Sources
Every fact on this site is sourced from public records. Read them yourself.
Louisiana Government & Regulatory
Act 365 (HB 433, 2025 Regular Session) — Site Investment and Infrastructure Improvement Fund (FastSites)
Louisiana Legislature, 2025 Regular Session. By Representative Daryl Deshotel. Creates the $150 million Site Investment and Infrastructure Improvement Fund — the legislative vehicle for the FastSites program. Pre-prepares 19 industrial sites across 16 parishes with infrastructure, utilities, rail and road access, environmental remediation, and site due diligence before any company has publicly announced interest. Designed to shorten the timeline between corporate inquiry and groundbreaking. Because site preparation and infrastructure work occur before a project is publicly announced, the standard windows for public comment or local government input are effectively compressed or bypassed.
https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?s=25RS&b=HB433
LED announcement (19 sites selected): https://www.opportunitylouisiana.gov/news/louisiana-selects-19-fastsites-in-historic-state-investment
Act 851 (S.B. 1, 2006) — Constitutional Amendment: Property Rights
Louisiana Legislature, 2006 Regular Session. Ratified by Louisiana voters September 30, 2006. Amended the Louisiana Constitution to prohibit the state or any political subdivision from taking private property for the predominant use or transfer to any private person or entity. Direct response to Kelo v. New London. Establishes that neither economic development nor enhancement of tax revenue alone constitutes a public purpose. Preserves an exception for industrial development (Article VI, Section 21) — the constitutional door through which later CO2 pipeline expropriation authority passed.
Act 730 (H.B. 827) — Data Center Tax Incentives
Louisiana Legislature, 2024. 20-year sales/use tax rebates for qualifying data centers.
Act 620 (H.B. 492, 2024) — CO2 Pipeline Expropriation Authority
Louisiana Legislature, 2024 Regular Session. Gives CO2 pipeline companies the legal right to obtain expropriation certificates for carbon capture pipelines and expropriate private land. Effective August 1, 2024. Extended and restructured under Act 458 (2025).
Act 36 (SB 79, 2025) — Industrial Area Reclassification
Louisiana Legislature, 2025 Regular Session. Reclassified data centers as "industrial purpose" facilities under Louisiana's industrial area statutes, making zoning approval easier and faster and removing a layer of local review and public input that would otherwise apply before a large facility is permitted.
Act 372 (H.B. 507, 2025) — High Impact Jobs Program
Louisiana Legislature, 2025 Regular Session. Creates a reimbursable grant program for companies creating jobs above the parish average wage with health benefits. Grant rates 8–22% of wages; maximum $200,000 per job per year. Data centers are explicitly listed as eligible under "professional services." The program is discretionary — the LED Secretary has final authority over every application. No company is entitled to a grant and funding depends on legislative appropriations. Does not require data centers to create jobs; does not address ratepayer costs, water usage, or environmental review.
Act 458 (SB 244, 2025) — Regulatory Consolidation, Carbon Capture Expropriation, Transparency Reductions
Louisiana Legislature, 2025 Regular Session. One of the most sweeping regulatory restructuring acts of 2025. Key provisions: consolidates state natural resources authority under the new Department of Conservation and Energy; grants CO2 pipeline companies the right to obtain expropriation certificates for carbon capture pipelines while removing the prior statutory finding that carbon sequestration serves the public interest; caps non-remediation damages to landowners at 300% of fair market value regardless of actual harm; repeals the Water Resources Commission (independent oversight body) and the Louisiana Environmental Education Act; weakens coastal zone special management from mandatory to discretionary; allows competitive bid information submitted to the State Mineral and Energy Board to be exempt from the Public Records Law; removes the requirement for itemized legislative reporting on Mineral and Energy Operations Fund legal spending.
Executive Order JML 25-102 — Louisiana Lightning Speed Initiative (September 16, 2025)
Signed by Governor Jeff Landry. Creates the Louisiana Lightning Speed Initiative, directing 16 state agencies to designate liaisons to Louisiana Economic Development and align their permitting, regulatory, and infrastructure processes with economic development goals. Agencies directed to participate include the Department of Environmental Quality (#1 on the list) and the Louisiana Public Service Commission (#10). The DEQ pre-filing waiver and the LPSC Lightning Amendment both followed this order. The EO is the coordinating document behind Louisiana's data center regulatory rollback — what appeared to be independent agency decisions were agencies following a gubernatorial directive.
