Meta to fund natural gas plants to power its largest data center

Meta, one of the mega-corporations advancing artificial intelligence the fastest, has agreed to underwrite the energy costs of its newest and largest data center in Northeast Louisiana, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Currently under construction in Richland Parish, Louisiana, the new data center is projected to cost $27 billion and consume up to 5 gigawatts of power, enough to power approximately 1 million homes. In an attempt to convey the scale of the undertaking, and while sounding like a James Bond villain without realizing it, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the finished data center as "so large it would cover a significant part of Manhattan."

But to ensure that the good people of Louisiana don't subsidize the undertaking with absurdly high electricity bills, Meta has signed an agreement with Entergy Louisiana to privately fund new energy infrastructure throughout the state, including seven new natural gas power plants with a total energy output of 5,200 megawatts, 240 miles of 500-kilovolt transmission lines, and three new battery storage locations to help store excess energy. 

Fears about the economic disruptions caused by artificial intelligence, as well as the rising toll on the environment and local energy grids, have crossed political lines, with a recent poll finding that majorities of registered Democrats, Republicans, and independents support stronger regulation of AI and data centers. However, the same poll also found that majorities across all age groups continue to use AI at least once a month.