MONTZ - Entergy says an $869 million power plant it's building in St. Charles Parish will be one of its cleanest, with carbon dioxide emissions 40 percent lower than those from its current gas-fired plants.

Gov. John Bel Edwards was among speakers at a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for a "combined-cycle" gas power plant in Montz. Such plants use waste heat from a gas turbine to power a steam turbine, which also generates power.

Edwards said Louisiana's economy depends on dependable, affordable electricity.

Officials predict 700 construction jobs and 31 full-time jobs at the plant.

Entergy spokesman Michael Burns says Entergy's older gas-fired plants emit 1,300 to 1,400 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour. He says the expected rate for combined-cycle plants like the new one is 800 to 900 pounds per megawatt-hour.