Meta fights subpoena for Louisiana data center records

(The Center Square) – Meta is refusing to disclose calculations showing how much it expects to invest, how many permanent jobs it will create and how much electricity its planned Richland Parish data center will consume.The dispute is part of Entergy Louisiana’s application to build a massive portfolio of power plants, battery storage and transmission infrastructure for Meta’s data center campus. Two consumer advocacy groups − the Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists − sought five categories of records directly from Meta in an effort to challenge the assertion that the data center is in the public interest.“Entergy and Meta want the public to believe Meta is footing the entire bill for this massive fossil fuel infrastructure buildout. That’s not true and they know it,” said Logan Burke, executive director of AAE.She added that although Meta may cover much of the initial construction cost, Entergy Louisiana’s other customers could still bear less obvious long-term expenses through their electric bills.To know for certain, Burke and the Union are asking Meta to show its work on projected job creation, investment and electricity demand, as well as provide information about its assets and other utility guarantees.Chief Administrative Law Judge Melanie Verzwyvelt granted the subpoena in part on July 10. She ordered Meta to produce records supporting its investment, job-creation and electricity-demand projections, but rejected requests for more detailed load patterns, sustainability communications and information about the company’s assets and guarantees.Meta challenged that order four days later, saying that the requested material includes confidential information and trade secrets and is thus protected from disclosure.The dispute now moves to the five-member Public Service Commission. Commissioners are scheduled to discuss and possibly vote Aug. 12 on Meta’s request for immediate review of the subpoena ruling. They could allow the order to stand, reverse it or narrow the records Meta must produce. The vote will not decide Entergy’s broader application, which is scheduled to return to the commission for final consideration in December. The subpoena fight comes as Meta’s own public estimates for the project have grown dramatically. Louisiana officials initially announced the development in 2024 as a $10 billion campus expected to create at least 500 permanent jobs.On July 13 — one day before Meta challenged the subpoena — the company and Gov. Jeff Landry announced that the commitment had grown to more than $50 billion, approximately 1,000 operational jobs and 5 gigawatts of computing capacity.What remains unclear is how Meta arrived at those projections and whether its electricity use will grow as quickly as Entergy assumes.Entergy is seeking approval for seven company-owned natural gas generators totaling about 5,278 megawatts, three battery-storage projects and hundreds of miles of new transmission infrastructure. The gas plants alone are projected to cost nearly $13 billion, while Entergy-funded batteries and transmission projects push the disclosed total above $15 billion. Some costs remain confidential or are expected to be paid directly by Meta.Entergy maintains that its agreement with Meta protects other customers from the project’s costs. The utility estimates the arrangement will provide $2.67 billion in savings and other benefits over 20 years. Meta also agreed to support renewable energy, low-income assistance and energy-efficiency programs.