Meta plans $10B data center with 500 jobs in NE Louisiana: Details of the deal • Louisiana Illuminator

“Today, Louisiana begins a new chapter. Today, we are delivering new jobs and economic growth on a scale unimaginable before we took office,” Landry said in a statement. “Meta’s investment establishes the region as an anchor in Louisiana’s rapidly expanding tech sector, revitalizes one of our state’s beautiful rural areas, and creates opportunities for Louisiana workers to fill high-paying jobs of the future.”

Welcome to Louisiana @Meta! pic.twitter.com/OOvFabQZ1i

— Governor Jeff Landry (@LAGovJeffLandry) December 4, 2024

Landry, who traveled to northeast Louisiana to announce the project, credited the recent state tax overhaul the Legislature approved for convincing Meta to build its data center here. Records from the Louisiana Public Service Commission (PSC) indicate the development has been in the works well prior to November’s special legislative session.

Entergy filed documents Oct. 30 with the PSC for approval of a $3.2 billion power plant to support a new data center, Floodlight reported last month. Natural gas will be used to generate the electricity, which environmentalists have raised concerns over. The proliferation of data centers is driving higher electricity demand, leading to greater dependence on fossil fuels to generate that power, they say.  

According to Louisiana Economic Development, Meta has pledged to match its electricity use with “100% clean and renewable energy and will be working with Entergy to bring at least 1,500 MW of new renewable energy to the grid.” State officials and PSC records Floodlight reviewed did not detail how Meta or Entergy would match its power use, whether through construction of a solar farm, for example, or buying power from another source.    

An LED statement said the project could become “one of the largest private capital investments in the state’s history, to spark new economic activity and investments throughout northeast Louisiana as multiple industries benefit from the billions of dollars invested.”

Kevin Janda, Meta’s director of data center strategy, called Richland Parish an outstanding location for Meta. 

“It provides great access to infrastructure, a reliable grid, a business-friendly climate, and wonderful community partners that have helped us move this project forward,” Janda said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be a new member of the Richland Parish community and are committed to investing in its long-term vitality.”

Richland Parish had an unemployment rate of 5.3% as of October, according to Louisiana Workforce Commission data that pegged the statewide rate at 4.5%. Richland’s population is just over 19,000, but state figures place its civilian workforce, the number of people in the parish with or without jobs, at more than 54,000.

The Franklin Farms site is adjacent to four other parishes with the state’s highest jobless rates: West Carroll (7.4%), East Carroll (9.5%), Madison (6.9%) and Tensas (7.2%). 

Poverty rates in the area range from nearly 20% in Richland to 32% in West Carroll, based on federal figures covering 2018-22. Louisiana’s statewide poverty rate was nearly 14% over the period, above the 8.8% national average. The federal poverty line in 2022 was $13,590 for a one-person household and $4,720 for each additional person.

The Louisiana Community and Technical College System will provide $250,000 to Delta Community College, which has a campus in Monroe, to scale up its construction trades programs to meet the initial construction needs. LED projects the data center buildout will require 5,000 construction workers at its peak.

Delta Community College will aso partner with other schools to develop curricula for students seeking jobs in data center operations, according to state officials.  

Meta said site work at Franklin Farms is slated to begin in September with construction lasting through 2030. Officials said the company intends to claim state tax rebates through a program the Legislature approved this past spring for data center equipment purchases. 

At the state level, the incentive overall — beyond just Meta’s rebates — could cost tens of millions of dollars in revenue annually for at least 20 years, the Legislature’s fiscal staff wrote in its estimate of the proposal’s impact. Unknown elements that could affect that amount include the rapid advancement of technology, growing data center demand, the wide array of equipment that qualifies for a rebate and the absence of program or recipient cost constraints, they said.   

“These factors make quantifying the exact impact of the proposed law difficult to predict but could serve to restrict the state and local sales tax base for many years,” the law’s fiscal note reads. 

Last month, state lawmakers approved an increase in the state sales tax to 5%, effective Jan. 1. Richland Parish does not collect a sales tax.

Meta is also expected to take part in the state’s Quality Jobs program that offers a break on company payroll taxes, the LED statement said. 

Lawmakers and the governor agreed last month to end the program and stop taking applications after June 30, 2025, as part of the state’s tax system revamp. LED chief communications officer Mark Lorando said in an email the state will honor “advance notifications and applications filed before the sunset date of any incentive program” affected in the recently approved tax  legislation. Meta has not filed advance notification yet but has until June 30 next year to do so, he added.