CLECO breaks ground for clean energy plant

Ground was broken last Friday at a facility in St. Mary Parish that is poised to put waste heat from one of the area’s carbon black plants to work powering homes in the area.
And it’s not just heat that will be put to work on the project. The facility is also expected to create much needed jobs in St. Mary Parish.
Cleco, a utility company based in Pineville, is in the process of developing what they call a ‘clean energy plant’ in partnership with the Cabot Corporation. According to Cleco Spokesperson Robbyn Cooper, the $80 million facility will generate hundreds of jobs in the area and provide power for 17,000 homes by generating electricity from ‘waste heat’ from the Cabot black carbon plant south of Centerville.
“This plant is a great opportunity for Cleco’s customers and the community,” Cooper said. “The St. Mary Energy Center will produce 50 megawatts of electricity, enough electricity to power 17,000 homes, without increasing emissions. This project is considered a renewable resource under the Louisiana Public Service Commission’s Renewable Energy Pilot program. We are pleased to partner with Cabot to create innovative solutions to responsibly add power to our generation fleet. Cleco is proactively planning for our customers’ future power needs while protecting the environment.”
Cooper said Cleco and Cabot are expecting the operation to be up and running in a few years.
Facts:
-The plant will take two years to construct. During peak construction, both Cleco and Cabot will each have approximately 200 construction workers on site.
-The construction phase of the project will add approximately $50 million in new sales to St. Mary Parish.
-To operate the plant, Cleco will have 12 full-time employees, and Cabot will have eight full-time employees for a total of 20 full-time positions.
-Operation of the plant will bring in approximately $2.4 million in annual new business sales to St. Mary Parish.
-Economic impact analysis conducted by Loren C. Scott & Associates, Inc.