(The Center Square) – Approval of a permit for a large data center expected to join a growing list of others building in Louisiana was given unanimous support Thursday by members of the Shreveport City Council.
The council’s vote overturned a Dec. 3 decision by the Metropolitan Planning Commission that had effectively blocked the 2.8 million-square-foot facility at Resilient Technology Park.
Planning commissioners had noted residents’ concerns over how the data center would affect local utilities, water usage and the environment. Developers appealed their decision to the council, saying the city can’t afford to turn down the project.
“There are two ways we can fix our infrastructure,” Councilman Grayson Boucher said as he and his colleagues prepared to vote. “One would be by us charging you more money, by us asking you for more tax dollars, or by growing the population and usage. That’s what this project will do.”
Data centers have generated plenty of opinions as they have grown across the state. Shreveport residents filled the council chambers to share their thoughts.
Concerns ranged from the costs of upgrading water and electricity infrastructure to power the massive facility to the potential for noise and pollution and what residents described as a lack of transparency. City officials signed nondisclosure agreements that forbid them from discussing specifics of the deal.
Other residents agreed the city needs the facility’s tax revenue and the 150 to 200 full-time jobs it’s expected to create, with annual salaries of around $85,000.
Mayor Tom Arceneaux asked the council for unanimous approval. He said the city has “plenty of water capacity” to support the data center, and he said any additional electricity needs will be paid by the developers.
“It will not be a burden on citizens or likely increase their rates,” he said. “Their rates may go up but it won’t be because of the data center.”
Velma Clark, who lives in a neighborhood adjacent to the proposed facility, urged the council to consider another location.
“The road is one way in and one way out,” she said. “This is where we reside, this is our safe haven, our happy place that we cherish. That will soon just vanish.”
Another resident, Dolly McSwain, questioned how the city’s water capacity is enough to support a large data center when residents are asked to conserve water during droughts and to boil water at other times.
“It doesn’t make sense to me,” she said. “I agree we need something, but it shouldn’t come at a cost to our citizens and our city.”
Angie White said she supports the data center because “to me, the most important part of this is it is going to help us bring more education and training into our area for jobs of the future.”
Data centers nationwide have been increasing at a rapid pace to keep up with the artificial intelligence boom and more streaming and data usage. Louisiana has around two dozen, compared to 26 in Alabama and 10 in Mississippi, according to Data Center Map, an online platform that has tracked the industry since 2007.
Topping the list are two multibillion-dollar facilities: Meta’s 4 million-square-foot data center under construction in northeast Louisiana and a smaller center in southeast Louisiana that Anthropic, another major tech company, plans to move into.
The state is loosening its restrictions in anticipation of more. On Wednesday, Louisiana utility regulators agreed to fast-track the process for building new electricity generation to handle the power needs of data centers and other large industrial projects.
