A 500-megawatt battery storage project proposed by NextEra is moving through an expedited regional review process in Livingston Parish and would help support an unidentified commercial entity with unusually large electricity needs, according to documents reviewed by Baton Rouge Business Report.

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The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, announced Sept. 8 that Steamboat Energy Storage, proposed by NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, was selected for its Expedited Resource Addition Study, or ERAS, program.

MISO records place the four-hour battery storage system in Livingston Parish, with Entergy Louisiana as the transmission owner and a targeted June 30, 2028, in-service date.

Most notably, the records say Steamboat would support the new incremental load of an unidentified “commercial entity” requiring 330 to 360 MW of capacity. NextEra provided that project description as part of the ERAS application process.

The scale is significant. Conventional data centers may draw roughly 10 to 25 MW, while hyperscale, AI-focused facilities can require 100 MW or more, according to the International Energy Agency.

MISO created ERAS to accelerate review of generation and storage projects needed to meet near-term electricity demand, with qualifying projects potentially moving through study to an interconnection agreement in three months.

Steamboat’s selection comes amid speculation about a potential data center in Livingston Parish, much of it centered on a 691-acre tract on Buddy Ellis Road adjacent to Our Lady of the Lake Livingston near Walker that was rezoned for heavy industrial use in November 2025.

Parish President Randy Delatte said earlier this month there are currently no plans for a data center in the parish.

It remains unclear who the commercial customer is, where it would locate or whether Steamboat is connected to the data center speculation.

Entergy Louisiana declined to comment. Delatte and NextEra had not responded by 10/12 Industry Report’s deadline.

—Reporting by Dillon Lowe

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