Getting your news
Attempting to reconnect
Finding the latest in Climate
Hang in there while we load your news feed
Louisiana Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Louisiana — updated daily.
Recent Louisiana data center news
-
Land and Expand: Early 2026 Megaprojects Reflect a Power-First Ethos
Data Center Frontier reports multiple developers advancing power-first, land-and-expand AI-ready data center campuses in early 2026.
- Main announcement/action: Developers including Applied Digital (Delta Forge 1), Vantage (Lighthouse), AVAIO Digital (Little Rock), Rowan (Project Temple), Crow Holdings (Dallas) and Amazon (northwest Louisiana) are advancing large-scale projects that pair land banking with secured power and infrastructure commitments; examples include Applied Digital’s 430 MW Delta Forge 1 (two 150 MW facilities on 500+ acres, first operations targeted 2027) and Vantage’s $15B+ Lighthouse (four hyperscale data centers delivering nearly 902 MW IT load on ~672 acres, construction through 2028).
- Background and details: Projects feature explicit infrastructure co-investments and timelines: Amazon’s $12 billion Louisiana buildout includes up to $400 million for regional water improvements and 100% developer-funded electric infrastructure; AVAIO’s $6 billion Little Rock hub has a 150 MW Entergy Arkansas commitment with potential to scale toward 1 GW, and Rowan’s Project Temple (300 MW, ~700 acres) targets initial operations in 2027 with ~$700 million local investment and unanimous local approvals.
-
Battery energy storage systems no longer just for backup: NeoVolta
NeoVolta announced a joint venture with PotisEdge in January to build a U.S. BESS manufacturing platform in Pendergrass, Georgia.
- Main announcement: NeoVolta and PotisEdge launched a joint venture to develop a domestic BESS manufacturing platform in Pendergrass, Georgia (announced January). The move is intended to create U.S. manufacturing capacity to serve utility-scale and commercial & industrial energy storage markets, and to meet OBBBA’s foreign entity of concern requirements so projects can qualify for tax incentives through 2032.
- Details & background: OBBBA’s treatment of BESS enables tax incentives and lease mechanisms that NeoVolta says can take 30–50% off system cost if foreign-entity rules are met; the company is shifting from residential to commercial & industrial markets and cites revenue mechanisms like demand management, peak shaving, arbitrage, and third-party ownership/leasing. The article is an announcement/interview summarizing strategy and market rationale, not a financial prospectus.
-
THE BIG PICTURE (Infographic): Blackouts in 2025
POWER and the International Energy Agency (IEA) report that 2025 major blackout events underscored operational vulnerabilities beyond weather and generation adequacy.
- Main announcement: The IEA’s Electricity 2026 (released February 2026) and POWER’s coverage identify a shift toward interconnected-system operational risks—notably voltage instability, reactive power balance, and protection coordination—driven by high renewable penetration, record connection queues, and surging data center demand (e.g., Northern Virginia event: ~1,800 MW of data-center load transferred to backup). The IEA series (Electricity 2024–2026) traces the evolution from weather-driven outages to these operational failure modes.
- Background and key facts: The article catalogs 15 major 2025 events with concrete impacts and dates, including Chile (Feb 25, 2025): grid separation with ~1,800 MW on the 500-kV corridor and 98% of population (~19 million) affected; Ireland Storm Éowyn (Jan 24, 2025): ~768,000 premises affected and €300 million in estimated insurance claims; Brazil (Oct 14, 2025): substation fire triggered ~10,000 MW load-shedding and accelerated planned transmission auctions (March 2026 auction: 888 km; later auction projected to mobilize R$20 billion).
-
The Real Barriers to Power Sector Carbon Capture
POWER (Sonal Patel) reports that despite technical maturity, post-combustion carbon capture and storage (CCS) for power generation continues to face decisive hurdles that are determining which projects reach final investment decision (FID).
Main finding: The article summarizes that while capture technology is approaching technical readiness, integration complexity, financing structures, and community acceptance are the decisive barriers to FID; the piece cites the Global CCS Institute (October 2025) data showing 77 commercial CCS facilities in operation, 734 projects in development, and projected global capacity growth from 64 Mtpa today to ~337 Mtpa by 2030. It also highlights specific operational projects including China Huaneng Longdong (1.5 Mtpa, commissioned 2025) and Petra Nova (1.4 Mtpa), and notes ~11 announced natural gas plants linked to data centers in the U.S. and Canada (including planned generation for Meta’s Hyperion AI campus and a JV by Chevron/GE Vernova/Engine No. 1).
Details and context: The article is reporting and analysis (not a new single-company announcement); it documents concrete project and market facts: design capture rates (95%) and proven test capture >99.9%, Ares Management’s $600 billion AUM cited, reported developer price expectations shifting from $100/MWh to about $150/MWh, mention of generic offsets at $20/tonne versus potential carbon removal prices of hundreds of dollars per tonne, and practical financing requirements such as Class VI injection approvals, bulletproof off-take agreements, and lump-sum turnkey EPCs. Permitting, supply-chain lead times, and EPC risk allocation are flagged as decisive pre-FID needs.
