THACKER: Data centers in Louisiana are good for consumers

By Meghan Thacker

Data Centers are coming and they are here to stay. McKinsey has forecast total capital expenditures of $1.7 trillion on AI data centers by 2030, excluding the IT hardware involved – which makes for a bigger number. 

Louisiana is well-positioned to take advantage of this new industrial era thanks to the state’s robust industrial and energy infrastructure and pro-growth policies being implemented under the leadership of Governor Landry. In addition to the Meta data center under construction in Richland Parish, Louisiana just announced another $10 billion facility in West Feliciana Parish. 

These data centers abound with economic opportunity such as thousands of construction jobs and hundreds more that are here to stay, and also require new energy infrastructure. Good thing Louisiana knows how to produce, transport, distribute energy – it’s what we’ve done for generations and we do it well. 

Before saying data centers will lead to increases in electricity prices, we need to consider Louisiana’s own energy expertise. 

Louisiana's regulatory structure, geology, workforce, and existing infrastructure exists specifically to deliver major industrial development, and recent numbers prove it works. The state secured $142 billion in energy manufacturing investment since 2011 — capturing 55% of Gulf Coast totals despite having just 15% of Texas's population, per LSU's Center for Energy Studies. 

Senate President Cameron Henry, by establishing the Task Force on Energy Infrastructure and Modernization, is leading the way to pave this path for Louisiana to ensure these facilities are built with impact to consumers in mind upfront. That forward-thinking approach matters as data center electricity consumption surges from 3.7% of U.S. total to roughly 11-12% by 2030, according to McKinsey projections. 

States prepared to meet this demand capture investment. States that move to slow these investments down, without looking at all the facts, watch opportunities migrate elsewhere.

Critics claim Meta's and other similar facilities will spike consumer costs. The contract tells a different story. Meta funds complete infrastructure expenses and covers 100% of three new natural gas facilities for 15 years minimum. Proactive planning with Entergy produces $650 million in customer benefits, enhanced transmission upgrades, and likely downward pressure on market prices overall. 

With the addition of Meta to the electricity system, customers could realize savings of up to 10% for reductions in storm charges and costs to upgrade and modernize the grid. Couple these benefits with 500 permanent jobs and $2.5 billion in property taxes, and it’s a win-win. Louisiana’s Public Service Commission recently passed a proposal to require these types of protections for consumers in any similar major industrial investment. These types of policies will allow Louisiana to leapfrog other states in economic advantage and ensure consumers are protected. 

By leading this charge, Louisiana is in line to advance American competitiveness overall, too. That’s why Trump’s Energy Secretary recently stated at an energy conference and in a Cabinet meeting that building out data center infrastructure while onshoring American manufacturing, will lead to lower and more reliable energy prices for consumers. 

Overall, Louisiana continues to maintain advantages other states can't overcome. Since 2004, residential electricity rates have had the slowest annual growth in the nation. Industrial rates have stayed flat across two decades while industrial electricity sales jumped 41%, a feat made possible only by supply growing to meet demand. States with restrictive policies that rejected building couldn’t escape the law of supply and demand, and costs exploded. Louisiana delivered affordability through fuel diversity and regulatory consistency.

That diversity includes nuclear generation opponents elsewhere have banned. Twelve states prohibit new nuclear facilities — California, New York, Massachusetts among them. Louisiana's Waterford 3 and River Bend plants provide emissions-free baseload electricity data centers need for continuous operation. Individual AI training operations could require up to 8 gigawatts by 2030 — equivalent to eight nuclear reactors. 

Louisiana's integrated utility model provides supply planning and cost certainty that deregulated markets now desperately attempt to recreate.

The state's economy flourished because its regulatory structure prioritizes construction and growth over delay tactics. Louisianans handle over 60% of America's natural gas exports. The energy sector employs one in eight residents while maintaining world-leading environmental and labor standards. Success came from choosing economic reality and progress, grounded in the right consumer and environmental protections, over delays.

The battle isn't whether AI development continues — it's which states secure the investment. Louisiana positioned itself to succeed by maintaining regulatory certainty and driving down taxes and now we’re positioned to win.