Entergy Louisiana proposes building 112 MW Bayou Power Station to improve reliability
In a filing with the Louisiana Public Service Commission (PSC), Entergy Louisiana recently sought approval to build a 112 MW floating facility known as the Bayou Power Station, complete with rapid start-up and ramp-down capabilities.
The $411 million facility would be natural gas-based, and built atop a barge near a substation in Leeville, La. Entergy Louisiana would use it as a microgrid system to support resilience and reliability in areas such as Port Fourchon, Golden Meadow, Leeville and Grand Isle. In order to accommodate this unique island of a power station, Entergy Louisiana would also expand its Leeville substation and transmission connections to support power delivery.
Once complete, Bayou Power Station would be tapped for backup power during outages.
“Whether you’re located in a big city, small town or along the coast, Entergy Louisiana is committed to providing our customers with affordable and reliable power,” Phillip May, Entergy Louisiana president and CEO, said. “Our customers in areas like Grand Isle, Golden Meadow and Port Fourchon play an important role in our state’s tourism and seafood industries and energy sector, and the Bayou Power Station is a unique solution to meeting their power needs into the future.”
The company posited the request as critical to a more balanced supply and demand system, and to making its system more reliable for its many customers spread across a geographically challenging area susceptible to major storms. Bayout Power Station isn’t the first project built with this in mind, and follows other additions to the grid in recent years, such as the elevated Caminada substation, transmission line upgrades and undergrounded lines along Louisiana Highway 1.
