The Louisiana Public Service Commission will begin a three-day evidentiary hearing Oct. 7 to examine whether a proposed Entergy Louisiana expansion is necessary to support Meta’s $50 billion data center campus in Richland Parish, The Center Square reports.
The proceeding will function much like a trial, with Entergy, industrial customers, consumer advocates and other parties questioning and cross-examining witnesses before an administrative law judge. Representatives from the Alliance for Affordable Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists and Sierra Club are among those expected to participate, while Meta is not listed as a witness.
Entergy says Meta’s additional electricity demand exceeds 1 gigawatt and requires new generation and transmission. Project Evest calls for seven combined-cycle natural gas units, four near the Richland Parish campus and three near the Big Cajun generating site in Pointe Coupee Parish, along with three battery-storage projects, a new substation and more than 250 miles of high-voltage transmission lines.
