BATON ROUGE, La., Oct. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Entergy Gulf
States Louisiana, L.L.C. has signed a commercial and contractual
agreement with Methanex USA LLC to
supply up to 30 megawatts of power to Methanex's new methanol
facility in Geismar.
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120913/MM74349LOGO)
In July 2012, Methanex announced
plans to relocate a 1 million metric ton methanol production plant
from Chile to a new 225-acre site
in Geismar. On April 24, 2013, Methanex announced plans to
proceed with the relocation of a second 1 million metric ton per
year methanol plant from its Chile
site to Geismar. Subsequent to the
public announcement, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana has been working
with Methanex to provide permanent power to its new
facility.
The power contract between Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and
Methanex is for an initial 10-year term and will continue
thereafter on a year-to-year basis. Entergy Gulf States
Louisiana plans to upgrade its electric transmission system to meet
the increased demand the methanol production facility is
anticipated to generate.
"Methanex selected Entergy Gulf States Louisiana as the sole
source for their power needs because of Entergy's ability to
provide safe, clean, reliable and affordable power within the
required timeframe," said Gustavo
Parra, vice president, Global Excellence and Projects,
Methanex Corporation.
Methanex's first plant is expected to be operational by the end
of 2014, and the second plant is expected to be operational by
early 2016. Methanex is investing approximately $1.1 billion dollars in the facility and will
create approximately 165 new permanent jobs within the community.
Additionally, construction of the two facilities will result in
approximately 2,500 construction jobs.
Methanex commenced work on its first methanol plant in 2012 and
started work on its second plant this year. Hiring for the first
plant is underway, and jobs associated with the second plant will
be filled in the year leading up to completion of the project.
"Working with Methanex to create the best solution to power the
company's new Geismar facility is
one of the ways we are proud to be a part of supporting the
region's – and Louisiana's –
economic growth and vitality," said Phillip
May, president and chief operating officer of Entergy
Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, LLC. "Our
concerted focus on not only helping attract new businesses to the
state, but also helping existing businesses succeed and expand, is
about creating long-term opportunities for companies as well as the
communities in which they operate."
Entergy Corporation was again recognized as one of the top 10
utilities in North America by Site
Selection magazine's September 2013
issue for its work to support economic development. In its
list of economic development highlights from the previous year,
Site Selection credited Entergy's work in helping to identify eight
certified sites in partnership with Louisiana Economic Development.
New civil engineering services have also made a great impact on the
team's level of service and quality of site evaluation.
Entergy's Louisiana utility
companies provide electric service to more than one million
customers through the operating companies Entergy Louisiana, LLC
and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C. and natural gas service
to more than 90,000 customers in the greater Baton Rouge area through Entergy Gulf States
Louisiana. With operations in southern, central and northeastern
Louisiana, the companies are
subsidiaries of Entergy Corporation. Entergy, which celebrates its
100th anniversary in 2013, is an integrated energy
company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail
distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants
with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating
capacity, including more than 10,000 megawatts of nuclear power,
making it one of the nation's leading nuclear generators. Entergy
delivers electricity to 2.8 million utility customers in
Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more
than $10 billion and approximately
15,000 employees.
Methanex Corporation is a Vancouver-based, publicly traded company and
is the world's largest producer and supplier of methanol to major
international markets. Methanex Corporation shares are listed for
trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada under the trading symbol "MX" and on
the NASDAQ Global Market in the United
States under the trading symbol "MEOH". Methanex can be
visited online at www.methanex.com.
entergylouisiana.com
@EntergyLA
Facebook.com/EntergyLA
SOURCE Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, L.L.C.