VIDEO: This is why you heard a loud boom Thursday morning in Jackson

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - If you think you heard an explosion Thursday morning in Jackson, you’re not alone.

And, you heard right.

Around 10 a.m., Entergy Mississippi imploded what was left of the Rex Brown Steam Electric Station on Northside Drive in Jackson, which was retired in 2019.

According to Entergy, the plant was retired to allow the company to explore new energy sources.

Traffic was reportedly delayed for 15 minutes.

The Rex Brown Steam Electric Station was a natural gas-fired plant that served the company’s customers for 71 years.

“Rex Brown played a crucial role in Entergy being able to meet its obligation to provide safe, reliable, and affordable energy to our customers,” said Haley Fisackerly, Entergy Mississippi president and CEO. “But as newer, cleaner technologies emerged and the plant neared the end of its useful life, it was time to retire Rex Brown and focus on modernizing our grid to make it even more reliable and resilient for customers now and in the future.”

The controlled implosion was the final stage of the demolition of the building, named after a former Mississippi Power & Light Company president.

“The land that the plant sat on is Entergy-owned property and will continue to be owned and held by Entergy after the demolition for potential future use,” the company said.

“We could have left the boiler there. But it’s in such a prominent part of the city. And you know, we live and work here too. And we wanted to be good corporate citizens and take it down and kind of restore and restore it back to its original state until we decide what it is we want to do with the property,” Entergy spokesperson, Mara Hartmann said.

The land that the cooling pond is on is the 16th section property owned by Jackson Public Schools. Entergy leased the property and will return it to JPS in its original state, per JPS’ request.

JPS has not given further information as to what the land will be used for.

Hartmann says the company has not decided what to replace the plant with at this time.

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