Entergy has started construction on two new electricity plants that will supply power to Meta’s massive artificial intelligence data center in Richland Parish. Entergy Louisiana’s Vice President of Business Operations and Strategy, Laura Beauchamp, says the construction of Franklin Farms Power Station is a major milestone.
“It’s going to be paid for by Meta, but the benefit is that these are grid resources. So it’s going to increase the power and reliability for all customers in Louisiana,” Beauchamp explained.
The gas-fired plants are located near the data center and will begin generating natural gas in 2028.
“This is to provide additional energy to serve that site, so that they’re not taking power that’s already being produced to serve all customers,” Beauchamp said.
Beauchamp says these two new state-of-the-art generation facilities use less fuel to produce more, resulting in lower emissions and improved system reliability.
“Meta will be paying for the cost of the generators, but because these are fuel-efficient technologies, all customers will benefit from the lower fuel savings of these resources,” Beauchamp said.
Entergy Louisiana also plans to build a third plant in St. Charles Parish and that project is awaiting permits.
