground on $869 Million Power Plant in St. Charles Parish
BATON ROUGE — Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards and Entergy Corporation executives broke ground on Entergy Louisiana LLC’s new 980-megawatt power station in St. Charles Parish, which will provide additional energy more efficiently for Entergy Louisiana’s more than 1 million electric customers.
Entergy Louisiana will make an $869 million capital investment in the St. Charles Power Station, with the economic impact of the plant felt statewide. The new plant will significantly reduce fuel costs for all Entergy Louisiana customers and increase reliability in the region from east of the Baton Rouge metropolitan area to the Mississippi state line and south to the Gulf of Mexico, including greater New Orleans.
“GNO Inc. is proud to support the construction of Entergy Louisiana’s St. Charles Power Plant,” said President and CEO Michael Hecht of Greater New Orleans Inc. “This plant will reduce costs for consumers and businesses, and make greater New Orleans a more attractive place to do business.”
At the peak of building activity, the project will generate 700 construction jobs on site and support 3,400 indirect jobs in the state. On a permanent basis, Entergy Louisiana will create 31 new direct jobs for the operation of the St. Charles Power Station, with an average annual salary of more than $72,300, plus benefits. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project also will result in 97 permanent new indirect jobs, for a total or more than 120 new jobs in the Southeast Region and surrounding areas.
“Our economy and our way of life in Louisiana rely upon dependable, affordable electricity,” Gov. Edwards said. “Not only is Entergy one of our most important corporate employers, with headquarters in New Orleans, Entergy supplies more power to customers in the state of Louisiana than anyone. After a long, constructive process with our Public Service Commission, Entergy Louisiana is moving forward with this highly efficient power plant project that will benefit customers across the state. We’re excited to support them in providing more power to our people, in a more efficient way than ever before.”
The new combined-cycle, natural gas-fired plant in Montz will save Entergy Louisiana customers more than $1.3 billion over the anticipated 30-year life of the plant. The new St. Charles Power Station will cut carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 40 percent, compared with older-generation gas-fired plants.
“This state-of-the-art plant is an investment in the future of Louisiana,” said President and CEO Phillip May of Entergy Louisiana. “The St. Charles Power Station will supply the clean, reliable energy required to satisfy customer demand and continue growing the state’s economy, and it will create much-needed jobs for Louisiana residents during its construction. This project would not be possible without the foresight of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, the civic and community leaders of St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes, and the support of many other groups and individuals.”
Entergy currently employs approximately 800 people in St. Charles Parish, including the Waterford 3 nuclear power plant. The economic impact from construction of the plant will be felt statewide, but it will be strongest in St. Charles Parish and the adjoining St. John the Baptist Parish. The construction phase of the St. Charles Power Station will produce $973 million in new business sales and $198 million in new household earnings in the two-parish region, according to an economic impact analysis by economist Loren Scott.
“This project represents a long, positive relationship between the residents of St. Charles Parish and Entergy, and we look forward to growing that relationship with this endeavor,” said St. Charles Parish President Larry Cochran. “We also look forward to the opportunities that this will provide for our local workforce.”
“Entergy continues to demonstrate their commitment to the region through investments and job creation,” said St. John the Baptist Parish President Natalie Robottom. “This state-of-the-art facility is environmentally friendly and will serve as an economic driver for our area.”
Entergy Louisiana has selected CB&I as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the St. Charles Power Station. CB&I, which employs more than 7,000 Louisiana residents, will complete the project in conjunction with an Entergy management team. The launch of commercial operations for the new power plant is expected in June 2019.
