---
title: "Environmental law group seeks probe of Meta's $27 billion Louisiana data center financing"
description: "U.S. environmental law group Earthjustice has requested an investigation by Louisiana utility regulators into the financing of Meta's $27 billion data center project. They argue that the project could"
type: "news"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/272584187.md"
published_at: "2026-01-14T16:46:35.000Z"
---

# Environmental law group seeks probe of Meta's $27 billion Louisiana data center financing

> U.S. environmental law group Earthjustice has requested an investigation by Louisiana utility regulators into the financing of Meta's $27 billion data center project. They argue that the project could burden local homes and businesses with costs and significantly increase global warming emissions. This is the first formal petition of its kind in the U.S. regarding data center financing. The financing structure allows Meta to potentially exit its lease after four years, shifting costs to local utility customers instead of Meta.

By Laila Kearney

NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S. environmental law group Earthjustice asked utility regulators in Louisiana on Wednesday to investigate the financing of a $27 billion Meta data center project, which Earthjustice says threatens to leave everyday homes and businesses on the hook for build-out costs.

Environmental and consumer groups are increasingly pushing back against the energy-intensive data center expansion, arguing that it will significantly increase global warming emissions and raise power bills.

The request, filed with the Louisiana Public Service Commission, is the first time Earthjustice has formally petitioned a utility regulator to probe data center financing, and the group said it believes it is the first of its kind nationwide.

The motion centers around the financing of Meta’s largest-ever data center project - a more than 2 gigawatt planned facility in Richland Parish, Louisiana. The Louisiana Public Service Commission approved an application last year for the local utility to build three new gas-fired electric generating stations and transmission to power the data center. The original financing structure came with a parent-company financial guarantee that would ultimately fall on Meta, which was the parent company of the site’s developer at the time, Earthjustice said. Under a financial agreement later announced between Meta and its joint venture partner Blue Owl Capital, a newly formed company called Beignet Investors became the new owner of the data center and the parent company of the project’s developer, said Earthjustice, which cited an analysis of the deal reported by the Wall Street Journal. Meta, meanwhile, became a lessee. The new arrangement also allows Meta to exit its lease after four years, instead of an initially agreed-upon 15 years, potentially allowing it to stop paying for energy or infrastructure build-out costs early, the motion said.

“If Meta ends the lease after four years almost none of the costs of the generating station or the associated transmission will have been paid up by Meta at that point,” said Earthjustice attorney Susan Stevens Miller. Instead, those costs would be moved to customers of the local utility, Stevens Miller said.

Meta and Blue Owl were not immediately available for comment.

### Related Stocks

- [META.US - Meta Platforms](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/META.US.md)

## Related News & Research

| Title | Description | URL |
|-------|-------------|-----|
| Meta 將季度股息維持在每股 0.525 美元，並將在 3 月 26 日支付給截至 3 月 16 日登記的股東 | Meta 將季度股息維持在每股 0.525 美元，支付日期為 3 月 26 日，記錄日期為 3 月 16 日的股東 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275817822.md) |
| WhatsApp 表示，俄羅斯試圖完全封鎖其服務，以推廣國家應用程序 | 俄羅斯試圖全面封鎖由 Meta Platforms 擁有的 WhatsApp，作為其推動國有平台和控制互聯網空間的努力的一部分。該消息應用在俄羅斯約有 1 億用户，已被俄羅斯互聯網監管機構 Roskomnadzor 從在線目錄中移除。Wha | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275681571.md) |
| Meta 的 Threads 讓用户掌控自己的算法 | Meta 的 Threads 讓用户掌控自己的算法 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275643372.md) |
| 俄羅斯已將 WhatsApp 從其官方互聯網目錄中移除 | 俄羅斯已正式將 WhatsApp 從其互聯網註冊中移除，實際上禁止了該應用程序對其超過 1 億用户的使用。這一舉措是在過去幾個月中，該應用程序功能逐漸惡化的背景下采取的。除了 WhatsApp，Facebook 和 Instagram 也被 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275699546.md) |
| 俄羅斯表示已封鎖 WhatsApp，這正值對社交媒體進行更廣泛的打壓之際 \| CNN 商業 | 俄羅斯已封鎖 WhatsApp，指示公民使用國家支持的 Max 應用程序。克里姆林宮發言人德米特里·佩斯科夫引用了 WhatsApp 母公司 Meta 違反法律的行為。這一舉措是在對另一個流行的消息應用 Telegram 實施限制之後進行的 | [Link](https://longbridge.com/en/news/275762195.md) |

---

> **Disclaimer**: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.