Entergy Subsidiaries Buy Four-Unit CCGT Power Plant
Entergy Corp. announced on March 4 that three of its subsidiaries had closed on a transaction to purchase the 1,980-MW Union Power Station near El Dorado, Ark.
The plant includes four combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) units, each rated at 495 MW. Each unit operates two GE 7-FA combustion turbines with inlet air fogging, two Alstom heat recovery steam generators with supplemental duct firing, and one GE single-case, single-flow axial exhaust condensing steam turbine.
The power plant—which entered commercial operation in July 2003—receives natural gas via a 42-mile, 30-inch interstate pipeline that connects to both the Regency and the Texas Gas Transmission pipelines, providing the project with broad access to major gas supply sources.
When the $948-million deal was announced in December 2014, Entergy CEO Leo Denault said, “Our service territory is at the heart of an industrial renaissance that is built on competitive energy costs, low electricity prices and smart economic growth policies of our state governments. The acquisition of these highly efficient units at a price favorable to our customers will help us meet the increased demand and be a significant step in the ongoing modernization of our generating fleet.”
The original plan was for Entergy Texas to purchase one of the units, but in the end Entergy New Orleans took its place in the deal. Entergy Louisiana purchased two of the units, while Entergy Arkansas acquired the remaining unit.
“This acquisition complements the transmission enhancements we are planning to make across the service territory that will improve reliability for our customers,” Hugh McDonald, Entergy Arkansas president and CEO, said when the purchase was announced. “We are also fortunate that we have the opportunity to invest in an Arkansas facility that provides high-quality jobs to our state.”
Union Power Partners L.P., an independent power producer wholly-owned by Entegra TC, sold the plant. Entegra emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2014, a little more than two months before agreeing to the sale.
—Aaron Larson, associate editor (@AaronL_Power, @POWERmagazine)