Governor Jeff Landry is defending the state’s growing data center industry amid concerns about its impact on water supplies and electricity bills. Several data centers are already under construction in Louisiana, with more planned. Speaking at a State of the State luncheon in Monroe, Landry says the projects are important to the state’s economic future.
“We have a choice, like I said: We can smother it in fear, or we can set these basic rules; and we can get on watching opportunity grow here in this state. I, for one, am not going to allow fear to write your future,” Landry said.
Landry says companies building data centers have pledged not to raise residential electricity rates. He also pushed back on concerns about how much water the facilities will need to cool their equipment.
“Golf courses around this country use 500 billion gallons of water a year. Data centers around the country use 18 billion at best. Do the math,” Landry noted.
Landry also discussed efforts to lower insurance rates in Louisiana. He says recent legal reforms have attracted more insurance companies to the state than ever before, but he cautions that it will take time for those changes to translate into significantly lower premiums
“The problem is, we’ve got this microwave society. We need to stick it in; in 30 seconds it’s going to be hot. A generation, in a hundred years of bad policies, takes a while,” Landry explained.
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