Entergy (NYSE:ETR) said Aug. 4 that it plans to move aggressively to self-build the St. Charles natural gas power plant in Louisiana.
St. Charles will be a (nominal) 980-MW combined-cycle project to be built on land adjacent to the existing Little Gypsy power plant in Montz, La. It is about 30 miles from New Orleans and is located along the Mississippi River industrial corridor.
The self-build option was selected as part of a solicitation that culminated in late May.
“Next summer, subject to regulatory approval, we will begin construction of the St. Charles Power Station, a natural gas-fired combined cycle generating plant located in Southeast Louisiana, along the Mississippi River industrial corridor,” Entergy CEO Leo Denault said during a quarterly earnings conference call on Aug. 4.
“Entergy Louisiana plans to file for regulatory approval with the PSC [Public Service Commission] in the third quarter of 2015,” Denault went on to say. “We anticipate that the plant will begin commercial operations in the MISO [Midcontinent ISO] market by summer of 2019, one year ahead of the schedule we presented last November at EEI,” Denault said, referring to an Edison Electric Institute conference.
Entergy Services, Inc. (ESI), acting under the oversight of an independent monitor, has concluded its evaluation of the proposals submitted in response to the 2014 Amite South request for proposals (RFP).
The plant has been allocated to Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana in contemplation of the proposed combination of the companies that is being considered by the Louisiana PSC.
Entergy Louisiana plans to file for regulatory approval with the Louisiana PSC in the third quarter of 2015.
Also in June, Entergy Texas distributed the final documents for its 2015 RFP, which seeks both limited and long-term resources. In the long-term portion of the RFP, Entergy Texas is seeking up to 1,000 MW of combined-cycle capacity and energy located in the western planning region of the state beginning in the summer of 2021. Entergy Texas intends to offer a self-build option into the 2015 RFP, Denault went on to say.
