Entergy Louisiana begins construction at Lake Charles Power Station

Entergy Louisiana broke ground this week at its Lake Charles Power Station, a combined-cycle natural gas-fired plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Entergy executives and employees, as well as state and local officials, participated in a ceremony Monday formally marking the beginning of construction at the site.

The project will cost an estimated $872 million, including transmission and other project-related costs. The plant is expected to enter commercial operation by June 2020.

“The Lake Charles Power Station will provide much-needed generating capacity for the region, and it represents another step toward increasing our environmental efficiency and modernizing Entergy Louisiana’s fleet,” Entergy Corporation Chair and CEO Leo Denault said. “The plant, much like the St. Charles Power Station currently under construction, is expected to produce significant customer savings over the long term. It will also add another highly efficient resource to our generation fleet, which already ranks as one of the cleanest in the country.”

The engineering, procurement and construction contractor CB&I will work with an Entergy management team on the completion of the Lake Charles Power Station. At the height of construction activity, the project will employ 700 people on site. After completion, Entergy Louisiana expects to employ 31 people full-time.