The Sidney A. Murray Jr. Hydroelectric Station, also known as Louisiana Hydroelectric (LA Hydro), opened in response to a need for a non-polluting, less-costly power source for

Vidalia, Louisiana Vidalia is the largest city and the parish seat of Concordia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,299 as of the 2010 census. Vidalia is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. The city of Natchez, Mississippi, lies ...

. A site approximately 40 miles south of the town was selected for the new facility. The 192 MW plant started full-scale operations in 1990. It was designed to rely on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

's natural flow and elevation drop at the

Old River Control Structure The Old River Control Structure is a floodgate system in a branch of the Mississippi River in central Louisiana. It regulates the flow of water from the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya River, thereby preventing the Mississippi River from chang ...

, therefore not needing a large impound dam. It was also built in accordance with the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

existing water management objective with minimal impacts on the surrounding environment. The station operates more continuously than most run-of-the-river hydro plants, with a capacity factor of approximately 55% and an estimated availability in excess of 99%. It is currently under an approved 42-year power purchase contract with Louisiana Power & Light (a subsidiary of

Entergy Entergy Corporation is a Fortune 500 integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations in the Deep South of the United States. Entergy is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and ge ...

). The city of Vidalia purchases 6% of the power with an option to purchase up to 15% of the generated power.U.S. Corps of Engineers: The LA Hydro is the largest prefabricated power plant in the world. Its main business office is located in Vidalia.

Notes

{{coord, 31, 05, 17, N, 91, 37, 08, W, scale:10000, display=title Energy infrastructure completed in 1990 Buildings and structures in Concordia Parish, Louisiana Hydroelectric power plants in Louisiana Entergy