-
Regulators say Meta data center ownership shift doesn’t warrant investigation
The Louisiana Public Service Commission staff declined to open an investigation into Meta’s ownership transfer of the Hyperion data center.
- Main action: The PSC staff found no evidence warranting action after Meta transferred an 80% stake in the $28 billion Hyperion data center to a Blue Owl Capital-backed entity; Entergy is building three natural gas turbines to power the campus and a 15-year power agreement is described as irrevocable and backed by milestone payments and a parent guarantee.
- Background & details: Advocacy groups urged the PSC to review whether existing guarantees still protect ratepayers; national reporting characterized the deal as “Frankenstein financing” designed to move debt off Meta’s balance sheet; the article reports the PSC decision as a staff determination rather than a new policy change.
-
$12B Amazon data center build will rely on surplus water
Amazon has announced a $12 billion multi-site data center campus across Caddo and Bossier Parishes in Louisiana.
- Project scope & funding: Amazon will invest $12 billion to develop interconnected campuses in Caddo and Bossier Parishes, including $400 million allocated for local water infrastructure (using only verified surplus water) and a $250,000 community fund for STEM and local projects. Construction is expected to start in the coming weeks; STACK Infrastructure will lead development and Southwestern Electric Power Company will be the local utility partner with Amazon paying 100% of new energy infrastructure expenses.
- Context & related projects: The announcement follows other multibillion-dollar data center projects in Louisiana, including Jacobs starting phase one of a $10 billion Hut 8 project (Hut 8 expects operations to begin Q2 2027) and a $10 billion Meta data center near Monroe being built by Turner, DPR and Mortenson. The article is an announcement summarizing Amazon’s commitment and situating it within recent regional data center investments.
-
Hut 8’s West Feliciana data center to fund its own water and power upgrades
Hut 8 has announced plans to build a $2.8 billion data center in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.
- Project details: Hut 8 will build a $2.8 billion data center in West Feliciana Parish; the company will fund water system upgrades and electrical infrastructure tied to the project to avoid passing costs to Louisiana ratepayers, with operations targeted for October 2026.
- Scope and incentives: The development is expected to generate 1,000 temporary construction jobs and 200 permanent positions; state filings outline payroll and sales tax incentives tied to the build-out, and planned upgrades include replacing aging pipes, increasing water capacity, improving pressure, and a privately financed substation and power investments.
-
Is America’s data center boom slowing down?
Bloomberg reports U.S. data center construction slowed in 2025.
- Capacity under construction fell to 5.99 gigawatts at year-end 2025 (down from 6.35 gigawatts in 2024), per CBRE; vacancy rates in primary markets hit a record low 1.4%.
- Developers face permitting, zoning approvals and securing sufficient power delays; development is shifting to markets with more available land (including Louisiana and Texas); some states are reconsidering incentives as power costs rise; this is a Bloomberg news report citing CBRE data rather than a first-time government or corporate policy announcement.
-
Climate Change Solutions - February 24, 2026
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) released a newsletter highlighting data center impacts, policy developments on Capitol Hill, and upcoming briefings and events.
Main announcement: EESI highlighted rising household energy costs driven in part by data center demand, noting electricity prices have risen by up to 267% since 2020 in high-concentration data center areas and that wildfires cost the United States up to $424 billion annually. The newsletter features the article “Data Center Power Demands Are Contributing to Higher Energy Bills,” a podcast on wildfire philanthropy, and announces briefings including “Understanding Load Growth and Energy Affordability” on Thursday, February 26 (3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., Rayburn House Office Building, Gold Room (Room 2168) and online).
Background and other details: The newsletter summaries recent legislative actions and events: Senate Energy Committee advanced the Critical Mineral Consistency Act of 2025 (S.714); House Committee approved the ACERO Act (H.R.390) to authorize NASA’s ACERO project; Senate Foreign Relations agreed to the Protecting Global Fisheries Act of 2026 (S.1369); House introduced the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R.7567). Events listed with dates/times/locations:
- Understanding Load Growth and Energy Affordability — Feb 26, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., Rayburn House Office Building, Gold Room (Room 2168) and online
- Igniting Innovation: Progress and a Path Forward for Wildfire Policy — Mar 3, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., Russell Senate Office Building, Room 385 and online (Reception to follow)
- Strategies to Lower Utility Bills Now for Households and Small Businesses — Mar 12, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., Rayburn House Office Building, Gold Room (Room 2168) and online
- 2026 Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum (EXPO 2026) — Jun 24, 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., Rayburn House Office Building Foyer and Gold Room and online
-
Meta leader addresses Louisiana data center water usage concerns
Meta expects its Richland Parish data center to consume roughly the same amount of water as the farmland it replaced.
- Main announcement:Meta expects its Richland Parish data center to consume roughly the same amount of water as the farmland it replaced, according to reporting in Business Report. The statement is attributed to Henry Thornton (article text: “According to Henry Thornton, a regional community developm…”).
- Background/details: Reported by Business Report (paywalled Insider piece). Article includes a rendering image of the Meta Data Center in Richland Parish and links to the original Business Report article and Insider section. No numeric water volumes, timelines, or monetary figures are provided in the available excerpt.