LPSC Docket No. U-37425 — Entergy Louisiana / Laidley LLC Gas Plant Approvals
Louisiana Public Service Commission. Approval of three combined-cycle combustion turbine plants totaling approximately 2,262 MW (754 MW each) to serve Laidley LLC (a Meta Platforms subsidiary). The LPSC approved Entergy's application on the same day Meta announced the Blue Owl joint venture restructuring, without pausing to assess the changed financial arrangement. The Alliance for Affordable Energy and Union of Concerned Scientists filed a joint motion asking the Commission to require Laidley and Meta to appear as necessary parties to explain the deal; the Commission declined.
LEUG filing: https://lpscpubvalence.lpsc.louisiana.gov/portal/PSC/ViewFile?fileId=ZGg5VHY9sKE%3D
Capacity planning filing: https://lpscpubvalence.lpsc.louisiana.gov/portal/PSC/ViewFile?fileId=dR%2FMp4tV%2FxU%3D
Docket search: https://lpsc.louisiana.gov (search docket U-37425)
Louisiana DEQ — Water Quality Certifications / Pre-Filing Waiver
Department of Environmental Quality. Effective November 3, 2025, DEQ eliminated the mandatory pre-filing meeting for water quality certifications statewide. The waiver applies to all industries. Previously, project proponents were required to hold a pre-filing meeting and wait 30 days before submitting a certification request.
LED — Meta Selects Northeast Louisiana for $10 Billion AI Data Center
Louisiana Economic Development announcement. Meta's original $10 billion data center announcement in Richland Parish (now expanded under the Hyperion project to $27 billion).
LED — Hut 8 Selects West Feliciana Parish for $10 Billion AI Data Center
Louisiana Economic Development announcement. Hut 8's River Bend AI data center campus in West Feliciana Parish; $10 billion Phase I investment; ~1,000 peak construction jobs; operations expected Q2 2027. Not in St. Charles Parish.
LED — Speed, Certainty and Confidence: How Louisiana Is Redefining the Business Experience
Louisiana Economic Development. The state's articulation of its "Lightning Speed" business attraction strategy — speed, certainty, and confidence as the three pillars of Louisiana's pitch to data centers and large industry.
Invest in Louisiana — Tax Incentive Efficiency Analysis
State economic development analysis: ~$49M return on $453M in incentive costs (10.8% return).
Entergy Louisiana Rate Schedules
Residential rate approximately 14.03 cents per kWh. Methodology note: This figure is calculated from Entergy Louisiana's Residential Service (RS) tariff schedule at 1,000 kWh/month usage, verified via utility-rates.com in February 2026. EIA bundled-average data puts the statewide Entergy Louisiana average around 11.23¢/kWh; the difference reflects tariff-level vs. blended-average methodology. Both figures are defensible; the RS tariff rate is what most residential customers at typical usage actually pay.
https://www.entergy-louisiana.com/your_home/price/ (links to rate schedule PDFs)
Federal Reports & Government
CRS Report R48762 — Data Center Energy Infrastructure: Federal Permit Requirements
Congressional Research Service, December 12, 2025. Comprehensive analysis of the federal permitting landscape for data center energy projects.
United States Data Center Energy Usage Report (2024)
DOE / Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, December 2024. National electricity consumption data: 176 TWh in 2023, projected 325–580 TWh by 2028.
https://eta.lbl.gov/publications/2024-lbnl-data-center-energy-usage-report
PERMIT Act (H.R. 3898)
119th Congress, passed House 221–205, December 11, 2025. Reforms Clean Water Act scope.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3898
SPEED Act (H.R. 4776)
119th Congress, passed House 221–196, December 18, 2025. Streamlines NEPA review for infrastructure.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4776
FERC — Co-Location Fast-Track (Docket EL24-49-000)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, February 2025. FERC directed PJM (the nation's largest grid operator) to create new rules governing co-location of large loads — including data centers — at power plant sites. Relevant to how hyperscale data centers access dedicated power in ways that bypass standard grid interconnection processes.
