Meta on Wednesday cleared its first regulatory hurdle to build a large data center in Louisiana. The Public Service Commission agreed to Entergy’s request to hire consultants and attorneys to apply to build three new power plants to support the project.
Commissioner Foster Campbell said Meta’s investment in building an artificial intelligence data center in Holly Ridge, just east of Monroe, could be more than $10 billion.
This means that Entergy will have three natural gas power plants (two near the Metadata Center in Richland Parish and one in Baton Rouge) to power the center if the PSC approves Entergy’s application. This is in addition to a planned $3.2 billion investment in the North.
Campbell told USA Today Network that Meta, Facebook’s parent company, initially plans to create 500 permanent jobs with an average salary of more than $80,000.
The Public Service Commission regulates monopoly businesses in Louisiana.
“This is the best news we’ve ever had in north Louisiana,” said Campbell, president of the PSC’s 5th District, which covers all of north Louisiana. “I’m 1,000% for it. This data center is a godsend for Northeast Louisiana and Northwest Louisiana.
“It’s going to happen and I think it’s going to grow.”
The five-member PSC unanimously approved hiring a consultant for the project.
“We’re all happy to see it,” District 4 Commissioner Mike Francis said of the project.
Entergy is trying to fast-track PSC approval for the new power plant, hoping to secure a regulatory green light by October 2025.
Meta plans to build a data center at the state-owned 1,440-acre Franklin Farms megasite in Holly Ridge.
More: Facebook parent company Meta plans $5 billion AI data center in Louisiana: What we know
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network in Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.
