Ninemile 6 CCGT Gas-Fired Project

Figure 1. Ninemile Point plant in Westwego, La.

In a move to upgrade its generation fl eet and meet long-term electricity needs for customers, Entergy Louisiana, LLC has asked the Louisiana Public Service Commission for approval to build a nominally sized 550-megawatt state-of-the-art gas-fi red unit at its existing Ninemile Point plant in Westwego, La.

The combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) facility will use modern pol-lution controls to produce highly effi cient, clean and reliable power and will cost approximately $721 million to construct.

As one of the most effi cient gas-fi red units in the Entergy fl eet as well as in Louisiana, Ninemile 6 is anticipated to produce fuel savings for customers ranging between $26 million and $53 million per year.

Ninemile 6 will replace Ninemile units 1 and 2, which came online in the early 1950s and have been deactivated. Ninemile 6 will use por-tions of the site’s existing infrastructure, reducing overall construc-tion costs.

Through its advanced pollution-control systems, the unit also will be among the cleanest gas-fi red generating plants in the nation, and its emissions will be signifi cantly lower than the units that have been deactivated.

The project will have a signifi cant positive impact on Jefferson Parish and the state. Not only will the region benefi t from increased sales

and tax revenues, but the project will create as many as several hundred jobs at the peak of construction activity. Approximately 17 new long-term positions also will be created at Ninemile 6.

The new unit will add needed economic and effi cient power to the electricity resources serving southeast Louisiana, in particular the Amite South region. By 2015, this region will have more than 6,000 megawatts of demand.

Figure 2. Ninemile 6 is located across the river from New Orleans in Jefferson Parish.

What is CCGT generation technology?Older conventional gas-fired plants use natural gas to boil water and create pressurized steam, which spins the blades of a turbine that turns a generator to produce electricity. CCGT technology has advanced features that allow more electricity to be produced in the process. CCGT plants use combustion turbines that operate by the combustion of compressed air and fuel turning a turbine generator to produce electricity – very similar to how a jet engine operates. The gases from the combustion turbine are not exhausted but are captured in a heat-recovery steam generator, or HRSG. Water cir-culates into the HRSG and turns into steam. That steam is then used to power a steam turbine generator, producing additional energy with no additional fuel consumption. CCGT technology leverages the highly efficient use of natural gas and the steam byproduct to pro-duce the maximum amount of electricity at the most economic cost.

Why build a new plant?Building a new plant at the Ninemile Point location was determined through extensive study and analysis to be the most cost-efficient solution to provide needed electricity to the region. The new unit will add required economic and efficient power to the electricity resources serving the Downstream of Gypsy area of the Amite South region in southeast Louisiana. Amite South encompasses the area from east of the Baton Rouge metropolitan area to the Mississippi state line and south to the Gulf of Mexico, including the metropoli-tan New Orleans area. By 2015, the region will have more than 6,000 megawatts of demand. Building a new unit at the Ninemile plant site is the most economic solution.

When will the project be constructed?If the project is approved and receives its permits as expected, construction will begin in 2012, with the unit expected to be online in the mid-2015 time frame.

How many jobs will it create?At the peak of construction activity, the project is anticipated to create as many as several hundred jobs. About 17 new long-term positions will be also created at Ninemile 6 when it goes into ser-vice. In addition, there will be ongoing opportunities for businesses to provide support services to the power plant, creating additional sales and tax revenues.

Who will get power from the facility?Ninemile 6 will be an Entergy Louisiana facility that provides elec-tric power to customers of Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans. Its proximity to residential and industrial customers in southeast Louisiana and the growing metro-politan New Orleans area will reduce costs for customers.

What is Entergy doing to ensure that reliable and economic electricity is available for the future?The Ninemile 6 project is part of Entergy’s plan to transform its sources of generation supply to deliver efficient, reliable and lower-cost electricity to customers. Implementation of this strategy includes building a new CCGT at the Ninemile Point site; acquiring CCGT units that are for sale when the purchase is economical and would meet reliability needs; and entering into long-term agree-ments with suppliers of efficient, lower-cost power.

As a CCGT unit, Ninemile 6 will be a basic building block for Enter-gy’s long-term generation strategy to meet customer needs with clean, economic electricity.

Since the end of 2002, the Entergy System has added over 4,200 megawatts of long-term capacity, mostly modern, efficient gas-fired capacity or nuclear. Over 2,400 megawatts of this efficient and clean generation is serving customers of Entergy Louisiana, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans today.