Texas Senate Bill 6 (2025) — Data Center Demand Response Requirements
Texas Legislature, 2025. Requires data centers larger than 75 MW to install remote disconnect capabilities, participate in demand response, and accept mandatory curtailment during grid emergencies. Louisiana has not adopted similar protections.
Bill information: https://legiscan.com/TX/bill/SB6/2025
Enrolled text: https://legiscan.com/TX/text/SB6/id/3248460/Texas-2025-SB6-Enrolled.html
U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey, Educational Attainment (S1501)
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 1-Year Estimates, 2023. Educational attainment data by parish and state. Used to assess the local workforce qualification gap for data center technical jobs.
USGS — Water Resources of St. Charles Parish (Fact Sheet 2014-3118)
U.S. Geological Survey. Documents groundwater and surface water resources in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, including industrial groundwater availability.
JLARC Virginia — Data Centers in Virginia (2024)
Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, Virginia General Assembly. Comprehensive review of data center impacts in Virginia including tax revenue forgone (nearly $1 billion/year in state and local sales/use tax revenue), job creation, and land use impacts in the nation's largest data center market.
https://jlarc.virginia.gov/landing-2024-data-centers-in-virginia.asp
Bureau of Labor Statistics — Louisiana Occupational Employment and Wages
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wage and employment figures for data center-relevant occupations in Louisiana.
Louisiana OES: https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_la.htm
Computer and Information Technology Occupations: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/home.htm
HVAC/Refrigeration Mechanics: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/heating-air-conditioning-and-refrigeration-mechanics-and-installers.htm
News & Investigative Reporting
The Lens — Lightning Amendment / LPSC Data Center Reporting
February 18, 2026. Opinion/analysis by Paul Arbaje, Union of Concerned Scientists, republished on The Lens. Explains how the LPSC's "Lightning Amendment" (passed late 2025) works, the 50%/75% ratepayer cost exposure, the RFP waiver, and the lack of any permanent written record of the policy.
https://thelensnola.org/2026/02/18/louisiana-lightning-amendment-ai-data-centers-ratepayer-costs/
Louisiana Illuminator — Entergy and Meta Power Deal
August 20, 2025. Coverage of the LPSC approval of three gas plants for Meta/Laidley, the Blue Owl restructuring, and the ratepayer cost exposure implications.
Louisiana Illuminator — Meta Plans $10B Data Center in NE Louisiana
December 4, 2024. Original reporting on Meta's selection of a 2,250-acre Franklin Farms site in Richland Parish (30 miles northeast of Monroe) for a 4 million-square-foot data center campus. Population ~20,000; median household income under $35,000.
Louisiana Illuminator — Amazon Data Center
February 23, 2026. Coverage of Amazon's $12 billion data center investment announcement in Louisiana.
Louisiana Illuminator — Carbon Bills Face Long Odds
April 2, 2026. Coverage of H.B. 7 (Louisiana Landowners Protection Act) and other carbon capture-related bills in the 2026 legislative session. The Landowners Protection Act, which would have reversed CO2 pipeline expropriation authority, failed in committee 12-7.
https://lailluminator.com/2026/04/02/carbon-bills-long-odds/
Fortune — Meta's $27 Billion AI Data Center in Louisiana
March 26, 2026. Coverage of Meta's Hyperion expansion from $10 billion to $27 billion in Richland Parish, Louisiana.
https://fortune.com/2026/03/26/meta-ai-data-center-hyperion-louisiana/
NOLA.com — Louisiana Data Center Water Usage
Investigation of Meta's water filings: 8.4B gallons registered, 500–600M actual annual usage. Utilities barred by NDAs from disclosure.
NOLA.com — Louisiana Data Center Energy Coverage
NOLA.com / The Times-Picayune. Reporting on data center energy and grid impacts in Louisiana.
https://www.nola.com/news/environment/article_7f3f2f3e-bec4-11ef-b61f-3fb94c95e388.html
DataCenter Dynamics — Entergy's $12 Billion 500kV Transmission Line
Coverage of Entergy's plan to build a 500kV transmission line to serve Meta's data center campus in Louisiana.
