Testimony on Entergy Louisiana’s Application for Approval to Construct Waterford 6 Power Station and Westlake Power Station, and For Cost Recovery

Client: Sierra Club

Author: Bryndis Woods, PhD

July 2026

On behalf of Sierra Club, Principal Analyst Dr. Bryndis Woods submitted direct testimony regarding Entergy Louisiana, LLC’s Application for Approval to Construct Waterford 6 Power Station and Westlake Power Station, and For Cost Recovery in Docket No. U-37853 before the Louisiana Public Service Commission.

Dr. Woods’ testimony focuses on evaluating the justness and reasonableness of various assumptions underpinning the Company’s claim that Waterford 6 and Westlake are the lowest reasonable cost resource options, including: capacity cost assumptions, large-load customer assumptions, costs of carbon capture, sequestration technology, and hydrogen fuel, and gas price sensitivities and determine how changing some of the Company’s assumptions to more reasonable assumptions impacts the Company’s conclusions. Dr. Woods’ testimony also addresses whether the Company conducted a reasonable resource alternative assessment, the interconnection upgrade costs associated with running the Nelson plant longer than originally intended, and the Company’s assessment of available surplus interconnection capacity in its service territory. Dr. Woods ultimately recommends that the Commission deny the Company’s requests for Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity (“CPCN”) for the Waterford 6 and Westlake projects.

Link to Testimony

Return to Our Work

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage and Louisiana’s Power Sector

Client: Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Louisiana Against False Solutions Coalition

Authors: Chirag T. Lala, Joshua R. Castigliego, Sachin Peddada, Liz Stanton, PhD

April 2023

On behalf of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Louisiana Against False Solutions Coalition, Researchers Chirag Lala and Joshua Castigliego, Assistant Researcher Sachin Peddada, and Senior Economist Liz Stanton, PhD, prepared a report that assesses the viability of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) as a decarbonization strategy in Louisiana’s power sector. AEC staff finds that CCUS is vulnerable to damage, poses risks to human health, safety, and the environment, and has a limited emissions reduction potential.

To fully understand and mitigate the risks associated with CCUS, decision-makers must assess (1) how and to what extent CCUS could negatively impact surrounding communities, (2) what policies, rules and regulations are required to ensure that CCUS deployment is conducted in a safe and responsible manner, and (3) which applications are most appropriate for CCUS versus other decarbonization alternatives. To identify the most appropriate role that CCUS could play in Louisiana’s decarbonization efforts, decision-makers must take into consideration the technical and economic feasibility, emissions reduction potential, and safety of CCUS infrastructure compared to that of alternative decarbonization strategies.

 Link to Report

Return to Our Work

Entergy Louisiana IRP Comments

Author: Tyler Comings

July 2022

AEC Senior Researcher Tyler Comings co-authored comments (along with Sierra Club) on Entergy Louisiana's Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). The comments ask Entergy to include more reasonable costs for renewable and storage resources, to model more early retirement options for its coal units, and fully capture the costs of using hydrogen fuel.

Link to Comments

Link to Comments on Draft IRP

Return to Our Work

Petrochemical Company Research

Client: Louisiana Bucket Brigade

Authors: Liz Stanton, PhD, Eliandro Tavares, Tanya Stasio, and Myisha Majumder

May 2019 - Present

Applied Economics Clinic staff supported Louisiana Bucket Brigade in their research into petrochemical company ownership and decision-making.

Comments on Cleco Power's Draft 2019 Integrated Resource Plan

Source: Wind Power Engineering

Client: Sierra Club

Authors: Sierra Club with assistance from AEC (Tyler Comings, Bryndis Woods, Ricardo Lopez, PhD, and Eliandro Tavares)

April 2019

Senior Researcher Tyler Comings, Researcher Bryndis Woods, Senior Researcher Ricardo Lopez and Assistant Researcher Eliandro Tavares assisted Sierra Club in comments on Cleco’s Draft 2019 Integrated Resource Plan. The Sierra Club concluded that Cleco failed to evaluate the economics of all of its existing resources as part of the IRP and also encouraged Cleco to pursue the company's preferred portfolio, including the addition of wind and solar resources.

Link to Comments

Return to Our Work