Meta’s agreement with New Orleans–based Entergy, announced March 27, is to build and finance seven new power plants in Louisiana. That comes on top of plans approved last year to build three gas power plants for the sprawling AI hub. The 10 power plants with 7.5 gigawatts of capacity would represent a more than 30% increase to Louisiana’s entire grid capacity, not even counting up to 2.5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, including battery storage, that Meta also agreed to help fund.

Meta initially announced plans for a $10 billion investment in December 2024 for a 2,250-acre data center campus in northeastern Louisiana in rural Richland Parish. But Meta recently, and quietly, acquired an additional 1,400 acres, as Fortune reported in February. In October 2025, Meta entered a joint venture with funds managed by Blue Owl Capital to finance, build, and operate the Hyperion campus with up to $27 billion in total development costs, seemingly ensuring the mega-campus will serve as a long-term, multiphase AI hub.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said Hyperion would cover a “significant part of the footprint of Manhattan.”

“Our Richland Parish data center serves as a symbol of the ambition and scale of next-generation AI infrastructure,” said Rachel Peterson, Meta vice president for data centers, in a statement. “We are building foundations for the future of AI innovation right here in the United States. We’ve been working closely with Entergy since early on-site planning to ensure our power needs are met and, importantly, so that Entergy’s other consumers aren’t paying our costs.”

The Louisiana Public Service Commission will still need to approve the projects. The previous three power plants received regulatory authorization last year.

Entergy’s stock jumped 7% on March 27, lifting its market cap to a new record high of about $50 billion. The stock has risen almost 125% in two years.

Entergy is emphasizing that Meta is paying for the projects, rather than shifting the costs to other ratepayers. Entergy argues that the deals will save Louisiana taxpayers billions of dollars over several years.

The 10 power plants are estimated to cost nearly $11 billion. Critics contend ratepayers could be stuck with the bill after 15 years, which is the length of the contractual terms, if Meta no longer requires so much power after that span.

“This agreement reflects what’s possible when strong partners align around long-term growth and value,” said Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana, in a statement. “Working with our customers, regulators, and state leaders, we are making targeted investments that strengthen reliability, support economic development, and deliver meaningful benefits to customers—all while keeping energy rates affordable.”

MONROE, La. (KNOE) – Months of planning came down to 90 seconds. For one Louisiana State University Shreveport team, that pitch was worth $50,000.

RX Connect, a prescription navigation app developed by LSUS graduate students, took first place in the graduate division of the 2026 ULM Pelican Cup competition. The team also won the elevator pitch competition, earning an additional $2,000.

Team leader Kurtis Alton said the journey tested his commitment. He works full-time, attends school and has a family.

“Questioning myself whether it’s worth putting in all the effort,” Alton said. “This isn’t the first competition, but I learned from what I didn’t gain prior so I can implement it here to get better. I didn’t give up.”

RX Connect addresses a problem in the healthcare system: what happens when a prescription can’t be filled. The app helps patients navigate the system to find solutions.

Team member Wendy Alton said there were moments of doubt during development, but she believed in the vision.

“There were moments that I told myself, where are we going?” she said. “But I know that in my heart, he had the passion, he had the drive. And I just believed that this was going to be something.”

Graduate division winners

The Pelican Cup competition is open to students from any major at any Louisiana university. Faculty advisor Mike McDaniel said the winning proposal will change lives beyond the team.

“Where they have taken this idea and then turned it into this winning proposal that will change lives, not only theirs, but all of the patients in our healthcare system that need this help immensely,” McDaniel said.

First Place – $50,000

RX Connect (Louisiana State University Shreveport)Team Leader: Kurtis Alton Team Members: Jyotish Batra, Wendy Alton Advisor: Mike McDaniel Also won Elevator Pitch Winner – $2,000

Second Place – $25,000

Hustlr (University of Louisiana Monroe)Team Leader: Dylan Hayden Team Members: Chase Gunn, Nokia Masengu Advisors: Joyce Zhou

Third Place – $10,000

Bio-Pod (University of Louisiana Lafayette)Team Leader: Natasha Syed Team Members: Matthew Hasling, Mansu Acharya Advisor: Jonathan Shirley

First, second and third place faculty advisors receive $3,000.

Undergraduate division winners

Social Bridge AI, a University of Louisiana Monroe team, won $25,000 in the undergraduate division. The platform uses artificial intelligence to help people with autism practice communication and social skills through roleplay.

Team leader Anjan Mandal said the company will stay rooted in Louisiana.

“I’m glad that we have started this company from Louisiana and we’re going to impact the millions and millions of lives in the whole United States, but we’ll start that from Louisiana,” Mandal said. “We win that money. We’re going to put that money in our company and that company will be only from Louisiana.”

First Place – $25,000

Social Bridge AI (University of Louisiana Monroe)Team Leader: Anjan Mandal Team Members: Roshani Pathak, Pradeep PoudelAdvisors: Prasanthi Sreekumari

Second Place – $15,000

Xplify (University of Louisiana Monroe)Team Leader: Damir Filaretov Team Members: Viktor Motov, Connor Pauley, Katie McCullars Advisor: Veronika Humphries Also won Elevator Pitch Winner – $2,000

Third Place – $10,000

Sensory Sync (University of New Orleans)Team Leader: Pranish GhimireTeam Members: Simant Singh, Krish Neupane Advisor: Shafin Khan

First, second and third place faculty advisors receive $3,000.

Competition organizers said they have seen teams develop from classroom concepts into businesses with millions of dollars in investment.

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