ENR — $27B Meta Data Center Pushes Louisiana Toward Massive Power Expansion
Engineering News-Record. Coverage of the infrastructure and power expansion required to support Meta's Louisiana data center campus.
Richland Today — Entergy-Meta Agreement
Coverage of the Entergy-Meta power agreement and its projected economic impact on Northeast Louisiana.
ProPublica — Entergy Resisted Upgrading New Orleans Power Grid; Residents Paid When Ida Hit
ProPublica investigative reporting. Documents Entergy's long-running resistance to grid hardening in New Orleans and the consequences during Hurricane Ida. Context for evaluating Entergy's claims about new infrastructure investment.
The Center Square — Louisiana Data Center Coverage
Coverage of Louisiana data center policy and economic development.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/louisiana/article_3c090122-22d1-437a-ac79-88a85f1505e6.html
Utility Dive — Texas Data Center Law (SB 6)
June 2025. Texas requires data centers >75MW to install remote disconnect and participate in demand response.
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy — States Are Opening a Pandora's Box of Data Centers
November 19, 2025. Analysis of state tax incentive deals for data centers: low job creation relative to incentive cost, concentration of economic benefit, and fiscal risk to states.
https://itep.org/states-are-opening-a-pandoras-box-of-data-centers
Advocacy & Research Organizations
Earthjustice — LPSC Filings, Docket U-37425
2025–2026. Filed in LPSC Docket U-37425 regarding Entergy Louisiana's gas plant approvals for Laidley LLC (Meta). Raised concerns about the Blue Owl joint venture restructuring and stranded asset risk to ratepayers.
Consumer groups alarmed as PSC declines probe: https://earthjustice.org/press/2026/consumer-groups-alarmed-as-louisiana-psc-declines-to-take-up-probe-into-meta-risky-financing-deal
Louisiana regulators asked to investigate Meta financing deal: https://earthjustice.org/press/2026/louisiana-regulators-asked-to-investigate-shady-meta-financing-deal-that-could-leave-households-paying-for-tech-giants-electricity
Alliance for Affordable Energy — Meta Data Center to Cause Entergy Bill Increase
Analysis warning that the Meta/Laidley power plant deal will increase Entergy bills for Louisiana customers, with ratepayers bearing approximately 50% of infrastructure costs.
https://www.all4energy.org/watchdog/meta-data-center-to-cause-entergy-bill-increase/
Alliance for Affordable Energy — Meta's New Data Center Financial Arrangement Puts Louisianans at Higher Risk of Shouldering Costs of Stranded Assets
Analysis of the Blue Owl Capital joint venture restructuring: Meta sold 80% of its data center to Blue Owl, creating a financing structure that could allow Meta to exit after as few as four years, shifting stranded asset risk onto ratepayers.
Alliance for Affordable Energy — Consumer Groups Alarmed as PSC Declines to Take Up Probe into Meta Risky Financing Deal
The Louisiana Public Service Commission declined to investigate the Blue Owl restructuring or require Laidley LLC and Meta to appear as necessary parties in the docket. The Commission approved the plant applications on the same day the restructuring was announced.
Alliance for Affordable Energy & Union of Concerned Scientists — Joint Motion to Declare Necessary Parties (LPSC Docket U-37425)
Filed March 5, 2025. Requested the Louisiana Public Service Commission declare Laidley, LLC and Meta Platforms as necessary parties to LPSC Docket U-37425, and require them to appear and explain the Blue Owl joint venture financing arrangement. The Commission declined.
Union of Concerned Scientists — Stranded Asset Risk / Lightning Amendment Analysis
Research on 30-year plant lifespan vs. 15-year contract creating financial risk for ratepayers. Co-filed joint motion with Alliance for Affordable Energy in LPSC Docket U-37425. Analysis by Paul Arbaje (UCS) republished in The Lens, February 2026.
https://thelensnola.org/2026/02/18/louisiana-lightning-amendment-ai-data-centers-ratepayer-costs/
Invest Louisiana — Louisiana's Data Center Incentives: Big Promises, Bigger Questions
Invest Louisiana. Analysis of Act 730 and Louisiana's data center incentive framework. Compares Louisiana's accountability measures to Texas (5-year audits, automatic clawback to original purchase date), Mississippi (wage standards tied to state average), and Tennessee (150% of state average wage required). Finds Louisiana requires no wage standards, no routine public reporting, and no automatic clawbacks. Documents that Louisiana is among the 25 states that do not disclose which companies receive data center incentives or how much they receive. Covers Meta's Richland Parish campus, the $5B+ infrastructure cost to ratepayers, and policy recommendations including transparency requirements, performance clauses, and community benefit agreements.
