Entergy Louisiana Wants to Add 225 MW of Solar Power

BATON ROUGE, La. — Natural gas and electric service provider Entergy Louisiana has asked state regulators to approve its plan to add 225 MW of solar power to its generation mix in Louisiana.

The company filed its request with the Louisiana Public Service Commission earlier this week, identifying two project sites.

The first would be located in Iberville Parish with a capacity of 175 MW, while the other would be in Ouachita Parish with a capacity of 49 MW.

“This is another step toward not only reaching our own sustainability goals, but also toward helping our customers reach their sustainability goals,” said Entergy Louisiana President and CEO Phillip May in a written statement. 

“The desire for clean power is increasing and, at Entergy, we intend to meet that desire in a way that balances our ability to continue providing reliable and affordable power. We’re excited about the potential addition of nearly 225 megawatts and look forward to further expanding our portfolio of renewables as demanded by our stakeholders,” May said.

The company, which provides electricity to more than 1 million customers in 58 of the state’s 64 parishes, said if granted approval, construction on both plants is tentatively slated to begin in spring of 2024 and that the Iberville facility would be operational by late 2025.

The Ouachita Parish facility — to be called Sterlington Solar — would come on line later, delivering its first power to the grid some time in early 2026.

In its filing before the commission, Entergy Louisiana said it is prepared to enter a 20-year power purchase agreement with Coastal Prairie Solar, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, for energy produced at the Iberville facility. 

Also, under the proposal before the commission, Entergy Louisiana would build and operate what would become the Sterlington Solar Facility in Ouachita Parish.

The proposal also includes a request for authorization to include the new solar resources within a recently approved green tariff Geaux Green Option, or Rider GGO. 

This is a voluntary program that allows customers the opportunity to subscribe to, and get benefits from, renewable energy resources. Adding these resources to the Rider GGO resource portfolio, the company said, would further assist Entergy Louisiana customers with meeting their environmental and sustainability goals.

Entergy Louisiana currently has approximately 280 MWs of renewable resources, including the Capital Region Solar facility, which began delivering power to the grid in October 2020. 

Along with nuclear generation, nearly 25% of the company’s portfolio comes from renewable resources.

“We continue to work hand-in-hand with our local communities and elected officials across the state,” May’s statement continued. “I want to thank those who have assisted us in bringing these sites to fruition, especially at the parish level, and look forward to what’s on the horizon for our state.”

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