Meta’s Louisiana Data Center Faces Environmentalist Opposition Over Power Plan

RICHLAND PARISH, La. (KPEL News) - Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta is breaking ground on a new data center in northeast Louisiana, but the next big challenge to the project has appeared.

Two environmentalist groups have filed motions in Louisiana, attempting to block a plan by utility company Entergy to provide power to the new data center.

Get our free mobile app

The motions ask Louisiana's Public Service Commission to block Entergy's plan to build three gas power plants, with the Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists arguing that Entergy did not follow proper procedure when proposing the plants.

Meta's New Data Center

In November, Meta announced a plan to build a new data center in Louisiana. The proposal is supposed to bring anywhere between 300 and 500 jobs to the Holly Ridge area and is expected to be a multi-billion dollar project for the company.

At the time, Gov. Jeff Landry's office praised the project.

“This is a win for Louisiana,” said Stephen Swiber, a resilience officer for Governor Jeff Landry’s administration. “We’re a ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’ administration, and big projects like this are exactly what we want to see.”

READ MORE: Tech Giant Meta Planning Multi-Billion Dollar AI Data Center in Louisiana, Bringing Jobs and Growth

As part of the project's proposal, Entergy submitted a plan to build three new gas power plants to supply the necessary power to the data center. The cost of the energy project is expected to be around $3.2 billion.

Backed By Environmentalist Groups

While the two groups opposing the Entergy plan make their arguments about the affordability of the plan and how it would impact customers, they are being backed by an environmental law nonprofit called Earthjustice.

"This is a real problem from our perspective for ratepayers because we effectively have to take it on faith that Entergy has found the least cost option that will serve their customers," Logan Burke, the executive director for the Alliance for Affordable Energy, told The Advocate.

However, the immediate cost to taxpayers appears to have been part of Meta's calculations. The company is offering to offset most of the costs for Entergy's customers. In the application submitted by Entergy, Meta is set to pay the full annual revenue for the plants for 15 years.

However, the groups attempting to block the action say Entergy did not offer the most cost-effective option for ratepayers.

Typically, a company requesting new power generation from state regulators would undergo a request for proposal, or RFP, where it lays out all types of available sources of generation, from conventional to battery storage. These rules were updated last year, with the goal of including "a broad spectrum of supply-side options to provide the commission, stakeholders, and customers with information and participation from multiple generation types."

There are exceptions, including for smaller contracts or the purchasing of emergency power. The utility can also propose an alternative if it can prove that the regular process would not be in the public interest.

But the groups are arguing that Entergy's plan does not qualify for an exemption, and they are asking an administrative judge and the PSC to review it.

Could Entergy Customers Still See Rates Go Up?

That's what the advocacy groups argue.

Their goal is to "determine the impact on ratepayers," they say, though they also believe that "there is every reason to believe the project will impact ratepayers even if Meta does not terminate early and re-signs a new agreement when the agreement’s first term ends."

Delaying the power generators could impact Meta's timeline, and if delayed too long, could cost the state hundreds of jobs and much-needed economic development.