Entergy Texas has broken ground on their first power plant in 40 years.
The official groundbreaking happened in Willis in Montgomery County on Friday afternoon. The new plant, called the Montgomery County Power Station (MCPS), will provide a new source of reliable, low-cost and clean energy to meet the growing power demand across Southeast Texas.
The MCPS is a state-of-the-art, 993-megawatt combined cycle gas turbine plant under construction next to the existing Lewis Creek Power Plant in Willis. The construction of MCPS will modernize Entergy Texas’ generation fleet using new technology that provides a cleaner and more efficient source of power. This efficient technology will benefit customers by providing a savings of approximately $1.7 billion over the next 30 years.
The new station will also have an impact on the Texas economy as a whole. According to the news release, an independent economic analysis was performed and found that construction alone is expected to generate an estimated $1 billion in economic activity across the state. Additionally, construction is expected to create a multiplier effect of more than 7,000 jobs.
The plant is expected to be online by mid year of 2021.