The company is seeking approval to add up to three gigawatts of solar power
Louisiana has the potential for significant investment by new and emerging businesses due to its unique access to infrastructure and a skilled workforce.
To take advantage of these opportunities, a secure and reliable power supply is essential – and the increasingly important access to renewable energy. To do its part to protect the environment and help the state grow through economic development, Entergy Louisiana recently made the largest renewable energy application in state history.
On March 13, the company filed an application with its regulator, the Louisiana Public Service Commission, for approval to add an additional three gigawatts of solar power to its generation portfolio. This is in addition to the nearly 225 megawatts of solar power the company requested earlier this month.
In this permit application, Entergy Louisiana requested approval for approximately 175 megawatts from a facility in Iberville Parish and approximately 49 megawatts from what later became Sterlington Solar Facility in Ouachita Parish.
A total of 3,225 megawatts of solar energy is in the permit queue for potential construction, development and grid connection through agreements with Entergy Louisiana, a major step forward in meeting the sustainability needs of its current and future customers.
“As never before, our state has the ability to retain businesses, support expansion projects and attract new businesses on a global scale, but it will be required to meet their operational and sustainability needs,” said Phillip May, President and CEO of Entergy Louisiana . “Our most recent proposal for up to three gigawatts of renewable energy, the largest such expansion proposal in state history, shows that we are serious about not only protecting the environment by reducing our carbon footprint, but continuing to do an important one to be the engine of economic development. This is not only a plus for our company and our industries, but also for the future of our country.”
“I am incredibly grateful to the countless local partners and officials who help bring projects like this to completion. These are true partnerships made to improve Louisiana.”
The individual resources that make up the three-gigawatt proposal would be built in Louisiana, meaning local communities and economies would benefit from job creation and additional tax revenue generated during construction of the plants.
In addition, further diversification of the Company’s generation portfolio will help protect all customers from natural gas price volatility and other factors beyond Entergy’s control.
Currently, Entergy Louisiana has approximately 280 megawatts of renewable resources, including the Capital Region Solar facility, which began feeding electricity into the grid in October 2020. In addition to nuclear power, nearly 25% of the company’s portfolio comes from non-carbon resources.
These solar expansions in Louisiana align with Entergy Corporation’s plans for up to 15 to 17 gigawatts of renewable resources by the end of 2031. The company previously announced plans to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
These projects are another milestone in the modernization of Entergy’s power generation portfolio and help meet customer needs for cleaner, more efficient and more diverse energy solutions. Learn more about our growth in renewable energy generation at entergy.com/renewable-energy.
About Entergy Louisiana
Entergy Louisiana, LLC provides electricity to more than 1 million customers in 58 communities and natural gas to more than 94,000 customers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Entergy Louisiana is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR), an integrated energy company engaged in power generation, transmission and distribution. Entergy supplies power to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy owns and operates one of the cleanest large-scale power generation fleets in the United States with approximately 24,000 megawatts of generating capacity, including 5,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, Entergy has annual sales of $10 billion and employs approximately 12,000 people.
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