Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is fighting a subpoena for records related to its planned data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana. The dispute is part of Entergy Louisiana’s application to build a massive portfolio of power plants, battery storage, and transmission infrastructure for Meta’s data center campus.

Background

The Alliance for Affordable Energy and the Union of Concerned Scientists, two consumer advocacy groups, sought five categories of records directly from Meta in an effort to challenge the assertion that the data center is in the public interest. They are asking Meta to show its work on projected job creation, investment, and electricity demand, as well as provide information about its assets and other utility guarantees.

Chief Administrative Law Judge Melanie Verzwyvelt granted the subpoena in part on July 10, ordering Meta to produce records supporting its investment, job-creation, and electricity-demand projections. However, Meta challenged that order four days later, saying that the requested material includes confidential information and trade secrets and is thus protected from disclosure.

Implications

The dispute now moves to the five-member Public Service Commission, which is scheduled to discuss and possibly vote on August 12 on Meta’s request for immediate review of the subpoena ruling. The commission could allow the order to stand, reverse it, or narrow the records Meta must produce.

The subpoena fight comes as Meta’s own public estimates for the project have grown dramatically. Louisiana officials initially announced the development in 2024 as a $10 billion campus expected to create at least 500 permanent jobs. On July 13, the company and Gov. Jeff Landry announced that the commitment had grown to more than $50 billion, approximately 1,000 operational jobs, and 5 gigawatts of computing capacity.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.