Mississippi utilities face clean-energy scrutiny as data centers lift power demand

Utilities face clean energy review

Mississippi’s two investor-owned electric utilities drew scrutiny after Sierra Club graded their coal retirement, gas expansion, and clean-energy replacement plans in its latest national assessment of major electric utilities.

Entergy Mississippi received an F, while Mississippi Power earned a C. Both companies are planning future generation investments, and electricity demand continues rising across their respective service areas.

Coal retirements factor into utility scorecard

The scorecard used three tests. It examined coal retirements by 2030, new gas capacity through 2035, and clean energy planned to replace fossil generation and meet load growth.

The 76 utilities collectively scored seven points out of 100, producing an overall F for the second straight year as planned gas capacity increased further across the country.

Data centers increase power needs

Data centers are expanding across central Mississippi, and Entergy Mississippi says serving large customers requires additional generation and transmission resources alongside investments already needed to modernize its system.

AI-focused data centers can consume large amounts of electricity. Mississippi lawmakers, regulators, utilities, and residents have examined potential effects on rates, infrastructure, water use, and local development decisions.

Sierra Club gives Entergy Mississippi an F

Entergy Mississippi’s F came largely from Sierra Club’s finding that the utility plans nearly 3.5 gigawatts of new gas capacity through 2035 under the report’s latest scoring framework.

The scorecard credits planned coal retirements by 2030. Entergy says it intends to end coal use by then unless those resources remain necessary for customer demand and reliability.

Three plants anchor Entergy plan

Entergy Mississippi is building Delta Blues Advanced Power Station, Vicksburg Advanced Power Station, and Traceview Advanced Power Station. The first two are expected in 2028, with Traceview in 2029.

Each plant will provide 754 megawatts of capacity. Delta Blues will replace Gerald Andrus Steam Electric Station, while Vicksburg is under construction where Baxter Wilson Steam Electric Station operated.

Renewables remain part of Entergy plan

Entergy Mississippi says renewable power and storage projects totaling about three gigawatts are approved or pending regulatory review as the utility prepares to meet future supply needs reliably.

Its renewable portfolio includes a 100-megawatt solar plant that entered service in 2022. Entergy also maintains a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target for 2050 within corporate climate planning.

Fun fact: In 2024, U.S. data centers accounted for the largest share, 45%, of global data center electricity consumption.

Amazon demand adds oversight questions

Entergy is expanding capacity partly to serve Amazon Web Services data centers in central Mississippi, but records do not show precisely how much infrastructure is tied to AWS demand.

Limited disclosure in agreements between Entergy and Amazon Web Services makes specific rates, exact cost allocations, and the infrastructure share tied to AWS demand difficult to verify independently.

Little-known fact: U.S. data centers used about 4.4% of the nation’s electricity in 2023, equal to roughly 176 terawatt-hours.

Mississippi Power improves its mark

Mississippi Power improved from an F in the previous scorecard to a C, the strongest grade among Southern Company subsidiaries covered by Sierra Club’s latest national utility assessment.

The report credits Mississippi Power with coal retirements by 2030 while listing 548 megawatts of planned new gas-fired generating capacity through 2035 within its longer-term resource planning horizon.

Plant Daniel conversion moves forward

Mississippi Power moved the planned retirement of Plant Daniel Unit 2 beyond 2028 as the utility prepared to serve about 600 megawatts of additional signed economic-development electricity demand.

The Mississippi Public Service Commission later approved converting either Plant Daniel Unit 1 or Unit 2 to natural gas, with the selected unit’s conversion projected for completion in 2029.

Solar projects add existing capacity

Mississippi Power receives electricity and renewable energy credits from four utility-scale solar facilities totaling nearly 160 megawatts. Three projects were dedicated in 2017, and another entered operation in 2019.

Sierra Club gave Mississippi Power 0% under its metric for planned clean-energy replacement of fossil generation and load growth, a measure separate from the utility’s existing solar resources.

Company response focuses on reliability

Mississippi Power describes its electricity prices as below the national average while emphasizing its responsibility to maintain adequate generating capacity as customer demand continues increasing across its service area.

The utility emphasized reliability, available capacity, and economic growth in its response. Separate planning records show large new customer loads are also influencing future resource needs within its system.

Walnut Grove offers storage lessons

Mississippi Power highlighted the Walnut Grove Demonstration Project, which combines approximately 1.5 megawatts of solar capacity with more than five megawatt-hours of stored electrical energy for operational testing.

The company says lessons from Walnut Grove are informing how renewable energy and battery storage may be integrated into its system in the future as technology and experience develop.

Want to read more about the latest developments? Check out how a North Dakota solar project could add battery storage and a data center near Fargo.

Special rules shape data center projects

Mississippi law created special provisions for qualifying data-processing center projects, including accelerated public-utility approval procedures and specialized rate treatment for certain facilities built to serve those projects.

The framework allows utilities to seek interim rate adjustments to recover qualifying non-fuel ownership costs, including certain construction-related costs, while other state laws provide tax and economic-development incentives for eligible data-center projects.

Want to stay ahead of the news? Check out how Connecticut’s power prices fall while data center demand lifts costs elsewhere.

Which issue matters more, meeting rising data center power demand or moving Mississippi utilities toward cleaner energy? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.

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