The New Orleans Power Station is a natural gas–fired electrical power plant in New Orleans. It is operated by Entergy New Orleans and regulated by the New Orleans City Council. It is located at the foot of the Paris Road Bridge in the New Orleans East neighborhood. The plant's reciprocating engine units have a total capacity of 128 MW.[1]
History
In 2017, Entergy proposed a new plant adjacent to Michoud Power Station units 2 and 3, which were commissioned in the 1960s. Entergy promoted the proposed New Orleans Power Station as a peaking power plant. It argued that the plant's black start capability would quickly restore power to part of New Orleans even if damage to all eight transmission lines leading into the city. However, the Alliance for Affordable Energy warned that a storm powerful enough to cause such damage would also severely damage the city's distribution system, limiting the plant's effectiveness in restoring power. Residents of the predominantly Black and Vietnamese-American New Orleans East neighborhood opposed the plant and raised concerns that its location at the confluence of the Mississippi River–Gulf Outlet Canal and Gulf Intracoastal Waterway would make it susceptible to flooding.[1]