PORT ALLEN - Crews have begun construction on a new solar plant in West Baton Rouge that will supply power for Entergy, the company announced Tuesday.

Workers have officially broke ground on Capital Region Solar, a new 50-megawatt solar plant by DEPCOM Power. Entergy is purchasing the output from the plant under a 20-year agreement.

About 197,000 solar panels will be used to complete the facility on about 560 acres of land near Port Allen. Once complete in the second quarter of 2020, Entergy says the plant will offset the equivalent of nearly 19,000 passenger vehicles’ emissions in one year. 

The solar plant will generate approximately 350 jobs during construction and will bring approximately $6.4 million in tax revenue to the surrounding region over the next 30 years, according to DEPCOM Power.