Lisa Hopkins bought her house in Louisiana’s Richland Parish two years ago. However, lately, her family only finds peace and quiet on their front porch at night, after construction stops for the day. That’s because Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, is now building its largest artificial intelligence data center in the country right across the street.
“It’s always noise, all the time,” Hopkins told CBS News. She added, “We honestly didn’t know how big of a scale it was gonna be. Some mornings it’s hard to get out of our driveway, just because of all the dump trucks.”
### The $10 Billion Project and Economic Hopes
Louisiana approved the $10 billion project in August, expressing hopes that it would bring economic growth to the region. However, some experts warn that the data center’s massive power demands could raise electricity bills for customers statewide.
The state’s main utility company, Entergy, has agreed to pay for a $550 million transmission line to supply power to the center. Experts say this cost will likely be passed on to the 1.1 million customers served by Entergy Louisiana. This raises concerns in a parish where nearly a quarter of the population lives in poverty, according to the state’s utility commission.
### Impact on Energy Prices
The potential increase in utility bills is not the only concern. State officials who approved the plan admit that the increased energy demand from the data center could, in turn, push gas prices higher.
“This single data center is set to span an amount of land that is about 70 football fields worth of land, and it’s going to consume roughly three times the amount of electricity that the entire city of New Orleans consumes on an annual basis,” explained Paul Arbaje, an energy analyst with the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists, in an interview with CBS News.
The Hopkins family showed CBS News their recent power bills, which indicated that fuel costs increased by about $13 a month compared to last year.
### Broader Impacts Across the Country
As the nationwide construction boom in new data centers continues, other communities are already feeling the impacts. Customers in at least 13 states have reported higher utility bills linked to the development of new data centers, according to the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
“We’re all kind of sharing the pain in that fight,” Arbaje said. “It’s up to state regulators, really, to step in and protect consumers and make sure that tech companies and utility companies are paying their fair share for this development.”
### Meta’s Response and Community Investments
Meta’s head of community development in North America, Katie Comer, said the company is working closely with Entergy to reduce impacts on customers. She told CBS News that Meta has “invested a million dollars into their bill pay assistance program to support low-income families.”
Addressing residents’ concerns about the impact on the neighborhood, Comer stated, “We are actively on the ground every day. We want to listen and learn and meet the community where they’re at.”
In addition, Meta is investing $200 million into local infrastructure projects and partnering with local school programs to support the community’s long-term development.
“This community as a whole is incredibly special,” Comer said. “We’ve been very proud of the work that we’ve been able to do together. I am extremely excited about the work that we will do in the future together.”
### Differing Perspectives and Local Sentiments
Entergy has suggested that Meta’s arrival in Louisiana could actually lead to lower power bills for customers. In a statement, the company indicated that resilience upgrades linked to the project could reduce electricity costs by up to 10%.
However, residents remain skeptical. Donna Collins, who has lived in the region her entire life, expressed hope that the company’s promises prove true but remains cautious. “I’m going to have to see it to believe it,” Collins told CBS News.
Collins also said that outreach from the state and Meta requesting local input was lacking. “I definitely don’t feel like I had a say, and I don’t know many people that do,” she said.
Hopkins echoed those concerns, sharing that she never received any notices about public hearings in the mail. “It’s not fair. It’s not something that we asked to be put here,” she said.
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The construction of Meta’s massive AI data center in Richland Parish highlights the complex balance between economic development and community impact. As the project moves forward, many local residents remain watchful about how it will affect their daily lives and utility costs.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meta-ai-data-center-richland-parish-louisiana-energy-costs/
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