https://investlouisiana.org/louisianas-data-center-incentives-big-promises-bigger-questions
Good Jobs First — Cloudy with a Loss of Spending Control: How Data Centers Are Endangering State Budgets
Analysis of fiscal risk from data center tax incentives: how states are structuring deals that trade long-term tax revenue for short-term investment announcements with weak accountability mechanisms.
Good Jobs First — Data Center Shutdowns
Tracker and analysis of data center closures and the public cost of facilities that received subsidies and then closed or scaled back operations.
Good Jobs First — New Data on Data Center Subsidies: Same Old Problems
Analysis of data center subsidy patterns: high incentive cost per job, weak wage and clawback requirements, and inadequate public return on investment.
https://goodjobsfirst.org/new-data-on-data-center-subsidies-same-old-problems/
Good Jobs First — Data Centers FAQ
Frequently asked questions on data center subsidies, jobs, and fiscal impact.
https://goodjobsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Data-Centers-FAQ.pdf
Good Jobs First — Cloudy Data, Costly Deals: How Poorly States Disclose Data Center Subsidies
November 2025. Analysis of data center incentive disclosure practices across 36 states. Finds only 11 of 36 states report beneficiary names. Louisiana is among the 25 states that do not disclose which companies receive data center incentives or how much they receive. Virginia forgoes over $1 billion annually with limited outcome reporting. Used in Invest Louisiana's analysis of Act 730 accountability gaps.
Good Jobs First — Subsidy Tracker
National database of government subsidies to private corporations. Searchable by company, state, and type of incentive.
Institute for Local Self-Reliance — The Environmental Inequity of AI
ILSR Building Local Power podcast/article. Reports that 9 of the top 10 counties most affected by AI data center expansion are low-income communities with predominantly Black populations. Features Dr. Shaolei Ren on economic factors driving data center siting into vulnerable communities.
Capital B News — Black Communities Battle Big Tech Over the Hidden Costs of AI
Investigative reporting on data center siting patterns in Black communities across the South. Quotes NAACP leader Benard Simelton on tech companies targeting areas where communities lack political power to resist. Documents the pattern of "following in the footsteps of Big Oil."
https://capitalbnews.org/data-centers-black-communities-south/
The Lens — Data Centers Spark Fears of a "Digital Cancer Alley" in Louisiana
September 25, 2025. Reporting on community concerns about data center development in Louisiana's industrial corridor. References MediaJustice report on Big Tech building in communities with "large Black populations" and limited power to fight back.
https://thelensnola.org/2025/09/25/data-centers-spark-fears-of-a-digital-cancer-alley-in-louisiana/
Sierra Club Virginia — Data Center Impacts
Documents environmental impacts of data centers in Virginia: toxic emissions from diesel generators, over 2.1 billion gallons of water consumed in 2023, and "virtually no restrictions on locations." Recommends industrial zoning away from residential neighborhoods, schools, and parks.
Union of Concerned Scientists — Data Center Power Play
Full report on data center energy impacts. Estimates data centers could increase U.S. electricity system costs by $24–37 billion by 2050. Documents $4.3 billion in additional transmission costs borne by homes in seven states in 2024 alone. Recommends standards for water use and environmental impacts.
LED — Data Center Incentives
Louisiana Economic Development data center incentive program page. Announces $32 billion+ in total investment (Amazon $12B, Meta $10B, Hut 8 $10B). Details Act 730 rebate requirements: $200M minimum investment, 50 direct permanent jobs, 20-year sales tax rebates.
LED — Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP)
Louisiana Economic Development. Program details for 80% property tax abatement for up to 10 years on new manufacturing investment. Requires NAICS code beginning with 31, 32, or 33.
https://www.opportunitylouisiana.gov/incentive/industrial-tax-exemption
ASCE Infrastructure Report Card — Louisiana
American Society of Civil Engineers. Infrastructure report card for Louisiana. Baseline for understanding the state's existing infrastructure condition alongside data center buildout.
