PLAQUEMINE — A federal energy official and others celebrated the opening of a new power plant in Plaquemine on Thursday, while an environmental group worried whether it will cause more pollution.

James Danly, the U.S. deputy secretary of energy, was on hand as the 700-megawatt Magnolia Power Generating Station joined the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which controls power distribution through 15 states from Louisiana and Texas into Canada.

"You can feel the excitement over the fact this plant has come online," Danly said. "This is very much needed generation at just the right time, and you can feel the pride and enthusiasm for the event here."

The facility is expected to produce enough electricity to power 500,000 homes. The project's organizers say its construction generated 400 jobs.

The director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Anne Rolfes, said in a statement she was worried that the gas-powered plant will cause pollution and aggravate global warming.

"The people of Louisiana are worth so much more than dirty fuel and dangerous jobs," she said. "The federal government and our own state of Louisiana are doubling down on a harmful energy source at exactly the moment when we should be full speed ahead on safe, clean, and reliable renewable energy."

"Every hour we spend supporting this project is an hour that could have gone toward developing a secure energy grid," she said.

Kindle Energy operates the plant, and the company's senior vice president for business development and asset management said the idea was formed 10 years ago.

"We criss-crossed the state for months, talking to every single (electric cooperative), learning everything we could about Louisiana, and what their needs are, Jon Baylor said. "What is the opportunity that we see? Is there something here and how can we help our customers achieve what they need to achieve long-term."

Bilal Khan, the senior managing director of Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, the investment firm behind the project, said the plant would be the most up-to-date plant on the regional operator's network.

"We are thrilled to be celebrating the beginning of commercial operations at Magnolia Power, which is the most-efficient advanced class gas generator in the MISO-South region of the country," he said.