(The Center Square) – A new power facility is expected to generate $1.8 billion in economic activity in the region and create over 7,000 direct and indirect jobs while attempting to reach a United Nations “net zero carbon” 2050 goal.
Gov. Greg Abbott broke ground with Entergy Corporation Chairman and CEO Andrew Marsh, Entergy Texas President and CEO Eliecer Viamontes and other officials on Monday in Orange, Texas, as part of “Texas’ ongoing efforts to increase reliable power generation for our growing state,” the governor said.
The Entergy Texas Orange County Advanced Power Station, a combined-cycle power plant, is being built near Bridge City next to Entergy Texas’ Sabine Power Plant. It is expected to produce 1,215 megawatts of electricity at full capacity every year, enough to power over 230,000 homes in 27 Texas counties. Doing so will further “the state’s continued economic growth and success,” Abbott said.
Entergy Texas currently provides electricity to nearly 500,000 customers in 27 Texas counties. It’s a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in New Orleans, which provides electricity to 3 million customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
“Facilities like the Orange County Advanced Power Station will ensure that reliable power is available in Southeast Texas for generations to come,” the governor said.
The groundbreaking marked “the start of an exciting opportunity to serve the growing demand across Southeast Texas,” Viamontes said. “By investing in modern and fuel-efficient technology, we can meet the needs of our customers today while laying the foundation for future growth across our region.”
The new power station will replace end-of-life gas generation through new technology developed by a consortium of Mitsubishi Power Americas, Inc., Sargent & Lundy and The Industrial Company. They are providing Entergy Texas with engineering, procurement and construction services and expect the plant to be in service by 2026.
When announcing the consortium in March, Viamontes said, “The OCAPS facility will power the rapidly growing Southeast Texas region for years to come and continue our mission of providing cleaner, more reliable, and lower-cost energy for our customers. Additionally, the ability to unlock the plant’s hydrogen co-firing capability supports the plant’s long-term viability and will benefit our customers. OCAPS will be strategically located near hydrogen producers, pipeline, storage and off-takers to leverage this important source of clean and reliable energy in the future.”
Leaders of Sargent & Lundy said developing a large-scale project like OCAPS meant they were “closer to a cleaner energy future as we work with our partners to reach their 2050 net zero carbon targets.”
Mitsubishi Power Americas’ President and CEO Bill Newsom said, “Mitsubishi Power realizes that to reach net zero carbon goals, we need to assemble teams with complementary expertise. We have been honored to work with Entergy on several recently commissioned power plants.”
The “net zero carbon goal” by 2050 is in line with goals of the United Nations Net Zero Coalition.
Entergy says its 12,000 employees are “creating a cleaner, more resilient energy future for everyone with our diverse power generation portfolio, including increasingly carbon-free energy sources.”
Entergy’s new advanced power station is among a growing list of new power plants being constructed in Texas, Abbott said. They are collectively expected to add over 4,600 megawatts of energy to help meet Texas’ growing infrastructure needs.
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