EESI — Data Centers and Water Consumption
17 billion gallons consumed in 2023; 211 billion gallons of indirect consumption through electricity generation.
https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-centers-and-water-consumption
Industry & Utility Sources
Entergy — Hut 8 Selects Entergy Southeast Louisiana for $10 Billion AI Data Center
Entergy press release. Hut 8's River Bend AI data center campus announcement, with Entergy as the power provider.
Entergy — Waterford-3 Nuclear Power Station
Entergy's Waterford-3 nuclear plant in St. Charles Parish. Operational since 1985; approximately 1,200 MW capacity. Context for the existing industrial and energy footprint in the parish.
Entergy Louisiana — J. Wayne Leonard Power Station
Entergy Louisiana's J. Wayne Leonard Power Station in St. Charles Parish. Combined-cycle natural gas plant. Used as a comparable for estimating permanent jobs at the new Waterford combined-cycle plant.
Meta — Richland Parish Data Center
Meta's official data center site for the Richland Parish (Hyperion) campus. Project details, investment figures, and timeline from Meta directly.
JLL — 2025 Global Data Center Outlook
JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle). Annual market report identifying "speed to power" as the primary criterion driving data center site selection, followed by community support and latency. Documents geographic diversification as traditional markets hit capacity constraints.
Build Inc — Data Center Site Selection: Complete Guide
Industry guide covering power requirements (100+ MW for hyperscale, 200+ MW for AI), land requirements (~40 acres minimum, ~1 acre per MW), fiber connectivity, and permitting timelines.
BDO — Strategic Guide to Data Center Site Selection
BDO accounting and advisory. Covers infrastructure assessment, water access and cooling (30–40% of operating costs), financial evaluation, and location factors for data center siting decisions.
https://www.bdo.com/insights/industries/technology/strategic-guide-to-data-center-site-selection
Bohler Engineering — 3 Site Selection Considerations for Data Center Development
Civil engineering firm. Covers parcel evaluation (flat, contiguous, industrially zoned), permitting timelines (6 months to 3+ years), and environmental constraints (wetlands, flood zones).
LightBox — A Growing Demand for Land: Site Selection for Data Centers
Commercial real estate data firm. Documents land requirements for data centers, including the growth of average parcel size (up 144% from 2022–2024 to 224 acres).
https://www.lightboxre.com/insight/a-growing-demand-for-land-site-selection-for-data-centers/
Reed Smith — Site Selection Considerations for Hyperscale Data Centers
International law firm. Covers zoning and permitting challenges, environmental compliance, water and cooling infrastructure, and regulatory environment evaluation for hyperscale data center projects.
Data Center Knowledge — Refining Your Criteria for Data Center Site Selection
Industry publication. Covers fiber connectivity, tax and economic factors, natural disaster risk assessment (25–100 year history), and climate considerations for cooling.
Data Center Frontier — Executive Roundtable: Data Center Site Selection Implications
Industry roundtable discussion on site selection trends, natural disaster risk evaluation, and geographic diversification driven by power constraints in primary markets.
Data Center Frontier — 5 Keys to Success in Data Center Site Selection
Reports more than half of data center operators have difficulty finding or retaining staff. Covers labor market requirements (60–90 minute commute radius), transportation access, and regional construction capacity.
Site Selection Magazine — Data Centers: Site Selection 101
Overview of core site selection criteria: power, fiber, labor, disaster risk, and tax incentives. Published by the leading trade publication for corporate real estate and economic development.
Area Development Magazine — Data Center Location Decision Criteria
Covers property tax, corporate tax, sales tax, and utility cost (tariff per kWh) as core evaluation factors in data center location decisions.
Entergy — Data Center Recruitment
Entergy's data center recruitment page. Advertises "some of the lowest power rates in the country," $49 billion in total new investment, $7 billion in customer savings, and "Fair Share Plus" commitment. 25-acre minimum site requirement.
Entergy — LPSC Approval for Meta Infrastructure Investments
Press release. LPSC approved three combined-cycle combustion turbine plants (754 MW each), including one at Waterford site in St. Charles Parish (operational by end of 2029). Also approved 1,500 MW of solar procurement and new 500 kV / 230 kV transmission lines.
