State regulators on Wednesday approved a controversial plan to power tech giant Meta's largest artificial intelligence data center yet, to be built in rural northeast Louisiana, clearing the way for construction of three gas-fired electricity plants, our media partners at The Advocate report.
The Public Service Commission voted 4-1 in favor of the plan proposed by Entergy at a meeting in the city of Plaquemine following hours of public debate. The power plan is key for Meta's $10 billion facility to move forward, the newspaper reports.
"I'm not for this project one percent, ten percent, or 100%," said Commissioner Foster Campbell, who represents the district where the data center will be built. "I'm for this project 1000%."
Commissioner Davante Lewis cast the only vote against the measure. He said the current agreement still left fundamental questions on the table that were "too bitter...to swallow."
The Advocate reports that the approval was largely expected as Louisiana officials, including Gov. Jeff Landry, have welcomed the project as an economic development gamechanger in a long-struggling region of the state. But the project in Richland Parish has also drawn sharp criticism over its huge energy needs.
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