PINEVILLE, La. – In early August, Cleco Power placed into service its St. Mary Clean Energy Center in Franklin, La. which is capable of generating up to 50-megawatts of electricity without increasing emissions.

“This marks the close of a four-year project completed in partnership with Cabot Corporation whereby Cleco generates power through waste heat recovered from Cabot’s existing carbon black facility,” said Robbie LaBorde, chief operations officer. 

Through Cabot’s current manufacturing process, waste heat is captured and utilized by Cleco’s St. Mary Clean Energy Center to produce steam to drive a turbine generator to produce electricity without increasing emissions, including carbon dioxide. 

“This is a unique opportunity to provide clean power that is reliably generated and is good for the environment,” said LaBorde. “This new Cleco plant is capable of producing up to 50 megawatts, which is enough to power 17,000 homes a year with zero associated emissions.”

In addition to its environmental benefits, the St. Mary Clean Energy Center is good for customers and the community. 

“The plant brings new generation to an area of the state that has limited generation resources and strengthens electric service reliability in south Louisiana and creates eight full-time Cleco jobs,” said LaBorde. 

“The St. Mary Clean Energy Center is an innovative project that supports our economy, helps us plan for our customers’ future power needs and protects the environment,” said Shane Hilton, president of Cleco Power.

For updates on the project and other Cleco news, follow Cleco on Facebook at @ClecoPower and on LinkedIn at @Cleco.