MDA director says as more than $70 billion could be invested for future deals in MS, increasing power production is vital

The Magnolia State is hungry for more power, and its leadership is willing to be aggressive both in the public and private sector to obtain it.

On Thursday, after a closed-door meeting to discuss the future of the energy production industry in Mississippi, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves told reporters he plans to carve a bold path forward to keep Mississippi’s energy sector at the front of the pack in terms of economic development.

Reeves also said he wants the state to look closer at increasing nuclear power in the state via modern nuclear reactor technology that has been highlighted and even proposed at a Senate Energy Committee hearing last fall.

“We have to do even more to provide our businesses with the energy they need to succeed, and we have to do even more to deliver affordable, abundant American energy to the people of our state,” Reeves said.

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Growing energy production in Mississippi

Cork told reporters the state is looking at all options to increase energy production, and notably much of that will come in the shape of natural gas energy production, which could dovetail into projects seeking to reduce carbon footprints and pollution by building other renewable energy plants, such as CO2 power plants.

“We talk more about doubling down on natural gas, which we’re not going to be able to avoid as we address the appetite companies have for power, (and we talk about) how to advance carbon capture and other related environmental strategies to reduce the risk of pollution and reduce the carbon threat that not only we may face as a nation, but which is demanded by the companies seeking to locate here,” Cork said.

When asked what regulations Reeves will propose to “knock down”, he did not say. Reeves did, however, say many regulations and permitting requirements for power plants are at the federal level.

“We can knock down the regulations that are currently held at the state level, but the reality is, a lot of these bigger, larger scale projects require federal approval as well, and so it’s about continuing to build that federal state partnership,” Reeves said.

Currently, Mississippi has several regulatory functions in the process for building and operating a power plant. Notably, the state, in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency, requires air quality permits in addition to power plant regulations set forth by the Public Service Commission and other air and water quality regulations.

Reeves also said he is open to growing the diversification of Mississippi’s power production with renewable energy while he tries to catch production up with demand. However, it isn’t at the top of his priority list.

“I believe that we need to understand what the potential customers demand, and we need to make sure that we can provide it,” Reeves said. “Different types of energy production and energy capacity have cost structures. They have reliability structures that are very different. But if it’s affordable and it’s reliable, I’m for it, and quite frankly … if the demand by end users is there, then I’m for it, and I think most of our utility providers and most of our energy companies and most of our government officials in Mississippi have very similar views.”

Renewable energy has grown in Mississippi over the past seven years despite little offerings from state agencies or the Legislature typically given for other industries’ projects. Since 2017, for example, companies in the solar industry have added more than 1,300 Megawatts of power to the state’s grid and invested more than $4.5 billion in new projects.

Currently, natural gas makes up the lion’s share of Mississippi’s in-state power production, and nuclear power makes up the second most.

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Mississippi has billions in potential future investment coming

Over the past few years, billions of dollars have been invested in Mississippi via private capital, and the state and local governments have given millions in economic incentives and tax breaks to entice big companies such as Aluminum Dynamics, which is owned by Steel Dynamics, Amazon Web Services and others.

Cork told reporters the state is currently working on approximately 150 projects representing a prospective total investment of about $70 billion.

“We’re working through that pipeline now, and all of these companies have significant energy demands … We have an existential risk right now that if we don’t get on top of this, we can foreclose some of these great business opportunities that we see coming forward,” Cork said.

Many of the companies that would play a role in increasing the state’s energy output through potential partnerships or deals with the state were also present at the Thursday summit, dubbed the Mississippi Power Play. Representatives from Atmos Energy, Entergy, ExxonMobil and Mississippi Power were in attendance, among others.

Cork also made specific mention of new work going on at Yellow Creek Port, which was the site of a canceled Nuclear Power Plant project in Iuka County, an area with energy needs overseen by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.