Meta's Biggest Data Center Raises Concerns in Louisiana Community

Residents worry about rising costs, power outages, and impact on rural way of life

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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Meta's $27 billion data center project in Richland Parish, Louisiana has raised concerns among local residents about the impact on their community. Donna Collins, a longtime resident, worries about potential increases in electricity costs, property values, and taxes as a result of the energy-hungry facility. The recent 'icepocalypse' winter storm that knocked out power for hundreds of thousands has heightened these concerns, as the region already faces frequent outages. Consumer advocates are pushing for stronger protections to ensure residents don't get stuck with higher utility bills to support the data center's electricity demands.

Why it matters

This case highlights the tensions that can arise when large tech companies move into rural communities, potentially disrupting the local way of life. Residents worry about the affordability and reliability of their electricity as the grid faces growing pressure from data centers, raising questions about how to balance economic development with protecting existing residents.

The details

Meta's $27 billion data center in Richland Parish is expected to use three times as much electricity annually as the city of New Orleans once completed in 2030. The utility Entergy Louisiana is building three new gas plants to supply enough power for the facility. While Meta has agreed to pay for 15 years of the capital costs of the new power plants, consumer advocates are concerned about other costs like transmission line upgrades that could still impact residents' utility bills. There are also worries about the data center potentially causing more grid instability and power outages in a region already prone to frequent electricity disruptions.

  • The recent 'icepocalypse' winter storm hit the region on January 24, 2026, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands.
  • By February 5, 2026, Entergy Louisiana had finished restoring power to almost 130,000 customers affected by the storm.

The players

Donna Collins

A longtime resident of the Richland Parish community where Meta's data center is being built, who worries about the potential impacts on the rural way of life.

Meta

The tech company building a $27 billion data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana that is expected to use three times as much electricity annually as the city of New Orleans.

Entergy Louisiana

The utility building three new gas plants to supply enough electricity for Meta's data center project.

Logan Burke

The executive director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy, a consumer advocacy group concerned about the impact of Meta's data center on electricity costs for residents.

Paul Arbaje

An energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, who has filed a response alleging Entergy's grid stability analysis for the data center is inadequate.

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What they’re saying

“We can't imagine the changes that are coming.”

— Donna Collins, Longtime Richland Parish resident (The Verge)

“We're very nervous. When the wind blows, electricity goes out here in a lot of these remote areas. We live in an area where electricity is kind of uncertain as is.”

— Donna Collins, Longtime Richland Parish resident (The Verge)

“In a world where those three new gas power plants [serving Meta] are online, that would be further upward pressure on the cost of gas and therefore on the cost of both home heating and the cost of electricity on the larger market.”

— Logan Burke, Executive Director, Alliance for Affordable Energy (The Verge)

“People in North Louisiana are already facing a lot of outages, and there's this new [project] that is being rushed through the process, not adequately studied in terms of impact on the grid. It could potentially cause even more disruptions and cause even more harm if we don't take this seriously enough.”

— Paul Arbaje, Energy Analyst, Union of Concerned Scientists (The Verge)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This case highlights the growing tensions between tech companies' energy-intensive infrastructure projects and the concerns of local communities about the impact on electricity costs, grid reliability, and their rural way of life. As more data centers are built to power the AI revolution, policymakers and companies will need to find ways to balance economic development with protecting existing residents from undue burdens.