Cleco Power constructed, owns and operates the St. Mary Clean Energy Center (SMCEC).  The unit, located in Franklin, La., was placed into service in August 2019 and is capable of generating up to 50 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power 17,000 homes a year with zero associated emissions.

SMCEC is an innovative partnership with Cabot Corp. whereby Cleco Power generates power through waste heat recovered from Cabot’s carbon black manufacturing process.  Through Cabot’s current manufacturing process, waste heat is captured and utilized by SMCEC to produce steam to drive a turbine generator to produce electricity without increasing emissions, including carbon dioxide.  

Cleco Power installed and owns the generation equipment, and Cabot installed and owns the environmental controls.

SMCEC brings new generation to an area of the state that has limited generation resources, strengthens electric service reliability in south Louisiana, creates eight full-time Cleco Power jobs, supports our economy, helps us plan for our customers’ future power needs and protects the environment.