Entergy is adding 224 megawatts of power.
Entergy Louisiana is looking into adding 224 megawatts of solar energy to its power portfolio through a pair of new solar farms in Iberville and Ouachita parishes. The utility company filed a request this week for the Louisiana Public Service Commission to approve the solar projects and let the company add the generated power to its portfolio. At play are two solar farms: a 175-megawatt project on roughly 2,170 acres in White Castle in Iberville Parish, and a 49-megawatt farm covering 550 acres near Entergy Louisiana’s Sterlington Power Plant in Ouachita Parish. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade association, one megawatt can provide enough power for about 90 Louisiana homes.
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One farm is up and running and the other will be built.
The Iberville Parish solar farm is being developed by Coastal Prairie Solar, a subsidiary of Florida-based NextEra Energy Resources. Entergy Louisiana plans to sign a 20-year deal to purchase the power that facility will generate and distribute it to its more than 1 million customers. NextEra, the parent company of Florida Power & Light, is also looking into a possible solar farm in St. Landry Parish. Meanwhile, Entergy Louisiana will build and operate the 49-megawatt solar farm in Ouachita Parish. If approved by regulators, construction on the Iberville facility is scheduled to begin in spring 2024 with an operational target of late 2025. The Ouachita facility is slated for operation by 2026. Electricity produced at both facilities would go to power grid for all Entergy Louisiana customers, company spokesman David Freese said. Entergy Louisiana is asking the PSC to include the new solar farms in its Geaux Green program, which lets customers pay a monthly fee to receive some of their power from solar energy in exchange for a bill credit.
Entergy is shifting to more solar but also will use wind if that comes online.
The new projects are part of Entergy Louisiana’s gradual shift toward renewable energy, mostly in solar so far. Renewable energy, namely solar and wind, made up about 2% of Entergy Louisiana’s entire power generation portfolio in 2022, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. That figure is expected to tick up slightly to 3% in 2023. Most of the utility’s power generation comes from natural gas and nuclear sources. Entergy Louisiana has 280 megawatts of renewable energy currently in its portfolio, according to a company news release. In addition, the PSC in September greenlit Entergy Louisiana’s plan to buy an additional 475 megawatts of power from four solar farms across the state. “This is another step toward not only reaching our own sustainability goals, but also toward helping our customers reach their sustainability goals,” Phillip May, Entergy Louisiana president and CEO, said in a 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.”
Slow but sure progression.
