Entergy power plant for Meta data center moves toward early regulatory approval

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2 days ago

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)
Fast-tracking a vote that was originally expected to happen two months from now, state utility regulators plan to decide tomorrow whether to approve a controversial power plant Entergy wants to build specifically for tech company Meta to run a giant data center planned for Northeast Louisiana.
A utility ratepayer advocacy group that opposes the project says this attempt to rush the Louisiana Public Service Commission's approval has been shrouded in secrecy and 'back door deals.'
The commission never actually scheduled the vote but did set an October deadline for the matter to be settled, leaving many to expect the vote would take place that same month. But stakeholders and some parties previously opposed to the project told regulators last month they had reached an agreement with Entergy — ahead of deadline — that would allow its power plant to advance. Among the organizations and companies that have joined the agreement are the Southern Renewable Energy Association, Walmart, the Sierra Club, 1803 Electric Cooperative, Occidental Chemical, Northeast Electric Cooperative and Housing Louisiana.
'It looks like we got a peace deal with everybody — most of the big players — so it's time to move on. Why wait?' Public Service Commission Chairman Mike Francis, R-Crowley, said Monday in a phone interview.
However, some groups have not signed onto the agreement. They include the Alliance for Affordable Energy, Louisiana Energy Users Group and Union of Concerned Scientists.
The Alliance for Affordable Energy is urging the commission to postpone its vote until October to give the public the time many expected to have to learn more about the proposal. Logan Burke, the alliance's executive director, said she is concerned with a lack of transparency around the project.
'Everything about it is unusual,' Burke said in a text message.
Entergy Louisiana wants to install three natural gas-powered turbine generators that would provide 2,250 megawatts of electricity for Meta's facility. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has 20 other data centers around the world, and its Louisiana facility would be the largest. The power plant project is being built specifically for the data center, though it will be connected to the larger electric grid and could supply power to other customers.
The growing appetite for digital services has fueled the growth of data centers, leading to a great demand for power supply to run the facilities. A December 2024 report from the U.S. Department of Energy found that data centers consumed 4.4% of the electricity generated nationwide the year before. That share is expected to climb to a range between 6.7% and 12% by 2028.
Neither Meta nor its data center affiliate, Laidley, is involved in the proposal before the Public Service Commission. The commission's administrative law judge, who handles matters under its jurisdiction, has sealed some of the filings that are normally available to the public and redacted details such as the estimated energy loads Meta will need for the data center and Entergy's cost projections for the power plants.
The companies insist these details are commercially sensitive and proprietary, so Administrative Law Judge Melanie Verzwyvelt allowed the utility to file many of its documents under seal.
The Louisiana Energy Users Group, whose membership includes some of the state's largest industrial companies, also opposes the power plant. It recently fought to get Public Service Commission approval to buy its own independent power source rather than wait on Entergy to build the clean energy sources its members have long requested.
The group has argued that Meta will receive preferential treatment from Entergy Louisiana, which has committed to teaming up with Meta to build 1,500 MW of solar power generation that will connect to the broader grid. LEUG members say other companies have been waiting years on Entergy to fulfill commitments they had for their own renewable projects and worry they will now have to take a backseat to Meta — an argument the utility company refutes.
Power for data centers could come at 'staggering' cost to consumers
Commissioner Jean Paul Coussan, R-Lafayette, said the agreement includes a section that prohibits Meta from skipping the line.
'That section ensures that Meta will not be provided access to renewable generation before existing customers have access to it,' Coussain said via text.
Francis, the chairman, said the commission could postpone its vote on Entergy's proposal if the commissioners still have concerns at Wednesday's meeting, but the matter seems to have support from both sides of the aisle. Three Republicans and two Democrats sit on the commission.
Commissioner Foster Campbell, D-Bossier Parish, has said he backs the data center and the power plant because of the jobs they would bring to an economically depressed area of the state. The Meta facility is slated for a 2,250-acre state-owned site known as Franklin Farms, a rural area 30 miles northeast of Monroe. Poverty and unemployment rates in the area are among the highest in the state.
Joe Shyne, Campbell's chief of staff, said the projects will bring an estimated 6,500 construction jobs and 500 more from Meta once the data center is operating.
'This is something [Campbell's] been fighting 50 years for — to bring jobs to that area,' Shyne said in a phone interview.
The commission's other Democrat, Davante Lewis of Baton Rouge, said he has some concerns but is generally not opposed to the project. He cited analysis from the commission's staff and Entergy showing the power plant will likely benefit Louisiana's electric grid at little or no cost to ratepayers for at least the first 15 years of its lifespan. He said his biggest concern is one that could come to fruition years from now.
Meta has committed to working with Entergy to build at least 1,500 MW of solar energy generation. Although solar farms generally take very little time to build compared to gas turbines, it could be years before the utility can start on it due to the high demand for industrial-scale renewable energy and the long waiting list for power lines that can connect them to the grid.
Also, Meta's power supply agreement with Entergy is for 15 years, while the average working lifespan of a natural gas power plant is 30 years. If Meta decides not to renew its deal with Entergy after 15 years, Louisiana ratepayers could have to pay the remaining cost of the power plants, Lewis said.
The Public Service Commission meeting will take place Wednesday at the Carl F. Grant Civic Center in Plaquemine, starting at 10 a.m.
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