NBC4 Washington — Data Center Noise Complaints in Loudoun County
Field measurements and resident interviews on persistent low-frequency noise from data center cooling systems.
Noise Monitoring Services — Data Center Noise Control & Attenuation
Technical data on data center noise levels (90–96 dB at source) and sound attenuation over distance.
https://noisemonitoringservices.com/data-center-noise-control/
St. Charles Parish & Local
LED — Amazon Selects Louisiana for $12 Billion Data Center Campuses
Louisiana Economic Development announcement. Amazon's planned $12 billion investment in data center campuses in Louisiana.
LED / Governor's Office — St. Charles Power Station Groundbreaking
2017 announcement: ~700 peak construction jobs, ~31 permanent jobs at ~$72,300 avg salary, ~120 total including indirect. Used as precedent for Waterford plant estimates.
St. Charles Herald Guide — Parish Council Rejects 8-Month Data Center Moratorium
April 2026. Coverage of the April 6, 2026 council meeting: 5-3 vote against moratorium, council member positions, resident testimony.
https://www.heraldguide.com/featured/parish-council-rejects-8-month-moratorium-on-new-data-centers/
St. Charles Herald Guide — Waterford-3 Celebrates 40th Anniversary
St. Charles Herald Guide. Coverage of Waterford-3's 40th anniversary, providing context on the plant's history and role in St. Charles Parish.
https://www.heraldguide.com/news/waterford-3-celebrates-40th-anniversary
St. Charles Parish — Draft Ordinance 2026-0089 (Data Center Zoning)
Introduced by Parish President Matthew Jewell. Proposed requirements: M-1 zoning (Special Permit) or M-2 (permitted use for data centers with on-site generation); 300-ft setback from residential properties, schools, nursing homes, and parks; 25-ft landscape buffer; equipment screening required; 55 dBA noise limit at property line; generator testing restricted to weekdays 7 a.m.–6 p.m.
St. Charles Parish Waterworks — About SCP Water
Parish water system overview. East bank treatment plant: up to 6 million gallons/day; west bank: up to 8 million gallons/day. Average daily production: 4.6 million gallons. Maximum daily production: 6.38 million gallons.
https://www.stcharlesparish.gov/departments/waterworks/about-scp-water
St. Charles Parish — Levee Update
Parish levee system information including the $1.2 billion West Shore Lake Pontchartrain project (expected completion end of 2026, 100-year storm surge protection), Cross Bayou Pump Station, and east/west bank levee systems.
https://www.stcharlesparish.gov/departments/public-works/levee-update
NOLA.com — Flood Protection Improvements for St. Charles and St. John
Coverage of levee system upgrades and flood mitigation infrastructure in the River Parishes following Hurricane Isaac (2012) and Hurricane Ida (2021).
Stantec — I-10 Corridor Fiber Optic Deployment (US-61 / LaPlace)
Engineering project documentation for fiber optic conduit deployment along I-10 through the River Parishes area, attached to existing bridge structures from the I-10/US-61 interchange to LaPlace Radio Tower.
DataCenterMap — New Orleans Data Centers
Directory of data center facilities in the New Orleans area, including peering/interconnection services. Approximately 20–25 carriers available across primary New Orleans data centers.
EdgeConneX — New Orleans Data Center
EdgeConneX data center facility in the New Orleans region providing low-latency delivery and interconnection services.
https://www.edgeconnex.com/locations/americas/new-orleans-la/
Louisiana Tumor Registry — Cancer Incidence Data, 2018–2022
All-cancer incidence rates for St. Charles Parish and comparisons. St. Charles Parish: 502.7 per 100,000; Southeast Louisiana region: 490.9 per 100,000; Louisiana statewide: 489.2 per 100,000. These are age-adjusted incidence rates, not mortality rates. The Registry does not attribute elevated rates to any specific cause.
Interactive data tool (2018–2022): https://public.tableau.com/shared/G9T6D74KH
All sources listed above are publicly available. Where a direct article URL was available at time of publication, it has been linked. For government sources, the relevant agency website and docket/document number are provided so you can look up the primary document yourself.