Meta is building a $10 billion data center in north Louisiana. Entergy Louisiana plans to spend $3.2 billion on a power plant to run the center, plus additional money on a related gas plant in south Louisiana and transmission lines. (Meta)
PLAQUEMINE – State utility regulators approved a plan Wednesday to install three natural-gas fueled power plants for the tech company Meta, which needs the electricity for a massive data center it’s building in Northeast Louisiana.
The Louisiana Public Service Commission voted 4-1 to approve the unprecedented project from Entergy Louisiana to supply a massive amount of power for a single customer. Commissioner Davante Lewis, D-Baton Rouge, cast the lone dissenting vote, saying an agreement Meta and Entergy struck with other stakeholders before the vote felt rushed with too many questions still left unanswered.
“There’s a lot of things I just can’t verify at the moment,” said Lewis, who has previously voiced support for the Meta data center.
The Public Service Commission originally expected to vote on Entergy’s plan in October, coinciding with a deadline it set for its administrative law judge to settle any disputes involving businesses and groups opposed to the power generation project. The judge would then issue a recommendation to the commissioners about whether Entergy could move forward.
Instead, Entergy, Meta and parties previously against the project told regulators last month they had reached an agreement with Entergy ahead of the deadline, and a vote could take place to allow the power plant to advance. Entergy then filed a request to immediately place the matter on this month’s Public Service Commission meeting, held at the Carl F. Grant Civic Center in Plaquemine, rather than wait on the judge’s recommendation.
This shortcut around the normal project approval process drew concerns from the public and ratepayer advocacy groups, who spoke for hours in opposition to Entergy’s plan.
The three turbines dedicated to the Meta facility will have the capacity to generate 2,200 megawatts of electricity. They will increase Entergy’s statewide generation capacity roughly 20%, as the data center’s power needs are over twice the amount the entire city of New Orleans uses on a hot summer day, according to the Alliance for Affordable Energy. The ratepayer advocacy group wanted the Public Service Commission to delay its vote until October.
Meta has 20 other data centers around the world, and its Richland Parish facility would be the largest. While Entergy’s power complex is being built specifically for the data center, it will be connected to the larger electric grid and could supply power to other customers.
Entergy’s proposal has the full support of the commission’s consultants, who studied it for 10 months. One of the consultants, Lane Sisung, said Meta is covering 100% of the cost of all three turbines.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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