Entergy Breaks Ground on 980MW St. Charles Power Station

By Anca Gagiuc

St. Charles Power Station

Montz, La.—Entergy Louisiana’s 980-megawatt St. Charles Power Station has officially begun construction. The combined-cycle, natural gas-fired plant is designed to be one of the cleanest and most efficient fossil fuel units in the company’s generation fleet, expected to commence commercial operation by June 2019.

The project, located in St. Charles Parish, approximately 30 miles west of New Orleans, is estimated to cost around $869 million including transmission and other project-related costs. Compared to Entergy’s older gas-fired plants, St. Charles Power Station will cut average carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 40 percent. Furthermore, the facility is projected to save customers more than $1.3 billion during the anticipated 30-year life of the plant.

Leo Denault, Chairman & CEO of Entergy Corporation, said in a prepared statement, “This project is an excellent example of how Entergy’s commitment to modernize our infrastructure will benefit customers. Not only is the plant expected to produce significant customer savings over the long term, but it will add another highly efficient resource to our generation portfolio, which ranks as one of the cleanest in the country.”

Phillip May, President & CEO of Entergy Louisiana, said, “This state-of-the-art plant is an investment in the future of 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.” He added, “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. The construction phase of this plant will be an economic shot in the arm to this region and the rest of Louisiana.”

The economic impact following the construction of the plant will indeed be felt across the state, but the bulk of it will be felt in St. Charles and St. John parishes, according to an analysis by Louisiana economist Dr. Loren Scott. Combined, he said, the two provinces will see $973 million in new business sales and $198 million in new household earnings during the construction phase. In addition, more than 700 people will be employed on site at the peak of construction; upon completion, 31 people will be hired full-time.

CB&I was selected as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the St. Charles plant. The design includes two Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) M501GAC gas turbines, which are the air-cooled versions of the MHPS G-Series.

Image courtesy of Entergy