Gov. Tate Reeves is looking to make Mississippi a leader in American energy through a partnership with the public sector and private businesses.
The Republican official announced the launch of “Mississippi’s Power Play” during a Thursday press conference, building on a promise he made during his State of the State Address in late January. Referring to power as the “key to prosperity” during his address, Reeves said officials are working to bring more nuclear, solar, and wind energy to the state’s grid while trying to emphasize the natural gas sector. He believes economic development and the ability to provide power are married in concept.
“We are shattering economic development records. We are attracting billions in new private sector investment, and we are creating thousands of good-paying jobs for our fellow Mississippians. We have delivered these wins primarily on the backs of large, energy-intensive projects,” Reeves said, referencing major investments from Amazon Web Services, among others.
“While these projects are changing the course of Mississippi’s future for the better, we cannot be satisfied.”
Ahead of the press conference, the governor hosted an energy summit featuring a litany of public and private sector leaders, including representatives from ABB, Chevron, Entergy Mississippi, Atmos Energy, and Mississippi Power, among others. At the meeting, officials discussed ways to spur economic growth by improving the power grid in the state through increased private investment.
One of the highlights of the meeting was the regulatory environment. Reeves desires to modify state regulations where necessary while working with the Trump administration, which has been a proponent of deregulation, to loosen the guardrails that could steer an energy producer away from Mississippi.
“Mississippi’s Power Play will help our state provide businesses with the energy they need to succeed, and to deliver affordable, abundant, American energy to Mississippians. This initiative is critical to continuing our state’s economic momentum. That’s because many of the major economic development projects you’ve heard about in the news were large energy-intensive projects,” Reeves said.
“If we want to win more projects like these, we need to produce more energy in our state. Mississippi’s Power Play will help us attract more private sector investment and create more high-paying jobs for Mississippians.”
Other issues discussed at the summit include:
- Strategies for the diversification and security of energy sources
- Enhancing energy infrastructure and logistics
- Fostering innovation and technology adoption by focusing on developing advanced energy technologies through the support of innovation
- Addressing regulatory issues to create a more efficient and predictable environment for energy projects
“As of this week, we have over $70 billion in capital investment, over 20,000 jobs, and over 150 projects in Mississippi’s pipeline for new opportunities. We’re working through that pipeline now, and all of these companies have significant energy demands,” Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Bill Cork said. “We have an existential risk right now in that if we don’t get on top of this, we could foreclose some of these great business opportunities that we see coming forward.
Governing officials and industry leaders will continue discussions on how to bring more energy projects to Mississippi.
