Entergy Louisiana Vice President
Larry Hand, Vice President of Public Affairs for Entergy Louisiana, says at least 70 percent of the landowners projected to be affected have already signed survey agreements
Data centers in Richland, Louisiana
Richland has 1 data center on the record; it is running. No county or city rule about data centers is on the record for Richland yet.
How to read this page. Every count comes from the records on this page and links to where it is counted. Nothing is published until a person reads its source, and a figure no source gives reads Not disclosed; nothing is estimated. A rating changes only when a person sets it.
The data center in Richland
Each row is one site with its stage, its latest dated entry and what its sources disclose. A figure no source gives reads Not disclosed.
Meta Louisiana data center
Richland County · Meta
Latest, reported September 17, 2026: Meta construction at Richland Parish began increase in worker numbers in December 2024 thecentersquare.com local outlet
- Land
- Not disclosed
- Power
- 5 GWthird party estimate
- Water
- Not disclosed
- Tenant
- Not disclosed
Where
Drag with one finger to move the map, pinch to zoom. Tap a pin for the data center, a county for its rules
1 data center in Richland: running. A dashed edge means the exact site is not in the public record; every pin here marks a town or the county.
What happened
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· Meta Louisiana data center
Went live: Work continues on the Meta Richland Parish Data Center near Rayville as of August 3, 2026 nola.com local outlet
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· Meta Louisiana data center
Broke ground: Louisiana Delta Community College created new four week data center technician program wwno.org local outlet
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· Meta Louisiana data center
Went live: Meta announced Richland Parish data center less than seven months after HB 827 passage in 2024 thecentersquare.com local outlet
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· Meta Louisiana data center
Broke ground: Meta expanded Richland Parish data center from originally announced 2 gigawatts to 5 gigawatts of IT capacity turnerconstruction.com local outlet
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· Meta Louisiana data center
Went live: Entergy Louisiana filed application in April 2026 to build seven additional gas fired power plants for Meta data center expansion blog.ucs.org local outlet
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· Meta Louisiana data center
Broke ground: Meta announced the Richland Parish data center project in 2024 wafb.com local outlet
What was said
Dustin McAnn, teacher and landowner in LaSalle Parish, says the transmission line would cut through his property
Meta has a 20 year contract for the transmission line project, with Meta paying a substantial portion of the cost
Rep. Edmond Jordan, chairman of Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus, rejected characterization that his 2024 vote represented endorsement of data centers
Every Louisiana statement, by speaker
46 more statements on this page
Josephina Olagues, letter writer
Meta agreed to pay only a fraction of the parish's usual required construction permit costs for Hyperion
resident (Covington, LA)
Matt Hardey warns that electric bills could double if generating plants become stranded assets after 15 year data center contracts end
Representative, Louisiana House
Rep. Denise Marcelle says she would have looked at data centers more carefully and did her due diligence
Richland Parish Police Jury President
Cecil Reddick, president of the police jury, said the police jury faces pressure from Meta, Entergy Louisiana and Gov. Jeff Landry to not impede construction
Davante Lewis, Louisiana Public Service Commission commissioner and only Black member, dissented from the vote to withhold data
NOLA.com editorial board
NOLA.com editorial stated that trust in government institutions is necessary for the public to support data center projects
NOLA.com editorial board
NOLA.com editorial stated that the Public Service Commission should demand transparency from Meta about its data center plans in Richland Parish
Dan Cronin, Vice President & Operations Manager, Turner
Turner is advancing work across the campus with interior buildout already underway
Louisiana Governor
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry called the deal one that puts Louisiana at the center of America's future in artificial intelligence
Phillip May, Entergy Louisiana President and CEO, stated other customers will be protected from rate increases due to Meta paying full infrastructure costs
Administrative law judge Melanie Verzwyvelt recommended the PSC reject Meta's effort to quash subpoenas
Louisiana Public Service Commissioner
Commissioner Davante Lewis stated the PSC voted to let Meta off the hook regarding transparency
Louisiana Public Service Commissioner
Commissioner Davante Lewis said utilities could split the cost of nuclear studies with their larger customers like Meta and Amazon
Louisiana PSC Commissioner District 3
PSC Commissioner Davante Lewis said the practice of utilities directly authoring motions for commissioners troubles him
Paul Arbaje, senior analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, stated that Meta backing out is a possibility regulators must consider
Entergy VP of regulatory and public affairs
Larry Hand emailed the Meta motion to Commissioner Foster Campbell two days before the vote with language 'As discussed, attached is motion to consider for the Meta docket'
U.S. Representative
Letlow began buying Meta and Nvidia stock within months of signing the NDA
general counsel, Campaign Legal Center
Kedric Payne, general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center, said it raises questions why a congressperson would need an NDA for a state, not federal, economic development project
U.S. Representative
Rep. Julia Letlow signed an NDA with Laidley LLC, Meta's shell company, on June 29, 2024
Representative, House Democratic Caucus chairman
Rep. Kyle Green, chairman of House Democratic Caucus, says knowing what he knows now he would have voted differently on House Bill 827
political science professor, Louisiana State University
Robert Hogan, Louisiana State University political science professor, said the timeline of events raises serious questions about what Congresswoman Letlow knew and when
U.S. Representative
Letlow did not disclose trades for more than a year, past the 45 day deadline required under the STOCK Act
Union of Concerned Scientists, citing the deal structure
Meta and Entergy have structured their deal allowing Meta to walk away before infrastructure is paid for, leaving ratepayers to cover remaining costs.
