State regulators on Wednesday authorized a controversial plan to power a massive Meta-owned data facility in northeast Louisiana — a project poised to become one of the largest artificial intelligence centers in the world.
The decision by the Louisiana Public Service Commission paves the way for Entergy to build three gasfi red power plants, transmission lines and other infrastructure serving the $10 billion center, which Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, plans to develop on farmland east of Monroe in rural Richland Parish.
While concerns have been raised about the potential for higher power bills and impacts to air and water, most commissioners said the center will be an economic boon for an area with few jobs and a declining population.
