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Unusual coalition fights plants for Meta Environmentalists, oil companies oppose data center power proposal
BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer
It’s not often that environmental groups and oil companies team up for a cause. The plan to power Meta’s giant AI data center in remote Louisiana has proved to be a rare exception. A coalition of some of Louisiana’s largest oil, gas and petrochemical companies are fighting the proposal
from Entergy to spend billions on three new power plants and related infrastructure to support the tech giant’s biggest ever data center. They have joined environmental and consumer watchdogs in the effort. The companies, under the banner the Louisiana Energy Users Group (LEUG), allege Entergy’s plan would create an “unprecedented risk” to other utility customers,
potentially leaving them to cover costs. Entergy says safeguards will be in place, while Meta and state officials highlight the economic development benefits the project will bring to an impoverished area of northeast Louisiana. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, announced its plan in December to build the $10 billion data center in rural Richland Parish. The new
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facility will be a centerpiece of the tech company’s race to create technology smarter than the human brain. Entergy, the state’s largest utility, is building the plants to power the facility, which will sit on agricultural land the size of around 70 football fields and consume more electricity than two New Orleans summers.
ä See COALITION, page 7A
Monroe
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Alexandria
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Holly Ridge: Site of Meta AI data center LA.
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Miss. River Baton Rouge
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Staff map
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Sharing of satellite storm data to continue
Head of N.O. flood authority removed
Board upheaval marked controversial tenure of Carubba
Federal government had planned to cut program
BY ALEX LUBBEN
BY KASEY BUBNASH
Gov. Jeff Landry has removed his hand-picked board president at a key New Orleans area flood protection authority after a tumultuous nine-month run that saw board members resign over his policies. Roy Carubba, appointed president last November, will continue to serve as a board Carubba m e m b e r. T h e change follows a chaotic tenure at the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East, which oversees flood control infrastructure on the Mississippi River’s east bank in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard parishes. He will be replaced by Peter Vicari, a businessman and contractor from Gonzales who was appointed to the board last month. Vicari takes the helm in the middle of hurricane season, and will chair his first board meeting next month.
The federal government is reversing course on a plan to cut crucial hurricane forecasting satellite data following pushback from meteorologists and government officials nationwide. Erica Grow Cei, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Tuesday that data collected through the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program would continue to be distributed for the foreseeable future. DMSP satellites, which are operated by NOAA and the U.S. Air Force, provide environmental and weather information used both in the planning of U.S. military operations and NOAA’s weather forecasts, according to the agency. While Grow Cei said the program represents just one dataset in “a robust suite” of hurricane forecasting and modeling tools used by NOAA, hurricane and weather experts say the loss of DMSP satellites, which offer unique capabilities that help scientists track storms at night and spot signs of rapid intensification, would be a devastating blow. The U.S. Department of Defense first announced plans to halt data collection through the program in late June, with the
Staff writer
ä See REMOVED, page 8A
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Staff writer
IMAGE PROVIDED By THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
A satellite image shows Hurricane Iona forming in the central Pacific Ocean on Monday.
ä See SATELLITE, page 7A
Historic United Fruit Company building back on the market BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL
95,000 square feet in the heart of the Central Business District and has been vacant since George’s Five years after purchasing the real estate investment firm, ERG century-old United Fruit Compa- Enterprises, bought the property ny building on St. Charles Avenue in early 2020 with McDonnel Conwith plans of renovating it, real es- struction Services founder Allan tate investor Dr. Eric George and McDonnel and other investors. Corporate Realty President and his partners are putting the property and four connecting buildings CEO Mike Siegel, who is listing the complex for sale, could not back on the market. The five-building complex, at 321 say why the current owners’ plans and 327 St. Charles Ave. and 710, stalled but he said they are pricing 714, and 720 Union St., comprises the property to sell — somewhere Staff writer
WEATHER HIGH 92 LOW 78 PAGE 8B
in the $10 million range. “We are realistic sellers,” Siegel said. “This is not one where you say X and put it out there and settle for half. Where we are starting is where we expect to transact and that is around $10 million.” No sale price was disclosed when ERG bought the building, but the partners borrowed $15 million at the time from Hancock Whitney, according to a mortgage filed with
The United Fruit Company building features an ornate entryway. STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
ä See BUILDING, page 8A
Business ...................10A Commentary ................7B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-6D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
12TH yEAR, NO. 352