Governor
Gov. Jeff Landry said the Richland Parish area has seen a 185 percent increase in tax growth and a 30 percent wage increase since 2020
Governor Jeff Landry and Meta announced expansion of initial $10 billion investment to $50 billion
Cory Bahr, 2026 James Beard semifinalist chef, said project represented double digit growth in sales at his three Monroe restaurants
Dr. Justin Hoggard, LDCC Chancellor, noted how the gift is removing financial barriers for local students
Sheldon Jones, Richland Parish School District Superintendent, said teacher bonuses are life altering for teachers and families
Holly Ridge Elementary School teacher Sarah Morris stated she was shocked by the magnitude of the bonus
Mangum High School head football coach Scott Wilcher said the bonus doubled his retirement
Richland Parish residents (unnamed)
Residents concerned Meta expansion could drive up utility bills
Meta pays full costs of energy, water, and related infrastructure
Richland Parish residents (unnamed)
Residents optimistic about Meta expansion bringing jobs and economic growth
Meta says expansion would make it one of the largest data centers in history
Governor Jeff Landry discussed Meta's investment into Louisiana through data center in Richland Parish
Richland Parish resident
Edward Watkins expressed strong support for the expansion, saying 'I'm 100% for it' and that the parish needs change for progress
Meta
All Richland Parish high school graduates beginning with the class of 2026 will be eligible for full scholarships for data center related trade certificate or course
Richland Parish residents (unnamed)
Some residents declined to speak publicly but argued Meta is taking up too much property in the parish
Louisiana Governor
Governor Jeff Landry signed data center tax exemption in late 2024
Scott Franklin, Richland Parish Chamber of Commerce founder
Sales tax collections expected to be elevated for at least three to five more years during height of construction
Scott Franklin, Richland Parish Chamber of Commerce founder, said hope is to attract top teaching talent to rural school district
Riley Griffin, Bloomberg News reporter
Blue Owl owned 80 percent of the Hyperion campus
Riley Griffin, Bloomberg News reporter
Meta received 80 percent reduction in property taxes for the facility
Riley Griffin, Bloomberg News reporter
Meta anticipates spending 200 billion dollars on AI infrastructure to support its AI ambitions
Riley Griffin, Bloomberg News reporter
Meta retained 20 percent ownership stake in Hyperion Data Center campus
Disclosed figures
5 GW power
Power, water, jobs and tax
| Figure | Disclosed total | Disclosed | Not disclosed | Basis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 5 GW | 1 | 0 | 1 third party estimate | |
| Water, stated per day | Not disclosed | 0 | 1 | Not disclosed by any of the 1 record | |
| Water, stated per year | Not disclosed | 0 | 1 | Not disclosed by any of the 1 record | |
| Permanent jobs | Not disclosed | 0 | 1 | Not disclosed by any of the 1 record | |
| Tax each year | Not disclosed | 0 | 1 | Not disclosed by any of the 1 record |
Summed only where a record disclosed the figure; a record with no figure adds nothing and is counted as not disclosed. Water is summed per day and per year separately, as the sources stated it, and never converted. A tax claim given as a range is summed at both ends.
By what the facilities are for
| Use | Records | Power | Water | Jobs | Tax each year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed | 1 | 5 GW | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed: water, jobs, tax each year |
A record that lists several uses counts once under each. Each cell is the sum over the records with that use, disclosed rows only.
What the facilities are for
No source on file states what any of the 1 tracked facility in Richland is for.
How the facilities are cooled
No source on file states how any of the 1 tracked facility in Richland is cooled.
Cite this page
Data Center Record, "Data centers in Richland, Louisiana", https://datacenterrecord.org/states/la/richland-county, updated September 25, 2026.
Cite this page
Data Center Record, "Data center records in Richland, Louisiana", https://datacenterrecord.org/states/la/richland-county. Data: Data Center Record, datacenterrecord.org, CC BY 4.0.
The structured rows are CC BY 4.0. Link to this page; that is what turns a reuse into a citation. Prose stays under copyright.
The rows here are part of the Louisiana export.
For researchers
- Place id
- us/la/richland-county
- Level
- county
- Census GEOID
- Not disclosed
- Rating value
- Not disclosed
- Scale word
- Not disclosed