Owners: Plum Point Energy Associates, Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission, Empire District Electric Co., East Texas Electric Cooperative, and Municipal Energy Agency of Mississippi Operator: NAES Corp.
The new 665-MW Plum Point Energy Station is energizing the Arkansas Delta, an area that is ready to supplement its farming heritage by promoting new jobs that offer residents a higher standard of living. But first, the plant’s construction team had to overcome a number of significant challenges related to building a facility in the New Madrid fault zone.
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| Courtesy: Black & Veatch |
Mississippi County, Ark., has long been known for agriculture and the hard-scrabble lives of many of its residents. The county is part of the First Congressional District in Arkansas, which has been ranked as the poorest congressional district in the U.S.
On May 31, 2006, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Plum Point Energy Station, then U.S. Congressman Marion Berry commented on the impact the new plant located in Osceola would have on the community: “I would submit to you today that the Delta is moving forward like it hasn’t since cotton seed was first unloaded here,” he said. “It’s like we just discovered the Mississippi River and all the wonderful things it brings and businesses just discovered it, too.”
One of the key accomplishments of the Plum Point Energy Station, which began commercial operation in August 2010, is that it is helping to transform this delta blues region into the center of the new delta “boom.” The power plant has already brought additional jobs to the region and is now providing reliable electricity to support a growing number of new businesses.
Roger Lenertz, director of major projects in Black & Veatch’s global energy business, told POWER in August how construction of the Plum Point Energy Station has affected the region. “The economic impact of an investment exceeding $1 billion reaches and benefits a very large population,” he said. “The project has had a very marked and positive impact on the local community.”
The mayor of Osceola was a key driver in developing the project and helped shepherd the local business community’s interactions with the project’s management.
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