State agency gives go-ahead for new Entergy plant adding more construction jobs here

The Texas Public Utilities Commission has approved Entergy's plans for a new power plant in Bridge City, clearing the way for construction to start in the upcoming year. Entergy said the project should have 7,000 construction jobs and 26 permanent jobs.

The new plant will replace the plant built in the early 1960s that uses natural gas to make electricity. Current estimates call for it to be finished in 2026.

The addition of more construction jobs in the next couple of years will lead to an big increase of new jobs unseen in Orange County since the population boom during World War II for the defense shipbuilding industry.

Chevron Phillips-QatarEnergy earlier this month confirmed the construction of an $8.5 billion chemical plant for plastics. The project is expected to need 3,500 construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs. The Chevron Phillips plant is expected to be online in 2026.

In addition, Lamar State-College Orange is building a $37.5 million academic building in downtown Orange. The number of construction jobs for that project has not been released.

Also, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the design phase of a 26-mile levee-seawall and pumping system that will need an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 jobs. The project will move an estimated five million cubic feet of dirt, enough to fill the old Astrodome three times. Construction is anticipated to start in 2024 and finish in 2028.

In October, the Orange County Commissioners Court agreed to a tax abatement contract with Enterprise Products Operating for an$850 million ethane shipping terminal on the Neches River side of Orange County. Though the corporation has not announced construction, if approved, it will have an estimated 1,400 to 3,200 construction jobs. Ethane is a crucial product for the petrochemical industry to make plastics.

The new Entergy power plant will help to accommodate the electrical demands for the new industry and new residents coming to the area. The company said the plant will provide enough power for 250,000 homes.

The new plant will be able to use hydrogen and natural gas for making electricity. The use of hydrogen will cut back on the amount of natural gas the company uses. That cutback will eliminate some of the carbon admissions into the air brought by natural gas. In addition, the use of hydrogen will cut the fuel cost prices passed on to consumers. According to the company, the plant could save $100 million in fuel costs the first year it is in operation.