Westlake, La. (KPLC) - One of the largest carbon capture projects in the country is planned for the Westlake area. A company called Crescent Midstream has been selected by Entergy to develop a carbon capture solution for Entergy’s natural gas power plant off Houston River Road.

Jerry Ashcroft, CEO of Crescent Midstream, said the project would involve a carbon capture facility and pipeline capable of capturing and transporting 3 million metric tons of CO2 per year.

“Entergy Louisiana has the power plant there in Lake Charles. What Crescent will be doing with the help of Honeywell and Samsung engineering is to take the post-combustion or the CO2 from that power plant and then capture it and store it about thirty miles away underground,” Ashcroft said.

Officials said the project would capture commercial carbon dioxide, or CO2 emissions equal to 600,000 motor vehicles. Ashcroft said the carbon dioxide will be permanently stored underground.

“We’re lucky enough to build right on the property of Entergy, so we’re basically going to be next door to them,” Ashcroft said. “What we’re really building are absorbers to absorb the CO2 and then the ability to compress that CO2 to a liquid form to then ship it to underground storage.”

Ashcroft said they have not chosen the storage site yet but are looking at several different locations where companies have Class 6 permits with the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources for deep well injection.

Ashcroft said he is confident Crescent Midstream will be able to provide a safe and reliable service. He said they will study it over the next year and expect construction to start in 2026.

There is still a lot more to be done concerning final engineering, permitting, and hearing from the public, according to Ashcroft. However, he said Crescent Midstream and Entergy are working exclusively with each other. The project is expected to cost over a billion dollars.

A spokesperson for Entergy says if the efforts of Crescent Midstream demonstrate the project is feasible, beneficial, and cost-effective for customers, they will present it for consideration and final approval by the Public Service Commission.