Greenville entity will be a major game changer
The $1.2-billion Delta Blues Advanced Power Station under construction in Greenville is one of the largest single economic development projects ever undertaken in the region and the largest energy infrastructure investment Entergy Mississippi has made in the Delta. The Delta Blues Advanced Power Station also ranks as one of the largest single power generation investments in Entergy Mississippi’s history.
Delta Blues Advanced Power Station’s 754-megawatt facility will replace the similarly sized Gerald Andrus Steam Electric Station, in operation for more than fifty years, with a generating station that is forty percent more fuel-efficient.
While initially natural gas will be the primary fuel source for the Delta Blues Advanced Power Station, the facility is designed to support blended hydrogen to produce reliable energy, further reducing carbon emissions.
“Industry trends and federal incentives are accelerating hydrogen production and storage, making blended hydrogen a viable option within the plant’s lifespan,” says Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi President and CEO. “This co-firing strategy positions Delta Blues as a future-ready facility, capable of adapting to cleaner fuels without major redesign. Not only does this further diversify our power source, it helps minimize the rate impact of construction on customers’ bills while ensuring customers continue to have reliable energy well into the future.”
The new power plant saves fuel and reduces emissions by using an advanced combined-cycle combustion turbine power plant which essentially contains two power plants within one. The power plant contains two turbines for one natural gas source, and the additional turbine supports a secondary cycle of the plant to reduce the emissions from the primary cycle.
The Delta Blues Station was announced in late 2024, construction began in 2025 and is on track for it to be operational as planned by 2028. Entergy is working with TSL Power Partners, a consortium of engineering, procurement and construction experts who bring their combined expertise and workforce to the project, including those working for companies like Kiewit and TIC. Once operational, the plant is expected to employ 21 people full-time.
The full economic impact of the project hasn’t been quantified, but Fisackerly says the project is already creating meaningful local benefits. A number of local suppliers have been awarded contracts to support the work, ensuring that spending stays in the community and directly supports regional businesses.
“Entergy understands how important local suppliers are to the communities we serve,” says Fisackerly. “We actively seek ways to support local businesses on these projects as well as others such as day-to-day operations and storm response efforts. We are also committed to the Mississippi Public Service Commission’s Hire Mississippi Rule, which aims to increase Mississippians’ access to utility contracts, create a transparent and open bid process, boost economic development and increase employment in the state. Additionally, this economic investment is estimated to generate over $325 million in tax revenue for Washington County over about thirty years.”
The Delta Blues Advanced Power Station is being built near Entergy’s existing generation and transmission facilities which helps lower transmission costs while enhancing the overall power supply and improving reliability of service for customers. Entergy will build about 1.5 miles of new transmission lines from the Delta Blues Advance Power Station site to the substation located adjacent to the current Gerald Andrus Steam Electric Station.
Greenville is one of the first communities Entergy served when it began powering Mississippi more than a century ago.
“We are honored to continue our legacy here where many past and current employees live and work and are very proud of the impact we are making in Greenville and throughout the Delta with this project,” says Fisackerly. “By building the Delta Blues Advanced Power Station here, we’re strengthening our diverse power generation portfolio while ensuring the electricity this new plant provides is reliable and affordable for all our customers.”
The lifespan of a power plant is dependent upon a number of factors. The Delta Blues Advanced Power Station is expected to run for decades. Delta Blues is the first new natural gas power plant Entergy Mississippi has built from the ground up in the past fifty years.
“In part, that is because we have taken care to maintain our past investments so they could efficiently supply affordable and reliable power to our customers for many decades,” says Fisackerly. “We will do the same with our new power generation facilities.”
The project is also putting Washington County in the driver’s seat when it comes to attracting new economic development projects.
“Right now, within the economic game internationally, the number one thing prospective industries are looking for is energy supply,” says Justin Burch, President and CEO, Washington County Economic Alliance. “This power plant alone will supply 754 megawatts of power.”
Burch says two other positive factors for the Delta include the energy being produced by new solar farms and new natural gas pipelines.
“We are now becoming a huge supplier of energy within the Midsouth,” says Burch. “Earlier on in the 2000s, when we started seeing companies reshore in the U.S., many went to states like Texas, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas where there were big labor pools. Now the labor pools are exhausted there we are seeing a huge uptick in interest in the South, particularly in the Delta. It’s our turn.”
Burch says while there can be challenges finding not just labor but workforce housing, those are “good headaches” that can have corollary economic benefits from the construction of workforce housing.
“It’s what we always wanted,” says Burch. “Luckily, we are still very much a rural community. We are encouraging construction of permanent structures for workforce housing. It provides good investment opportunities for the local community. Kiewit is the contractor for Entergy’s Delta Blues Station. They have already hired more than 200 individuals who are onsite now and through May of 2028. That puts rental income in local pockets. These workers are dining at our restaurants and staying at our hotels.”
Burch says right now economic development projects are being put before the Washington County Board of Supervisors every six or seven months.
“We are in a period of growth for Washington County and Greenville,” says Burch. “Ad valorem taxes from these projects are helping pay for investments in roads, bridges and schools.”