Entergy Louisiana finalized a revised agreement with Meta Platforms in which Meta will pay the full cost of service for a planned hyperscale data center in northeast Louisiana. The deal delivers an additional $2 billion in customer savings over 20 years, on top of the $650 million previously announced, for a total of $2.65 billion in benefits to Entergy Louisiana customers.
Meta’s initial $10 billion investment in the Richland Parish data center, announced in 2024, is now backed by a new $5,200‑megawatt natural‑gas‑fired generation portfolio, 240 miles of new transmission, battery storage, and up to 2,500 megawatts of renewable resources. The project can scale to 5 gigawatts of AI‑focused capacity, is expected to create thousands of construction jobs from 2026 to 2031, and includes $120 million in matching funds for Entergy’s “The Power to Care” program and $140 million for energy‑efficiency initiatives for vulnerable customers.
The agreement follows a settlement approved by Louisiana regulators on August 20, 2025, and the new generation facilities are slated to become operational between late 2028 and end‑2029. The project is the first to be submitted under the state’s Lightning Amendment framework, underscoring the regulatory support for large‑scale data‑center development.
Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana, said, “This agreement reflects what’s possible when strong partners align around long‑term growth and value. Working with our customers, regulators and state leaders, we are making targeted investments that strengthen reliability, support economic development and deliver meaningful benefits to customers — all while keeping energy rates affordable, which aligns perfectly with Meta’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge and Entergy’s Fair Share Plus pledge.” Meta’s Rachel Peterson added, “Entergy’s filing for new energy generation represents one of several factors needed to move an expansion of this project forward, demonstrates the business‑friendly environment in Louisiana that makes projects like this possible and aligns with the principles in the recently signed White House Ratepayer Protection Plans.” Meta’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg noted, “the site will be ‘so large it would cover a significant part of Manhattan.’”
The agreement provides a long‑term, customer‑funded revenue stream that offsets fixed grid costs and positions Entergy as a preferred power partner for large‑scale data‑center customers. By securing Meta’s full cost of service, Entergy protects existing customers from rate increases while capturing high‑margin, high‑reliability power services that align with its Gulf‑South growth strategy.
Entergy’s stock traded over 4 % higher on Friday morning, with another source reporting a 6.2 % rise in early trading, placing the company at the top of the S&P 500 leaderboard. The positive market reaction reflects investor confidence in the long‑term value of the Meta partnership and the strategic advantage it confers in the rapidly expanding data‑center sector.
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