Meta, the company behind Facebook, is building the largest artificial intelligence (AI) data center ever in northeast Louisiana. They announced this exciting news on Wednesday, saying it will cost about $10 billion. This new facility is expected to help the area, which has struggled economically for a long time.
The governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, believes this project will create jobs and boost the tech industry in the state. However, some environmental groups are worried about how much energy the data center will use and if it will make electricity bills go up for people living nearby.
At the same time, Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is also working on expanding its supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee. Other companies like Nvidia and Dell will also set up shop there, but no more details were shared yet.
Many states, including Louisiana, are trying to attract big tech companies that need a lot of power for their data centers by offering tax breaks and other benefits. A government report pointed out that there are not enough data centers in the U.S. to keep up with the growing demand for AI tech, which is expected to rise by 9% each year through 2030.
Meta’s Louisiana data center is expected to create 500 permanent jobs and 5,000 temporary construction jobs, according to Kevin Janda, the director of data center strategy at Meta. At a whopping 4 million square feet, it will be Meta’s biggest AI data center yet.
Kevin Janda also said, “We want to make sure we are having a positive impact on the local level.” Local leaders from both parties welcomed the Meta facility, calling it a great opportunity for Richland Parish, which has a small population of about 20,000 people primarily reliant on farming. A quarter of its residents live in poverty, and fewer than half are employed according to census data.
To help with the water use from the data center, Meta plans to invest $200 million in improving roads and water infrastructure in the parish, and they aim to finish building the center by 2030.
Entergy, a major utility company, is rushing to build three natural gas power plants in Louisiana to generate enough energy, about 2,262 megawatts, specifically for Meta’s data center over the next 15 years. This is almost 10% of Entergy’s total energy capacity across four states. The Louisiana Public Service Commission is currently reviewing Entergy’s proposal, but some environmental groups are against adding more fossil fuel plants.
Meta has plans to contribute 1,500 megawatts of renewable energy to the grid in the future. But Jessica Hendricks, a policy director for an energy advocacy group, worries that local residents might face higher electricity bills to support the cost of these power plants when Meta’s deal with Entergy ends. “There’s no reason residents should pay for a power plant they won’t use,” she stated.
Commissioner Foster Campbell, who represents northeast Louisiana, has a different view. He does not believe the data center will raise electricity rates and sees it as important for the region. “It’s going in one of the most needed places in Louisiana and in the whole country,” he said. “I’m 100% for it.”
Meanwhile, environmental organizations are concerned about pollution from Musk’s AI project in Memphis. The Southern Environmental Law Center warns that the supercomputer could put a strain on the power grid, which might catch the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Currently, 18 gas turbines at xAI’s facility contribute to air pollution in Memphis, creating ground-level ozone or smog. Attorney Patrick Anderson from the law center says xAI has not been transparent about its operations and that local residents, particularly in predominantly Black neighborhoods, deserve to know how this affects them. “Memphians should have a say in these decisions,” he said.
