NRG Energy, Inc. has received a Title V Air Permit from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to add a fourth unit of generating capacity at its Big Cajun II Generating Station in New Roads, Louisiana.
PRINCETON, New Jersey — NRG Energy, Inc. has received a Title V Air Permit from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to add a fourth unit of generating capacity at its Big Cajun II Generating Station in New Roads, Louisiana.
The Big Cajun II facility is currently a three-unit, 1,730 megawatt (MW) coal generating station. Should the Company move forward with construction, the $1 billion, 675 MW expansion project would be designed with clean technology - using low sulfur coal and a supercritical boiler that increases efficiency and uses less fuel to generate the same amount of electric power as traditional boilers. The project would take about four years to build, generate nearly 1,100 temporary jobs at peak construction and create a permanent operating staff of 40.
"With the issuance of the air permit, we can now move forward with our evaluation of potential partners and customers who are critical to our evaluation of whether to proceed with the project," said John Brewster, President of NRG's South Central Region. "NRG has already invested $1 billion dollars in Louisiana and the proposed plant would significantly increase our investment in the state."
"We welcome the possibility of developing a project that would deliver so many benefits to Louisiana and Pointe Coupee Parish," said Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. "The Big Cajun expansion will bring jobs to the community and provide consumers, homeowners and businesses a reliable source of energy."
NRG currently is the largest single taxpayer in Pointe Coupee Parish, contributing $5.2 million in taxes every year, serving all the electricity needs of Louisiana's 11 electric cooperatives, which operate in 58 parishes and serve approximately 350,000 households. NRG is also the largest private employer in the Parish, employing 217 people at Big Cajun II. In addition to job creation, the state and local governments would receive approximately $7.1 million annually in additional taxes from economic activity associated with the construction project.
The expansion would be built adjacent to the existing generating units and use the existing infrastructure including roads and water treatment facilities, minimizing any environmental impact to the surrounding area. NRG Energy, Inc. owns and operates a portfolio of power-generating facilities, primarily in the Northeast, South Central and Western regions of the United States. Its operations include baseload, intermediate, peaking, and cogeneration facilities, thermal energy production and energy resource recovery facilities. NRG also has ownership interests in generating facilities in Australia and Germany. Source: Business Wire, NRG Energy, Inc.
