Entergy Louisiana, Entergy New Orleans and Mitsubishi-owned Diamond Offshore Wind have confirmed they are working together to evaluate potential early development of offshore wind in the Gulf of Mexico
Entergy Louisiana president and chief executive Phillip May said, “This is an important first step to possibly bring wind power to our Louisiana shores. While there remains work to be done before that happens, we are excited by the opportunity to begin this process.”
Entergy New Orleans president and chief executive Deanna Rodriguez said, ““Clean, affordable power is a driver of economic growth, resulting in increased investments and good paying, green jobs in our communities.
“Entergy New Orleans understands the importance of serving customers with clean energy to reduce the impacts of climate change and doing so in a way that keeps service affordable to families and businesses in New Orleans. This agreement creates another possible avenue to meet those demands.”
A memorandum of understanding between the companies provides a legal framework for Entergy and Diamond Offshore Wind to work toward the development of potential offshore wind demonstration projects in Louisiana state waters and will focus in the near term on the evaluation of grid interconnection to determine the optimal size and locations of future offshore wind development.
Earlier this year, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards submitted the Louisiana Climate Action Plan, which offered a series of recommendations that can lead Louisiana to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. A key part of that plan is to achieve 5 GW of offshore wind generation by 2035.
Diamond Offshore Wind chief executive Chris Wissemann said Louisiana “has a tremendous opportunity to develop an offshore wind industry that services the entire country.” He said that, through the project, the company hopes to accelerate its development, create jobs, provide a renewable source of power to Louisiana customers, and help Louisiana meet its climate goals.
Entergy Louisiana currently has approximately 280 MW of renewable resources, including the Capital Region Solar facility, which began delivering power to the grid in October 2020. Along with nuclear generation, nearly 30% of the company’s portfolio comes from renewable resources. In addition, the LPSC recently approved 475 MW of solar power with an additional 2.0 GW in the queue.
Entergy New Orleans’ generation portfolio includes the 20-MW New Orleans Solar Station and the soon to be completed Iris Solar and St James Solar projects, which will add an additional 70 MW of clean energy. In addition, the company has 5 MW of solar installed on commercial and residential roofs. Together with nuclear, these carbon-free resources account for nearly 40% of the company’s generation capacity.
