Entergy Louisiana Transmission Projects to Support New Hyundai Steel Plant
Upgrades and expansions to Entergy Louisiana’s generation and transmission infrastructure will help power a planned $5.8-billion Hyundai Motor Group steel manufacturing facility in Donaldsonville, La.
The facility, announced in late March, will produce 2.7 million metric tons of steel each year and help create an estimated 5,400 new jobs in the area. It also will solidify Hyundai’s vehicle manufacturing footprint within the United States, and the electric arc furnace serving the mill is expected to produce 70 percent fewer emissions than a traditional blast furnace.
“This historic investment will help set up Louisiana for long-term economic success, creating thousands of high-quality jobs and positioning our state as a leader in next-generation, low-carbon steel production,” Entergy Louisiana President and CEO Phillip May said in a statement.
For years, Entergy Louisiana has worked with the Louisiana Public Service Commission and other stakeholders to upgrade its transmission capacity along an area that, to date, has been the largest undeveloped tract of land along the deepwater stretch of the Mississippi River.
Last year, the company installed self-healing grid technology along the border of the surrounding Ascension Parish and East Baton Rouge, making local infrastructure more resilient.
Entergy Louisiana separately announced a $39-million project to fortify nearly 60 miles of power lines in Ascension Parish. Upon completion, the upgrades will help prevent 5.6 million hours of outages and save nearly $140 million in restoration costs during the next five decades. Work on additional transmission projects in the surrounding area also is underway.
Increased industrialization and onshoring of manufacturing activity in the United States is contributing to significant energy demand growth across the country and creating new opportunities for America’s electric companies to collaborate with their industry partners.
“Entergy Louisiana is proud to support Hyundai Steel Company with the reliable, sustainable energy solutions needed to power such an ambitious and forward-thinking facility. Together, we are building a stronger, more sustainable future for our state,” May said.
Days after the Louisiana announcement, Hyundai opened its nearly $7.6-billion mass-production electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid plant in Ellabell, Ga., which is powered in part by nuclear energy generated from Georgia Power’s Vogtle Units 3 and 4. And, last year, AES Ohio unveiled a new $175-million substation, which powers a new Honda-LG Energy Solution EV battery plant in Fayette County, Ohio.
Manufacturing activity is one of several factors driving demand growth projections higher in the years ahead, alongside the electrification of transportation and the buildout of data centers supporting artificial intelligence technologies.