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Big Cajun 1

Natural gas power plant · Pointe Coupee County, Louisiana

Nameplate capacity
493 MW
Rank in Louisiana
#20
of 98 plants
In service since
1972
June 1972

Details

Primary fuel
Natural gas
Technology
Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine
Operator
Louisiana Generating LLC
County
Pointe Coupee County
Generating units
4
Share of state capacity
1.68%
Rank among natural gas plants in Louisiana
#15 of 53
EIA plant code
1464

Generating units

Individual generating units at Big Cajun 1
UnitTechnologyNameplateSummerOnlineStatus
3Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine133 MW100 MW2001Operating
4Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine133 MW100 MW2001Operating
1Natural Gas Steam Turbine114 MW89 MW1972Operating
2Natural Gas Steam Turbine114 MW86 MW1972Operating

Nameplate is the maximum rated output; summer capacity is what the unit can reliably deliver on a hot day, which is typically lower.

Similarly sized plants in Louisiana

Carville Energy LLCNatural gas555 MW
RS CogenNatural gas493 MW
Waterford 1 & 2Natural gas487 MW
Louisiana 1Natural gas451 MW

About this data

From EIA’s inventory of operable generators, May 2026 release. Capacity is nameplate — the maximum rated output of the equipment, not what the plant actually generates over a year, which depends on how often it runs. A 493 MW solar plant and a 493 MW nuclear plant have the same entry here and produce very different amounts of electricity.

“In service since” is the earliest in-service date among the units still listed, so a site rebuilt around newer equipment can read as younger than the site itself. All Louisiana power plants · What Louisiana actually generates