BATON ROUGE, La. – Construction has begun on one of the largest solar facilities currently planned for Louisiana.
Capital Region Solar, a 50-megawatt solar plant being built by DEPCOM Power in West Baton Rouge Parish, will add another source of renewable energy for Entergy Louisiana customers. Entergy Louisiana is purchasing the output from the solar farm under a 20-year agreement.
Approximately 197,000 solar panels will be used to complete the facility on about 560 acres of land near Port Allen. Once complete in the second quarter of 2020, it will offset the equivalent of nearly 19,000 passenger vehicles’ emissions in one year.
“Louisiana is undergoing tremendous growth and we need to be ready to deliver low-cost, diverse energy sources to help sustain that growth,” said Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana. “Our generating portfolio is among the cleanest in the nation and this solar plant is one part of our ongoing commitment to offering our customers clean, reliable and economic energy.”
The solar plant will generate approximately 350 jobs during construction and will bring approximately $6.4 million in tax revenue to the surrounding region over the next 30 years, according to DEPCOM Power.
DEPCOM Power will provide the engineering, construction and operations and maintenance services for the project.
DEPCOM’s core values align with Entergy’s own sustainability goals, which include local workforce development and training and improving our communities. DEPCOM will seek to invest in the local community, working to hire local services and labor, with a special focus on hiring U.S. veterans, during construction of the facility.
“DEPCOM is proud to help serve Entergy Louisiana’s clean energy program, designing and building an economical, efficient, high energy output utility solar facility. In honor of the project, DEPCOM’s philanthropy organization, DEPCOM G.I.V.E.S, will also seek to provide impactful donations to local charities supporting the impoverished, veterans, education and community solar outreach needs,” said Johnnie Taul, president for DEPCOM Power.
The power from the solar project will add to Entergy Louisiana’s approximately 190 megawatts of renewable resources, which includes run-of-river hydro, biomass and waste heat recovery. Entergy Louisiana’s portfolio also includes the state’s two largest sources of carbon-free energy – Waterford 3 and River Bend nuclear units. Together, the two units produce about 16% of the state’s energy and account for 92% of the state’s carbon-free energy.
Entergy Corporation recognizes that our customers increasingly seek more control of their energy decisions and more renewable solutions. Working with our regulators, Entergy is expanding and customizing our portfolio of energy solutions, while achieving our sustainability goals. The Capital Region solar facility will provide a new, long-term, renewable source of energy for Entergy customers.
About Entergy
Entergy Louisiana, LLC provides electric service to more than 1 million customers and natural gas service to nearly 93,000 customers in the greater Baton Rouge area. With operations in southern, central and northern Louisiana, the company is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation.
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including nearly 9,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of $11 billion and nearly 13,700 employees.
About DEPCOM Power
DEPCOM Power is a partner in utility scale solar for: Project Development Support, Engineering, Procurement & Construction and Operations and Maintenance services for utilities, independent power producers and project development companies. DEPCOM Power leverages a highly experienced solar team, technology and agnostic top-tier solar modules, and cost- effective balance of system components to provide optimum levels of agility, price and quality for utility scale solar. For more information about DEPCOM Power, please visit www.depcompower.com
Entergylouisiana.com
facebook.com/EntergyLA
Twitter: @EntergyLA
Media Contact:
Lee Sabatini-
504-576-4132
lsabati@entergy.com
