Entergy Breaks Ground on Major Power Plant Complex to Fuel Meta's $27 Billion Data Center in Louisiana December 1, 2025 The rapid expansion of hyperscale data centers, driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing, is placing unprecedented demands on regional power grids, making dedicated energy infrastructure a critical factor for large-scale developments. Entergy Louisiana, the state's largest investor-owned utility, has commenced construction on a significant power generation project designed exclusively to support Meta Platforms Inc.'s massive new data center campus in Richland Parish. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Franklin Farms Power Station was held on Monday, marking the start of a fast-tracked build-out for the energy-hungry facility. The project, which received expedited regulatory approval from the Louisiana Public Service Commission in August 2025, will feature two natural gas-fired plants with a combined capacity of approximately 1,500 megawatts. This output vastly exceeds the current electricity consumption of the surrounding rural parish and is being developed to power what is slated to become the world's largest data center complex—a $27 billion investment by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Phillip May, CEO of Entergy Louisiana, stated in a release that "These facilities represent the next step in Entergy Louisiana’s long-term strategy to modernize our generation fleet and deliver reliable, cost-effective power to our customers." He emphasized that the investment aims to ensure "Louisiana remains a competitive, attractive place to live, work, and do business both today and well into the future." The Franklin Farms station is just the first phase of dedicated power infrastructure for the Meta campus. Entergy plans to build a third natural gas plant at its Waterford nuclear site in St. Charles Parish, with all three facilities together expected to generate around 2,200 megawatts by the end of 2029. According to the Alliance for Affordable Energy, this total capacity is more than double that required to power the entire city of New Orleans. While the new plants will be connected to the broader grid, their primary function is to ensure a dedicated, reliable power supply for the data center, whose construction is already transforming the local area with increased traffic and workforce influx. The scale and speed of this power project underscore the critical nexus between energy infrastructure and the future of large-scale digital infrastructure, setting a precedent for how utilities and tech giants collaborate to meet soaring electricity demands. Source: lailluminator
Entergy Breaks Ground on Major Power Plant Complex to Fuel Meta's $27 Billion Data Center in Louisiana
